McConnell’s goal was to vote on the measure before the July 4 recess that starts at the end of the week. He can afford to lose just two Republican senators from the party’s 52-seat majority in the 100-seat Senate to pass healthcare. Pence would cast a tie-breaking vote.
Moderate senators are concerned about millions of people losing insurance. Conservative senators say the Senate bill does not do enough to repeal Obamacare.
The CBO only assesses the impact of legislation within a 10-year time frame, but it said insurance losses were expected to grow beyond 22 million due to deep cuts to Medicaid that are not scheduled to go into effect until 2025. It would reduce the budget deficit by $321 billion between 2017 and 2026, the CBO estimated.
If the Senate passes a bill, it will either have to be approved by the House, which passed its own version last month, or the two chambers would have to reconcile their differences in a conference committee. Otherwise, the House could pass a new version and bounce it back to the Senate.
“It’s the biggest signature issue we have, and it’s the biggest promise we’ve ever made in the modern era,” House Speaker Paul Ryan said in a Fox News interview that aired on Tuesday. “We did this in the House. It is now the Senate’s turn. I think they’re going to do it.”
Democrats remained united in opposition, blasting the bill as a tax break for the wealthy that harms the nation’s most vulnerable. But they have few options to block it beyond stirring public opposition and mounting pressure on wary Republicans.