USA CAPPOLA on Sunday, June 29, 2025 (photo Jennifer Shutt/States Newsroom)
Washington – the US Senate began a floor debate on the “large, beautiful account” of Republicans on Sunday afternoon, although there are a few steps to pass before legislation becomes a law, and each of them can lead to an additional GOP opposition – potentially condemning this measure.
Senators must complete the review of the Act with the parliamentarian to ensure that it meets the strict rules of using the reconciliation process, and then start the glove during the marathon amendment voting session.
Additional changes in the package with wide taxes and reduction of expenses, some of which were worked as a debate, must gather the support of almost every Republican in Congress. Otherwise, he will never become a law.
The leader of the majority of Senate John Thune signaled during a compact interview in the corridor, there may be enough votes for a fresh phrase in Medicaid changes in the Act – a reducing amendment in a sense how much the federal government spends on Medicaid in the states that extended the program as a result of healthcare law in 2010. Federal government Currently pays 90% of the cost of expansion.
“We will do our best to support the effort,” Thune said, referring to the amendment offered by Senator Florida Rick Scott, who was not yet public. “This is a great policy and something that exists with a high level of interest in our conference to become part of the law and of course gain significant savings.”
But Thune, rs.d., Sideteppperp, question about whether making this change would cause issues related to the number of votes if the Republicans in the Chamber with the affected districts oppose, potentially preventing the act from reaching the desk of President Donald Trump.
“We had some of these conversations with (speaker Mike Johnson) and others, as well as our colleagues for some time,” said Thune. “But I think that the way of this is designed and the way in which the dream. Scott wrote it; it should be something that I do not know how Republicans could not be in favor of what he is trying to do here.
“So, you know, we will cross this bridge when we come to it. Of course, we still have to deal with the debate and go through the amendment process and see what fate of the correction is on the floor.”
Currently, 41 states, including the Colombia district, have adopted the expansion of Medicaid, According to Organization of KFF healthcare research.
Spokesman Scott told States Newsroom that after finishing he would share his amendment.
Still smoothly
Usually, when the main legal act appears to the Senate floor, the text is set and the debate on the amendment is strictly controlled to make sure that gently negotiated offers do not fall apart in full public view.
This time it is not so and a lot can change before the senators give the final vote this week, potentially on Tuesday.
GOP leaders using the elaborate reconciliation process to transfer the draft law on signature policy through the Congress means that each provision must affect federal expenses or revenues that are not “only accidental”.
This applies to democrats and republicans before the Senate MP, official judge of the Chamber, for a dispute about dozens of regulations. Then he decides whether a given policy meets strict and sometimes gloomy principles.
This process has not yet ended when the debate about Megabill began and it is expected to continue when the 20-hour clock has a marathon amendment voting session.
Bill Senate would add $ 3.2 trillion to deficits
Among the Republicans, including at the Freedom Caucus house, there are also concerns on how the bill will affect the balance of the federal government over the next decade.
On Sunday morning, the Non -Party Congress Budget Office announced the Senate reduced tax and expenditure package will raise $ 3.253 trillion of deficits over the next decade compared to the current law.
Trump seemed to try to placid the fears through post in social media.
“For all costs, he lost the Republicans, of which I am one, remember, you still have to be re -elected,” wrote Trump. “Don’t go crazy! We’ll do all this, 10 times, with growth, more than ever before.”
Latest result It came a few hours before the officially senators of the floor debate on a wide package, which will extend the GOP tax law in 2017, transform how many states must contribute to the additional program for nutritional assistance, overview of several aspects of Medicaid and reduce its expenses, restructuring of support in higher education and much more.
Senators he voted mainly along the party line Late Saturday to continue legislation, although the leaders had to open the vote for over three hours when they worked on obtaining the necessary votes.
Even after taking this key procedural stage, the law continued to evolve.
The parliamentarian ruled on Sunday morning that the next six provisions must be changed to follow the rules or remove from 940-page package.
One sweetener Alaska knocked out
GOP senators cannot take into account or may be necessary to restructure, a language that aims to introduce republican senator Alaska Lisa Murkowski on board by increasing the federal Medicaid matching indicator in two states with a high level of poverty guidelines: Alaska and Hawaii. . Program for people with low income Some disabled people are conducted as a federal partnership.
Because Hawaii are represented in Congress by a democratic delegation, a republican benefit would largely apply to two GOP senators in Alaska.
Republicans of the Senate received good news from the parliamentarian in their latest ruling, which cleaned the language that will constantly reduce the maximum percentage of the state, can set tax rates for Medicaid suppliers from the current 6% to 3.5% in 2032.
The We-Weeds policy caused a significant frustration among GOP senators in the entire political spectrum, which argued that the earlier version would probably cause financial burden on rural hospitals, starting this process earlier.
Planned parenthood
The parliamentarian is still reviewing several other changes in politics in the bill, including whether Republicans can prevent Medicaid financing to planned parenting for a year, effectively blocking beneficiaries before receiving care.
Federal law will already take the federal dollars of taxpayers from switching to abortions with confined exceptions regarding rape, incest or life of a patient in pregnancy. Thus, the change would prevent Medicaid patients who can have several other options, the exploit of planned parenting to other types of healthcare, such as annual physics, contraception and cancer screening.
The earlier version of the Act blocked federal funds before going to planned parenting for the next decade.
The chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, did not immediately respond to the request from the newsroom of states about how the rulings can affect the bill.
The ranking of the finance committee of the Senate Ron Publisne, D-On., Wrote in a statement that recent rulings show: “a republican attempt to distribute gadgets, which the benefits that some countries will not pass on the basis of the principles of the Senate.”
“Democrats from the Senate also successfully questioned gifts for Big Pharma, as well as policies that make it difficult for seniors and children to obtain inexpensive healthcare through Medicaid,” he wrote. “Republicans wanted to restore healthcare tactics in the past, such as waiting periods, castles and annual care restrictions, but the Democrats have pulled them out of the bill. I am disappointed that the republican rewriting of tax changes will remain in the bill: this policy will force you to withdraw the cuts to health care for healthcare for healthcare, for which seniors, children and Americans They will be dependent on the disabled.
The amendment fights in advance
Republicans hope to go through the entire package before the fourth July, although they have several obstacles to overcome before they achieve this goal.
The debate on the floor in the Senate can take up to 20 hours. Then the senators will start the voting session of a marathon amendment, in which members of each political party can propose a change or removal of certain elements of regulations.
GOP leaders generally like to avoid public disputes in the party, but the principles of reconciliation do not really allow it, and several republican senators expect them to offer changes.
There is no time limit or limiting the number of corrections that can be offered while voting-a-ram, It can last hours and even days theoretically.
Whenever Democrats and Republicans decide that they debated in their last amendment, they will vote to approve the version of the “Big, Beautiful Bill” Senate.
At least 50 Republicans must vote for the approval of this measure, and the vote of the vice president of JD Vance. Over four GOP senators opposing the overall bill means that they cannot go as it is written.
Thom Tillis, Rand Paul
Republican sense. Thom Tillis from North Carolina and Rand Paul from Kentucky voted against progress with the debate, so it is likely that they will also vote against the final passage. Two consecutive senators that decide not to support the law would stop his rush, at least until the leader of GOP introduces changes to get a voice.
Tillis on Sunday announced He did not apply for re -election after he was attacked by Trump for voting against the promotion of the regulations.
The approval of the bill by the Senate would send her back to the Chamber for final voting, although the centrician and far -right members of the Republican Conference in this chamber expressed concerns about the changes introduced in the upper chamber.
Johnson, R-la., Will have to keep almost every 220 GOP House legislators if this chamber is to send legislation to Trump on his signature before Friday.
