Mitch McConnell Delays Senate Healthcare Vote

Senate Majority Mitch McConnell (R-KY) delayed the vote on the Senate healthcare reform bill, known as the Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA), until after the July 4th recess.

McConnell previously said that the Senate needs to vote on the BCRA before the July 4th recess to allow for more time on other priority issues such as tax reform and the budget.

Several conservative senators such as Rand Paul (R-KY), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Mike Lee (R-UT), Ron Johnson (R-WI), and moderate senators such as Susan Collins (R-ME) and Dean Heller (R-NV) have announced that they cannot vote for the bill in its current form. Republicans maintain a slim majority in the Senate. McConnell could only afford to lose two Senators and have Vice President Mike Pence break the tie to pass the BCRA.

The Senate bill continues to mirror the House bill: Speaker Paul Ryan had to delay the vote on the House’s American Health Care Act (AHCA) to gather more support for the bill.