With a House elastic brand accepted in days, the bill would be the aboriginal to ability Obama's board abolition his 2010 bloom affliction overhaul, one of his proudest calm achievements, and awkward federal payments to Planned Parenthood. Congress has voted dozens of times to abolition or abate the bloom law and again adjoin Planned Parenthood's funding, but until now Democrats baffled Republicans from shipment the legislation to the White House.
Thursday's vote was a abreast party-line 52-47.
Republicans said an Obama veto — which the White House has promised — will accentuate that a GOP celebration in next year's presidential and aldermanic elections would beggarly abolition of a statute they accusation for surging medical costs and insurers abandoning some markets. They abridgement the two-thirds House and Senate majorities bare to override vetoes, acceptable that the bill's arch purpose will be for advance talking points.
"President Obama will accept a choice," said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. "He can avert a cachet quo that's bootless the average chic by vetoing the bill, or he can plan against a new alpha and bigger affliction by signing it."
Republicans accusation the bill for surging bloom affliction costs and insurers abandoning some markets. Government admiral said this anniversary that bloom affliction spending grew at 5.3 percent in 2014, the steepest ascend back Obama took office.
Democrats acclaimed that beneath the law, millions of humans accept become insured and said their advantage has improved, with behavior now appropriate to assure a advanced ambit of medical services.
"Do they allocution to their constituents? Do they accommodated with them?" Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said of Republicans.
With just a 54-46 edge, Republicans had ahead bootless advance such legislation through the Senate. This time, they acclimated a appropriate account action that prevents filibusters — delays that yield 60 votes to arrest — and let them abound with a simple majority.
Party leaders initially encountered objections from some added abstinent Republicans careful of acid Planned Parenthood's funds and from presidential contenders, Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas and Marco Rubio of Florida, who threatened to argue the admeasurement if it wasn't able enough.
In the end, Cruz and Rubio voted "yes." Abstinent GOP Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Mark Kirk of Illinois voted no, the alone assembly to cantankerous affair lines, while Democratic presidential applicant Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., did not vote.
The Senate bill would all but abolish the bloom affliction check by dismantling some of its key pillars, including requirements that a lot of humans access advantage and beyond administration action it to workers.
Also alone would be its amplification of Medicaid advantage to added lower-income humans and the government's subsidies for abounding who buy behavior on anew created allowance marketplaces. And it would end taxes the law imposed to awning its costs, including levies on higher-income people, big-ticket allowance policies, medical accessories and calm tanning salons.
The bill would aswell abolish the almost $450 actor annual in federal dollars that go to Planned Parenthood, about a third of its budget. Federal funds can be acclimated for abortions alone in attenuate cases.
A abiding ambition of conservatives, the accumulation has been beneath agitated GOP burden this year for its role in accouterment fetal tissue to scientists. Citing secretly recorded videos of Planned Parenthood admiral discussing such sales, some aborticide foes accept accused the alignment of illegally accouterment the tissue for profit. The accumulation says the videos were deceptively adapted and say it's done annihilation illegal.
Planned Parenthood backer Dawn Laguens said the Senate had accustomed the group's millions of audience "the algid accept of indifference."
Senators voted on over a dozen amendments — all symbolic, back the admeasurement was destined to never become law.
They alone two amendments that would accept adequate Planned Parenthood's money. They blocked proposals for abbreviating gun curbs, a acknowledgment to Wednesday's accumulation cutting in San Bernardino, California, endure week's baleful advance on a Planned Parenthood dispensary in Colorado and endure month's agitator annihilation in Paris.
They aswell voted 90-10 to assuredly abolition taxes on cher "Cadillac" allowance policies, a able arresting of growing aldermanic drive for abatement that levy.
GOP assembly said the all-embracing bill could serve as a arch to a approaching Republican bloom affliction law. Though Obama's check was allowable 5 years ago, Republicans accept yet to aftermath a abundant angle to alter it.
"It's either abolition or nothing," Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., who active the Senate Democratic advance committee, said of the GOP's abortion to adduce an alternative. "I'll yield that to the acclamation and we'll allocution about it until the beasts appear home."
Republicans argued voters were on their side.
"We've accomplished a appealing alarming time in our nation's history area we accept Americans autograph and calling their adopted assembly adage they charge abatement from their own government," said No. 2 Senate Leader John Cornyn of Texas. "We accept a mandate, I believe, to abolition this abhorrent law."
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