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I'm Republican, but NC legislature went too far Charlotte Observer The N.C. General Assembly has adjourned at least for a short while bringing a collective sigh of relief to most North Carolinians. The old saying, probably incorrectly attributed to Mark Twain, that no man's life, liberty or property is safe while ...

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I'm Republican, but NC legislature went too far - Charlotte Observer

Updated on July 11 at 2:54 p.m. ET

Senate Republican leaders have a new plan to pass the health-care bill their members scuttled late last month: Theyll unveil a revised bill this Thursday, receive an updated analysis from the Congressional Budget Office on Monday, and then rush the proposal across the floor before its critics have a chance to defeat it.

Were going to do health care next week, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell declared on Tuesday after briefing senators on proposed changes to his original proposal.

This new timeline is the same as the old one. Its a rinse-and-repeat version of McConnells original hurry-up scheme, which collapsed rather easily amid an onslaught of jabs and hooks from more than one-fifth of the Republican senators whose support was necessary to pass the bill. That failure set back the entire Senate agenda, and in a rare interruption of a sancrosanct congressional tradition, McConnell announced that he was delaying the chambers August recess by two weeks to finish up health carewin or loseand address other issues like a national defense bill, the debt ceiling, and stalled presidential nominations.

On health care, having a plan is not the same as having the votes, and McConnell remains far short of his magic number, which is 50 plus a tie-breaking nod from Vice President Mike Pence. A conservative bloc on the right is demanding that the Senate bill allow insurers the flexibility to sell plans that dont comply with the Affordable Care Act, while more moderate Republicans are insisting on more funding for insurance subsidies, the opioid epidemic, rural hospitals, and the restoration of some of the proposals deep cuts to Medicaid. Senators were also dismayed by the CBOs projection that 22 million more people could be uninsured as a result of the plan. McConnell can afford to lose just two votes, and so far hes down at least 10.

What the Republican Health-Care Holdouts Want

All of this puts the core GOP promise to repeal and replace former President Barack Obamas signature law at its most precarious point since March, when House Republican leaders briefly abandoned the effort amid dissension in their ranks. Opposition to McConnells not-quite-repeal bill from the two poles of the Senate Republican conferenceSusan Collins of Maine in the center, Rand Paul of Kentucky on the rightappears to be hardening. President Trump is venting his frustration on Twitter, and McConnell is raising the possibility of having to work with Democrats to fix Obamacare if Republicans fail to rip it apart on their own. Senator John McCain of Arizona, who has seen his share of legislative drama, predicted the bill was probably going to be dead.

Yet just as declarations of the House bills demise proved premature in March, so too might the morbid prognoses about the Senate version seem silly in retrospect. You will hear that it is dead. Then you will hear it is back on track. Then you will hear it is on life support, House Speaker Paul Ryan said in a speech last month. He was talking about the GOPs push for tax reform, but he could have been referring to any major legislative lift. It was true of the ACA seven years ago, and it might be true of health care now.

For all of the GOP critics of McConnells initial proposal, none have ruled out supporting a revised versionnot even Collins or Paul. Complaining about a plan is another way of asserting leverage to win concessions, and senators like Rob Portman of Ohio and Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia, for example, have already secured the promise of additional money to combat opioid addiction in their states. More side deals are likely on their way.

The keys to watch over the next few days are how the hold-out senators react both to the revised proposal and a new CBO score that will follow. Will Senator Ted Cruz win support for his freedom option amendment to allow insurers to offer bare-bones plans as long as they also sell more robust policies that comply with Obamacare regulations, most crucially the requirement that people with preexisting conditions cant be forced to pay more? Or will it drive more senators away?

The sign that the bill is dead or alive will come when critics like Collins, Murkowski, Capito, or Dean Heller of Nevada either continue pushing for more changes to its current structure or pull off McConnells Republican-only approach altogether. As the proposal has languished, several GOP senators have pushed for bipartisan talks and criticized party leaders for excluding Democrats from the beginning. Collins has gone the furthest on that front and said a complete overhaul of McConnells proposal is needed to win her support.

But even she has resisted the blanket statement that could kill the Senate GOP bill once and for allnot merely the suggestion of bipartisanship, but a demand for it. If Collins and at least two other Republicans declared they would not support a one-party approach to health-care and made at least some Democratic backing the requirement for their vote, it would be the death knell for McConnells bill and the path Republicans have pursued for seven years. Unless and until that happens, the GOP-only health-care bill will have at least a breath left.

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How to Know If the Republican Health-Care Bill Is Dead - The Atlantic

Senator Susan Collins, Republican of Maine, said, Minor changes and tweaks will not be sufficient to win my support for the bill.

Changes are coming, but none that are likely to radically alter the estimate by the Congressional Budget Office that 22 million fewer people would have health insurance in 2026 under the Senate health care bill than under the Affordable Care Act. A new estimate is expected from the budget office early next week.

The revised bill is expected to include a $45 billion fund to help combat the opioid epidemic, as well as a provision allowing consumers to use health savings accounts to pay for premiums.

Senate Republicans are also likely to keep a pair of taxes imposed by the Affordable Care Act on people with high incomes. The law increased the payroll tax rate for many high-income taxpayers and imposed a tax on their investment income. Both taxes would be eliminated by the repeal bill passed by the House in May and by the original version of Mr. McConnells bill.

Keeping those taxes would undercut a major argument against the bill by Democrats, who have branded it as a tax cut for the rich disguised as a health bill.

But the largest changes to the health care system are likely to remain in the bill. About two-thirds of the increase in the projected number of uninsured Americans would result from deep cuts in expected Medicaid spending, the budget office said. The bill would impose caps on Medicaid spending and would roll back the expansion of the program under the Affordable Care Act.

The Senate measure will be considered under special procedures that limit debate to 20 hours, preclude a Democratic filibuster and allow passage with a simple majority vote. It is unclear whether Mr. McConnell would start the debate next week if he lacks firm commitments from enough senators to ensure passage.

Delaying the vote again might not help.

Anybody who thinks that its going to get easier by waiting, said Senator John Kennedy, Republican of Louisiana, thats a testament to the power of human denial as far as Im concerned.

At least 10 Republican senators, led by David Perdue of Georgia, had urged the majority leader to work into the month of August, so lawmakers could show some results to their constituents.

Mr. McConnell said delaying the recess would provide time to work on other matters after the Senate deals with health care next week. But the Senate Democratic leader, Chuck Schumer of New York, suggested a different motivation for Mr. McConnells announcement.

Theyre struggling with health care, Mr. Schumer said. They dont want to go home and face their constituents.

The problem is not the timing, he added. Its the substance.

Senate Republicans are still skirmishing over a proposal by Senator Ted Cruz, Republican of Texas, that would allow insurers to sell stripped-down insurance policies if they also offered at least one plan that complied with federal insurance standards under the Affordable Care Act. Under this proposal, insurers could, for example, omit coverage of certain services like maternity care or mental health care.

Mr. Cruz says his proposal would give consumers new, lower-priced insurance options. On Tuesday, he called it the necessary ingredient to getting the votes to repeal the health law.

I believe we can get there, he said. It remains challenging. More work remains to be done. But there is a path forward, and that path revolves around lowering premiums.

But Mr. Cruzs proposal underscored the problem that Mr. McConnell faces: Making a change to please some Republican senators could alienate others. With Democrats united in opposition, he can afford only two Republican no votes.

Ms. Collins, a former state insurance regulator in Maine who is already dissatisfied with the Senate bill, warned about the potential negative consequences of the Cruz amendment. Critics of his proposal say it would create two insurance markets: an inexpensive one for the young and healthy, and another, far more expensive one for sick and older Americans that could price those with pre-existing medical conditions out of the market.

If it is as described, Ms. Collins said, I believe it would further destabilize the individual markets, undermine the protections for people with pre-existing conditions and cause premiums to increase for people with pre-existing conditions.

I certainly dont think that that is the answer, she added.

Also on Tuesday, the Trump administration approved a waiver sought by the state of Alaska for an innovative program to help stabilize the individual insurance market.

The state, which has exceptionally high health care costs and insurance premiums, has established a reinsurance program to help pay claims for consumers with certain very high-cost medical conditions like metastatic cancer, H.I.V. and AIDS.

The House and Senate bills would provide tens of billions of dollars for such programs, intended to help keep premiums down and encourage more insurers to participate in the market.

Emily Cochrane and Emmarie Huetteman contributed reporting.

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GOP Senators Vow to Unveil Health Bill Thursday, Despite Deep Divisions - New York Times

Kim Chandler, Associated Press

Photo: J. Scott Applewhite, AP

Republican firebrand seeks runoff spot in Ala. Senate race

DAPHNE, Ala. (AP) As U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks told it to young Republicans at a seafood restaurant on the marshy banks of Mobile Bay, the Washington "swamp critters" are trying to have their way in Alabama's Senate race.

Piggybacking on President Donald Trump's promise to "drain the swamp" a jab at establishment politicians he told them: "Well, in this race the swamp is fighting back, and I'm not their favorite candidate. I'm not getting those bazillions of dollars."

The 63-year-old member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus is running to fill Attorney General Jeff Sessions' former Senate seat and is jockeying for a spot in an anticipated runoff after the Aug. 15 primary. Brooks said a recent poll showed him trailing incumbent Luther Strange, who was appointed to finish Sessions' term, and former Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore, who appeals to evangelicals who supported his losing battles over the public display of the Ten Commandments and gay marriage.

Kevin Spriggs met Brooks a few years ago on a trade association lobbying trip and considers him and Moore the most "anti-establishment" candidates. Brooks was hostile to the pleas for "government goodies," Spriggs said.

"I was actually shocked. To me it was impressive," said Spriggs, who owns gas stations and motels in southern Alabama.

But it's Strange that Brooks has found himself sparring with over who more closely aligns with Trump. Brooks has been in office four terms, but Strange has the backing of a super political action committee tied to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. Brooks' first campaign ad leaned heavily on Trump's promises: He pledged to read the Bible on the Senate floor to filibuster spending bills until funding is secured for the president's proposed wall on the U.S.-Mexico border.

It's a clear attempt to bat away attacks from Strange, who has pointed to Brooks' previous criticism of Trump. Brooks, who was Ted Cruz's state campaign chairman, called Trump a "serial adulterer." Mailers sent by Strange's campaign used a quote from Brooks about American's facing "tough votes in November" ahead to suggest he had difficulty choosing between Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton after Trump became the GOP nominee.

Brooks has had solid conservative backing for years. Heritage Action, an arm on the hardline conservative Heritage Foundation, gives Brooks a 94 percent rating. Brooks has also picked up endorsements from well-known conservative commentators such as Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham.

He defended his past criticisms of Trump saying he did all he "could honorably do" for the Texas senator but supported Trump after he "steamrolled us."

Now, he believes those attack ads are a sign of momentum for his campaign, that his opponents are worried. He still has work to do to build name recognition outside his home base in the northern part of the state.

"The biggest handicap is I don't have the millions upon millions upon millions of dollars that the special interest groups have bestowed upon the favorite candidate," Brooks said.

The last fundraising reports filed in April show Brooks had a little over $1 million, money left over from House races. By comparison, the Senate Leadership Fund in May said it reserved a $2.6 million television ad buy on behalf of Strange.

Brooks made the rounds on cable TV news last month because he was part of the Republican congressional baseball team sprayed with bullets outside Washington, critically injuring House Majority Whip Steve Scalise of Louisiana. Police later told Brooks he was on a list of six names carried by the gunman.

While at the southern Alabama gathering, Brooks quipped to the Baldwin County Young Republicans that the shooting could have been deadlier had the gunman not shot his rifle from the hip: "Fortunately, this guy was a liberal and didn't know how to use a gun."

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Republican firebrand seeks runoff spot in Ala. Senate race - SFGate

The Republican Party is in chaos.

Healthcare reform is dying in the backrooms of the Senate. Tax reform efforts are divided between a White House that wants rate cuts at all costs, and others who want reduced rates alongside eliminated loopholes. And the president's son, Donald Trump Jr., is now implicated in conspiracy with a foreign power.

How did we come to this?

How, just six months after Republicans took control of the presidency and Congress, is chaos now triumphant?

Well, for a start, it's down to leadership. President Trump has led as if he's the chief executive of a unitary organization rather than the chief executive of a vast bureaucracy.

Power in Trump Tower rests with one man and a staff who are paid to obey. Conversely, power in Washington rests with 535 representatives of the American people, all of who must face unique electorates.

That's why in Congress, Speaker of the House Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell have been unable to draw their divided caucuses together. There are too many separate interests at play. And Trump simply does not inspire members of Congress to go out on a limb for him. For all his other failings, in 2010, Obama was able to inspire Democrats to get Obamacare passed.

In part, of course, there is a method in the present madness. At least on the part of the Founding Fathers!

As James Madison noted in Federalist No. 47, "The accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive, and judiciary, in the same hands, whether of one, a few, or many, and whether hereditary, self-appointed, or elective, may justly be pronounced the very definition of tyranny."

The balancing of powers that defines the U.S. system of government is designed to prevent the authoritarian impulses of power. Absent that checking influence, we would see the power of the people transferred to the power of the legislative whips.

In the U.K. for example, whips in Parliament have far greater power to extract votes than in Congress. It's not because the British whips have more power per se, it's because members of Parliament have the chance of joining the executive branch: the ministers who make up the British government. But if they don't play ball, they won't get the jobs they crave. It's a patronage system.

We're lucky to have a more democratic approach to government.

Still, leadership matters. And it's not at all clear that the present chaos was inevitable. Imagine what might have been had Republicans worked in a coordinated fashion to prepare for Obamacare's repeal and replacement. To be sure, some Senators might have changed their minds prior to voting but agreement would have been established far before January 3.

Or consider what might have been possible had Trump decided to listen to members of Congress rather than tweet at them. Or send Bannon to threaten them.

Republicans have a little more than a year to get their acts in gear. If they do, and manage to pass legislation of substance (whether on healthcare, taxes, infrastructure, entitlements, or immigration), they may yet retain control of Congress.

One benefit to the GOP here is the dysfunction of the Democratic Party. If Republicans faced a serious opposition, hope would be looking a lot less possible.

Nevertheless, Americans are clear: we like winners. If Republicans don't start putting legislative points on the board, they'll be losing come next November. And to start winning, they must first end the chaos.

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The Republican Party is a party in chaos - Washington Examiner