The leader of the majority of the US Senate, John Thune, Rs.d., speaks to reporters in Capitol when legislators are working on “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” on June 25, 2025 in Washington (photo of Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Washington – Republicans of the US Senate appeared deeply divided on Wednesday, how to establish a fund for rural hospitals to balance the budget effects of Medicaid cuts on a “large, beautiful bill.”
Hospitals that generally already hurt financially, rely In Medicaid, state partnership, which provides health insurance for low -income households and some disabled people.
GOP senators have not yet reached an agreement on the structure of the Fund or dozens of other unsolved regulations in a wide package, despite the fact that the leaders hope to vote on Friday. There were still contracts in the air on the main provisions regarding the funds regarding the food aid program of the US Department of Agriculture for low -income people and the proposed sale of certain public land.
Republican leaders still designed optimism. “We are on the right way to adopt this account this week,” said the leader of the majority of Senate John Thune, Rs.d., during a floor speech, continuing to impose on the date of the fourth of July.
Others saw it differently. The Republican senator of Wisconsin, Ron Johnson, turned to the low time frame that the leaders decided to reach the final agreement and transfer the law through both chambers.
“We are still talking about several fundamental problems,” said Johnson. “I just set the reality of the situation. We have a lot of work to do.”
“The only person here who has ever managed a village hospital”
Duel Plans to establish a village hospital fund to alleviate the threat of cuts Medicaid was distributed among senators Work on finalizing A huge means of tax and expenses, but the contract did not appear in the delayed afternoon.
Unofficial details have shown that the Senate Republicans are looking at the inclusion of a fund with a value of $ 15 billion – $ 3 billion a year between the 2027 tax year and fiscal 2031 – in order to lend a hand in rural hospitals, in accordance with many Reports.
But Senator Roger Marshall, who sits on the Senate Finance Committee, said that he wants to escalate this fund to $ 5 billion a year, and “half of it goes to rural hospitals, and half of them will go to basic healthcare and prescription drugs and throwing physical therapy and occupational therapy, all others.”
The Republican and doctor Kansas said: “We should probably do it only for four or five years, then settle and see where we are.”
“I am the only person here who has ever managed a village hospital – I actually know something about them,” he added.
While Marshall said he loves “90%” of a wider bill, he said that he was not enough.
“But I can’t vote, so it would be the biggest cut in expenses in my life,” he said, noting that “the chamber will be difficult to vote against it.”
The size of the fund criticized
During merger with journalists, he loses Gleason with the budget project Missouri said that the stabilization fund was broken by legislators “would not deal with these problems.”
“Forty -three percent of Missouri rural hospitals are threatened with closure, and 17% are considered an immediate risk,” said Gleason, who spoke during a virtual press briefing organized by the leftist Budget Center and Priorities of Politics.
“These numbers do not include all other healthcare providers in rural communities, such as federally qualified health centers and others that work on these incredibly thin margins. So huge medicaid cuts are what creates the problem, and the only true way to solve it by Congress, so that Congress does not make these huge cuts,” she said.
“Problematic” cuts medicaid
Dream. Susan Collins was in favor of a much larger Fund for Stabilization of the Village Hospital, he was $ 100 billion.
“I don’t think this solved the whole problem,” said Republican and chairman of the Senate Senate Senate.
“Senate cuts in Medicaid are much deeper than cuts at home, and I think it’s also problematic.”
Senator Jim Justice from West Virginia said $ 15 billion “is better than zero.”
“You know, of course I would like it to be as high as possible,” he said, adding that rural hospitals are the “driving force of his state.
Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri, a raucous voice against the cuts of Medicaid benefits, said that the stabilization fund is “a good idea, but we will still have to solve long -term effects.”
When asked about the dollar figure, Hawley said: “It depends on its structure.”
The Senator of Republicans from Texas John Cnun said that he would still hear that the Senate would take procedural voting on Friday, although this is not stones.
“It should be a fun weekend for all of us,” said Cornn. “Can’t wait”.
When the Senate votes what is called the application for a continuation, there is a maximum of 20 hours of floor debate before the chamber must start the voting session of the marathon amendment and ultimately voting.
Snap stocks
The chairman of the Senate’s agriculture, John Boozman, Republican Arkansas, said that the changed version of his committee act has not yet been checked by the parliamentarian.
The updated text changes the restructuring section of the cost of the additional nutrition or SNAP program, a key food assistance program for low -income people.
This provision would require you to escalate the costs of the program for the first time. The amount guilty of the state will be determined on the basis of its fees for errors, with larger error indicators required a higher share.
Complex rules govern what can and can not be included in the middle. The parliamentarian Senate said that the language in the initial proposal was not in line with the principles of reconciliation of the Chamber.
The updated proposal would allow countries to be more malleable during the policy phase in the 2028 tax year, which allows them to choose the level of error in the 2025 or tax year 2026.
Boozman told journalists that the change tried to respond to the parliamentarian’s decision.
The parliamentary “asked us for permission to use another time period – he basically gave them more time to understand what their error level would be and plan” – said Bozman. “We adapted to it anyway and I think we satisfied it.”
Lee and Public Labs
Chairman of the energy and natural resources of the Senate Mike Lee from Utah apparently He narrowed the recipe that would order the sale of Bureau of Land Grains. He did not say in public where he was standing with the parliamentarian.
The committee spokesman did not return the information about the explanation on Tuesday and Wednesday, but the version of the change obtained Through the information media, they show changes in accordance with what Lee proposed on Monday.
These changes include limiting mandate sales only to BLM land – not American forest land, as Lee initially proposed – and reduce the percentage of agency land, which should be sold from 0.25% to 0.5%. The initial proposal required from 0.5% to 0.75%.
The updated provision would also require that these land located 5 miles from the center of the population should be sold and released those land that is currently used for grazing or other “important existing law, which is inconsistent with the development of apartments”, according to the development of apartments “, according to the development of apartments copy changes obtained as a result of hunting and in terms of outdoor publication.
The provision caused opposition from Western legislators, including a handful of conservatives.
But he also has its participation in fans. Alaska Republican Dan Sullivan told reporters that he had not seen updated text, but he remained supported this idea.
“I supported what Sen. Lee is trying to do,” he said. “We have many public countries in Alaska, which is abused by the federal government. But we have a good discussion on this subject, so I have to see the update.”
