The Senate failed to approve a proposal on Wednesday that would have repealed major parts of the Affordable Health Care Act.
The measure, called Clean Repeal, did not include a replacement for Obamacare, the health care act that Republicans vowed to get rid of when Donald Trump took office.
According to HotAir.com, clean repeal would have undone ObamaCare’s taxes and mandates while maintaining its regulations.
Seven Republicans voted with Democrats against the measure, which they say would have left millions of Americans without health insurance.
Because of the division of Republicans, the Senate does not have enough votes to replace the law or even repeal major parts of it, according to The New York Times.
The Senate will now work to pass what they call a "skinny" repeal measure, which only would repeal a few provisions of the law.
Still, even those changes could lead to about 15 million people without healthcare.
But Republicans said they just need a measure pushed through so negotiations can start.
“I think people would look at it not necessarily based on its content, but as a forcing mechanism to cause the two sides of the building to try to solve it together,” said Senator Bob Corker, Republican of Tennessee.
But Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the Democratic leader, called that “a ruse to get to full repeal."
"The skinny plan is not a replacement of Obamacare,” Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina, said. “Would it be better than Obamacare? Yeah. But that’s not the goal. The goal is to replace Obamacare.”
Photo: Sen. David Perdue (R-GA), speaking with an aide, and Sen. James Lankford (R-OK) walk to the Senate floor for a procedural vote on the GOP heath care plan, on Capitol Hill, July 25, 2017 in Washington, DC. The Senate voted to begin debate on a bill to repeal significant portions of the Affordable Care Act.
Photo courtesy: Drew Angerer/Getty Images
Publication date: July 27, 2017
