A group of 42 Senate Democrats warned House Speaker Paul Ryan that they wouldn’t vote for additional Obamacare repeal legislation.
The warning sends a message to Ryan on legislation that will need 60 votes in the Senate to pass. The letter from the Democrats comes the day the House is planning to vote on the American Health Care Act, which would partially repeal and replace Obamacare.
“We are writing today to inform you that our caucus will not support any efforts that jeopardize the consumer protections our constituents rely upon when they purchase insurance,” the letter said.
Ryan and the White House have said the legislation is the first phase in a three-phase process. The second phase is regulations from the Trump administration, and the third is future legislation that would repeal the rest of Obamacare.
But unlike the American Health Care Act, which Republicans are hoping to get through the Senate with a simple 51-vote majority through a process called reconciliation, the other parts will require 60 votes.
Reconciliation can be used only for bills that affect spending and the budget, which means that the current legislation can’t fully repeal Obamacare. That has angered some conservatives, who argue the bill doesn’t fully repeal the law.
Several provisions Republicans aim to consider in phase III include allowing insurers to sell across state lines and regulations on which benefits insurers have to cover that were included in Obamacare.
Republicans may be trying to get some of those regulations into the legislation to entice conservative support. The White House is scheduled to meet with the House Freedom Caucus on Thursday to make a deal, but it is not clear whether one can be ironed out.
