Tag Archives: Senate

Trump’s son, close associates to appear before Senate

FILE PHOTO - A combination photo of Donald Trump Jr. from July 11, 2017, Jared Kushner from June 6, 2017 and Paul Manafort from August 17, 2016. REUTERS/Brian Snyder, Carlo Allegri (R)/File Photo

By Patricia Zengerle and Jeff Mason

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Donald Trump’s son Donald Trump Jr., son-in-law Jared Kushner and former campaign manager Paul Manafort have been asked to appear before U.S. Senate committees next week to answer questions about the campaign’s alleged connections to Russia, officials said on Wednesday.

The three men are the closest associates of the president to be called to speak to lawmakers involved in probing Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election and possible collusion with the Trump campaign.

Trump, who came into office in January, has been dogged by allegations that his campaign officials were connected to Russia, which U.S. intelligence agencies have accused of interfering in last year’s election.

Trump has denied any collusion.

The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee said on Wednesday that it had called Trump’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., and Manafort to testify on July 26 at a hearing.

The president’s son released emails earlier this month that showed him eagerly agreeing to meet last year with a woman he was told was a Russian government lawyer who might have damaging information about Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.

The meeting was also attended by Manafort and Kushner, who is now a senior adviser at the White House.

Kushner is scheduled to be interviewed by the Senate Intelligence Committee on Monday, July 24, behind closed doors.

“Working with and being responsive to the schedules of the committees, we have arranged Mr. Kushner’s interview with the Senate for July 24,” Kushner’s attorney, Abbe Lowell, said in a statement. “He will continue to cooperate and appreciates the opportunity to assist in putting this matter to rest.”

A special counsel, Robert Mueller, is also conducting an investigation of Russian meddling in the U.S. election and any collusion between Moscow and Trump’s campaign.

The issue has overshadowed Trump’s tenure in office and irritated the president, who told the New York Times on Wednesday that he would not have appointed ally and former Senator Jeff Sessions as attorney general if he had known Sessions would recuse himself from oversight of the Russia probe.

“Sessions should have never recused himself, and if he was going to recuse himself, he should have told me before he took the job and I would have picked somebody else,” Trump said in the interview.

Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, a Democratic member of the Judiciary Committee, said the committee’s hearing would enable the panel to begin to get testimony under oath.

“There has been an enormous amount that has been said publicly but it’s not under oath, which means that people are free to omit matters or lie with relative impunity,” Whitehouse told CNN.

The Senate Intelligence Committee is conducting one of the main investigations of Russia’s meddling in the 2016 U.S. election and possible collusion by Trump associates, but the Judiciary committee has been looking into related issues.

The public Judiciary hearing on Wednesday will look into rules governing the registration of agents working for foreign governments in the United States and foreign attempts to influence U.S. elections.

Chuck Grassley, the committee’s Republican chairman, has said he wanted to question the Trump associates, but has also raised concerns about why the Obama administration allowed Natalia Veselnitskaya, the Russian lawyer who attended the Trump Tower meeting in June, into the United States.

He also has called before the committee and threatened to subpoena Glenn Simpson, a co-founder of Fusion GPS, a firm that commissioned former British intelligence agent Christopher Steele to dig up opposition research on Trump, when he was a presidential candidate.

(Reporting by Patricia Zengerle and Jeff Mason; Additional reporting by Eric Beech, David Alexander and Julia Ainsley; Editing by Toni Reinhold)

Senate Republicans reluctantly consider bipartisan healthcare talks

Healthcare activists with Planned Parenthood and the Center for American Progress protest in opposition to the Senate Republican healthcare bill on Capitol Hill in Washington, June 28, 2017. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts

By Amanda Becker and Susan Cornwell

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – As their seven-year effort to repeal and replace Obamacare derailed in the U.S. Senate, Republicans faced the prospect of doing the once unthinkable: working with Democrats to make fixes to former President Barack Obama’s 2010 healthcare law.

Bipartisan breakthroughs would likely come in the form of individual bills targeted at issues such as stabilizing insurance markets or lowering prescription drug costs. A wholesale overhaul of healthcare, senators say, is a bridge too far for the two parties, locked for years in an ideological battle on that issue and many others.

Democrats, clearly delighted with the turn of events, welcomed the Republicans’ failure to replace Obamacare as an opportunity to work together. Republicans conceded their other options may be exhausted.

“This is our moment, we have been waiting for this moment for months and months and in fact for years,” Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar said at a Tuesday news conference.

Democrats are united in opposing repeal of the Affordable Care Act, popularly known as Obamacare, which boosted the number of Americans with health insurance through mandates on individuals and employers, and income-based subsidies.

The No. 2 Senate Republican, John Cornyn, told reporters it was “unfortunate” that he expected bipartisan talks to begin.

“Democrats are strongly committed to Obamacare and are unwilling to admit structural problems, which create the problems we are having in the individual market today,” Cornyn said. “But we’ll do the best we can with the hand we’ve been dealt.”

President Donald Trump invited all Republican senators to have lunch at the White House on Wednesday to discuss healthcare and other priorities, an administration official said, adding without elaboration: “There is movement on healthcare.”

Repealing and replacing Obama’s signature healthcare law was a top campaign promise for Trump and Republicans in Congress, who say it is a costly intrusion into the healthcare system.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, working for the first time on major legislation with Republican control of both chambers of Congress and the White House, conceded on Monday night that there was not enough Republican consensus around his revised bill to replace Obamacare. He said he would instead hold a straight repeal vote sometime next week.

But at least three Republican senators have already said they oppose repealing Obamacare without an agreement on replacement legislation, likely dooming its prospects. McConnell can only lose two votes from his 52-seat majority in the 100-seat Senate to pass healthcare legislation.

Senate Republicans passed a straight repeal bill two years ago, but Obama vetoed it. The upcoming repeal vote will include a two-year delay, McConnell said.

That would “give us an opportunity to build something better on a bipartisan basis, that’s what I sense most of our members would like to vote on now, and we’ll be doing that in the near future,” McConnell told a news conference on Tuesday.

SHORING UP STATE MARKETS

An initial hurdle in coming weeks will be shoring up faltering state insurance markets by ensuring that insurers keep receiving subsidies that help lower the cost of insurance for low-income individuals.

The Trump administration will continue making the subsidy payments through August while a related Republican lawsuit is pending. The uncertainty beyond that has rattled insurers.

Republican senators have acknowledged the need to address the unstable markets but resisted Democratic calls to fund the subsidies without accompanying reforms, calling it a “bailout” for insurance companies.

Funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program, a part of the Medicaid government health insurance program for the poor and disabled, known as CHIP, expires on Sept. 30 and will require reauthorization.

Bills to address the subsidy payments and CHIP would likely require 60 votes for passage, acting as a barometer of how inclined Republicans and Democrats are to work together, industry lobbyists and experts said.

Trump suggested on Tuesday that Republicans should allow the insurance markets to fail before working with Democrats. But Republican Senator Lamar Alexander, the head of the Senate Committee on Health, Labor and Pensions, said he would begin holding hearings on the issue in the next few weeks.

Senator Patty Murray, the top Democrat on the panel, said it would be “very smart” for lawmakers to work together to stabilize the markets by funding the subsidies.

“It would send a very strong message to the market, if Congress passes a bill. … I think that would do a lot to create some stabilization that is much needed,” Murray told Reuters.

(Additional reporting by Yasmeen Abutaleb; Editing by Mary Milliken and Peter Cooney)

Senate delays healthcare vote as McCain recovers from surgery

Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) speaks with reporters about the Senate health care bill on Capitol Hill

By David Morgan

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Senate will delay its consideration of healthcare legislation while Arizona Republican Senator John McCain recuperates from surgery, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said on Saturday.

McCain’s absence cast doubt on whether the Senate would be able to pass the legislation to dismantle and replace Obamacare. McConnell needs 50 “yes” votes for passage in a chamber the Republicans control by a 52-48 margin.

“While John is recovering, the Senate will continue our work on legislative items and nominations, and will defer consideration of the Better Care Act,” McConnell said in a statement.

The announcement came after McCain’s office said he would remain in Arizona next week following a procedure to remove a 2-inch (5-cm) blood clot from above his left eye.

Repealing and replacing President Barack Obama’s signature healthcare law was a top campaign promise for President Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress.

But two Republican senators have already declared their opposition to revised legislation unveiled on Thursday.

McCain has expressed concern about the healthcare bill but has not said how he would vote.

The 2008 Republican presidential nominee, McCain was resting comfortably at home in good condition after Friday’s operation, his office said.

“There are few people tougher than my friend John McCain, and I know he’ll be back with us soon,” McConnell said.

McCain’s surgeons removed the clot during a minimally invasive craniotomy through an incision in the 80-year-old lawmaker’s eyebrow. Tissue pathology reports would be available within the next several days.

“Thanks to @MayoClinic for its excellent care — I appreciate your support and look forward to getting back to work!” McCain, who chairs the Senate Armed Services Committee, said on social network Twitter late on Saturday.

 

(Reporting by David Morgan; Editing by Cynthia Osterman and Clarence Fernandez)

 

One more Republican defection would doom Senate healthcare bill

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell speaks with reporters about the Senate health care bill on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., July 13, 2017. REUTERS/Aaron P. Bernstein

By Susan Cornwell and David Alexander

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Donald Trump turned up the heat on Friday on fellow Republicans in the U.S. Senate to pass a bill dismantling the Obamacare law, but with their retooled healthcare plan drawing fire within the party even one more defection would doom it.

Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has planned for a vote next week on revised legislation, unveiled on Thursday, and he has his work cut out for him in the coming days to get the 50 “yes” votes needed for passage. Republicans control the Senate by a 52-48 margin and cannot afford to lose more than two from within their ranks because of united Democratic opposition, but two Republican senators already have declared opposition.

“After all of these years of suffering thru Obamacare, Republican Senators must come through as they have promised,” Trump, who made gutting Obamacare one of his central campaign promises last year, wrote on Twitter from Paris, where he attended Bastille Day celebrations.

The top U.S. doctors’ group, the American Medical Association, on Friday called the new bill inadequate and said more bipartisan collaboration is needed in the months ahead to improve the delivery and financing of healthcare. Hospital and medical advocacy groups also have criticized the bill.

“The revised bill does not address the key concerns of physicians and patients regarding proposed Medicaid cuts and inadequate subsidies that will result in millions of Americans losing health insurance coverage,” AMA President Dr. David Barbe said, referring to the government insurance program for the poor and disabled.

A major test for McConnell’s legislation expected early next week is an analysis by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, which last month forecast that the prior version of the bill would have resulted in 22 million Americans losing insurance over the next decade.

A day after that CBO analysis was issued, McConnell postponed a planned vote on the legislation because of a revolt within his own party, including moderates and hard-line conservatives.

While the bill’s prospects may look precarious, the same could have been said of healthcare legislation that ultimately was passed by the House of Representatives. Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan called off a vote in March in the face of a rebellion involving the disparate factions of the party but managed to coax enough lawmakers to back it and engineered narrow approval on May 4.

PENCE SEEKS SUPPORT

Vice President Mike Pence sought to shore up support among the nation’s governors at a meeting in Rhode Island, but a key Republican governor, Ohio’s John Kasich, came out strongly against the revised bill, saying its Medicaid cuts were too deep and it does too little to stabilize the insurance market.

Kasich’s opposition could put pressure on Rob Portman, a Republican senator from Ohio, who has not yet taken a position on the bill.

If the current Senate legislation collapses, some lawmakers have raised the possibility of seeking bipartisan legislation to fix parts of Obamacare but leaving intact the structure of the Affordable Care Act, Democratic former President Barack Obama’s signature legislative achievement, commonly known as Obamacare.

“There are changes that need to be made to the law,” Dick Durbin, the No. 2 Senate Democrat, told MSNBC, citing “a bipartisan appetite to tackle this issue.”

Moderate Susan Collins and conservative Rand Paul already oppose the revised Senate bill. Other Republican senators have either expressed concern or remained noncommittal, including Portman, Mike Lee, Shelley Moore Capito, John McCain, Dean Heller, John Hoeven, Lisa Murkowski, Jeff Flake, Ben Sasse, Cory Gardner, Todd Young and Thom Tillis. Republican Senators Lindsey Graham and Bill Cassidy floated an alternative plan.

The new version was crafted to satisfy the Republican Party’s various elements, including moderates worried about Americans who would be left without medical coverage and hard-line conservatives who demand less government regulation of health insurance.

A provision championed by Republican Senator Ted Cruz and aimed at attracting conservatives would let insurers sell cheap, bare-bones insurance policies that would not have to cover broad benefits mandated under Obamacare.

But two major health insurance groups, America’s Health Insurance Plans and the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, called on McConnell to drop the Cruz proposal, saying it would undermine protections for pre-existing medical conditions, raise insurance premiums and destabilize the individual insurance market.

The bill retained certain Obamacare taxes on the wealthy that the earlier version would have eliminated, a step moderates could embrace. But it kept the core of the earlier bill, including ending the expansion of Medicaid that was instrumental in enabling Obamacare to expand coverage to 20 million people, and restructuring that social safety-net program.

John Thune, a member of the Senate Republican leadership, said in order to complete work on the bill by the end of next week, Senate leaders would have to try to formally begin debate on Tuesday or Wednesday, a move that requires a majority vote.

(Reporting by Susan Cornwell and David Alexander; Writing by Will Dunham; Editing by Bernadette Baum and Jonathan Oatis)

Feuding U.S. Senate Republicans to get revised healthcare bill

Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) speaks with reporters about the Senate health care bill on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., July 12, 2017. REUTERS/Aaron P. Bernstein

By Susan Cornwell

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Senate Republican leaders are expected to unveil a new version of their legislation to repeal and replace Obamacare on Thursday, amid continued feuding among lawmakers over what should go in the bill and uncertainty over its prospects.

With his reputation as a skillful strategist hanging in the balance, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell will present the revised bill in a bid to unite disparate Republican factions and deliver on his party’s signature issue in the 2016 elections. He is aiming for a vote next week.

A Wednesday closed-door meeting did not resolve several disputes among moderate and conservative Republicans over the bill’s contents, senators said.

But President Donald Trump, in an interview with the Christian Broadcasting Network, said he would be “very angry” if he does not get a bill on his desk to repeal and replace the 2010 Affordable Care Act, otherwise known as Obamacare.

John Cornyn, the Senate’s No. 2 Republican, told Reuters in a Capitol hallway many senators had come to realize they could talk about healthcare “endlessly” without deciding anything. “That’s why it’s important that we go ahead and schedule the vote,” he said.

The House of Representatives passed a healthcare overhaul bill last month. In the interview on Wednesday, the Republican president said McConnell “has to pull it off” in the Senate.

Several of the Senate’s 52 Republicans said they were waiting to see the revised legislation before deciding whether to back it. This made it difficult to predict whether it can gather the minimum of 50 votes it will need to pass the 100-vote chamber, with Vice President Mike Pence ready to cast a tie-breaking vote for the bill.

Democrats are united in opposition to the effort to scrap Obamacare.

Conservative Republican Senator Rand Paul made clear he was against the bill and would not even vote to advance it procedurally. He said it would be “worse” than a previous draft because it is expected to leave in place some of the Obamacare taxes on wealthy Americans.

Cornyn said one unresolved issue was whether to include a proposal by conservative Republican Ted Cruz that would let insurers offer basic low-cost healthcare plans that do not comply with Obamacare regulations. Some moderates dislike this, saying it could leave insurers charging more for comprehensive plans that do comply with Obamacare. Insurers weighed in strongly against the idea on Wednesday as well.

The previous draft of the bill unveiled last month would phase out the Obamacare expansion of Medicaid health insurance for the poor and disabled, sharply cut federal Medicaid spending beginning in 2025, repeal many of Obamacare’s taxes, end a penalty on individuals who do not obtain insurance and overhaul Obamacare’s subsidies to help people buy insurance with tax credits.

Moderate Republican senators are uneasy about the millions of people forecast to lose their medical insurance under the legislation and hard-line conservatives say it leaves too much of Obamacare intact.

(Additional reporting by Yasmeen Abutaleb and Caroline Humer; Editing by Mary Milliken and Tom Brown)

Senate may vote on revised healthcare bill next week

Senate Majority Leader Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) attends a new conference following party policy lunch meeting at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S. July 11, 2017. REUTERS/Carlos Barria

By Yasmeen Abutaleb and Susan Cornwell

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Senate Republicans said Tuesday they will seek to bring their healthcare overhaul to the Senate floor next week after a lengthy intraparty struggle, but it remained unclear whether they had the votes to pass the measure or even what form it would finally take.

With his reputation as a master strategist on the line, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell laid out a timetable for Senate consideration of legislation to fulfill President Donald Trump’s campaign promise to dismantle the 2010 Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare.

In a departure from Republican orthodoxy on tax-cutting, the legislation likely will retain some of the taxes that were imposed on the wealthy under Obamacare, Senate sources said.

But it was unknown whether a revised version of the bill to be announced on Thursday morning can satisfy both moderates and hard-line conservatives in the Republican majority who voiced opposition to a draft unveiled last month on very different grounds.

With Trump urging the Senate to act before taking the August break, McConnell pushed back the Senate’s planned August recess by two weeks to allow senators more time to tackle the measure that would repeal key parts of Obamacare, as well as pursue other legislative priorities.

McConnell’s announcement drove a turn-around in stock prices in afternoon trading on Wall Street after an earlier sell-off, on hopes that a shortened recess could mean progress on the stalled Republican legislative agenda.

A dark mood lingered among some Republicans over the healthcare subject, with party leaders appearing to act because of the need to dispense with healthcare and turn to other issues, among them increasing the U.S. debt ceiling.

“I think we’ve narrowed down now to where we know where the decision points are, and we just have to make those decisions,” Senator John Thune, a junior member of the Republican leadership, told reporters. Leaders were still trying to “figure out how we get to 50” votes, he said.

Republicans, who hold 52 seats in the 100-seat Senate, would need 50 votes to pass the bill, with Vice President Mike Pence providing the tie-breaking vote.

“I am very pessimistic” about the prospects for Republican healthcare legislation, Chuck Grassley, a senior senator, told Fox News on Tuesday. Another Republican senator, Lindsey Graham, was working on his own healthcare proposal and will unveil it this week, a Graham aide said.

KEEPING OBAMACARE TAXES

McConnell said the plan was to vote on the healthcare bill next week, and said he hoped to have a fresh analysis of the bill from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office at the start of the week. He did not reveal any of the planned changes to the draft, on which he postponed action last month after it failed to gather enough support.

But Senate sources said it is likely that two Obamacare taxes on the wealthy will be kept in place – a 3.8 percent net investment tax and a 0.9 percent payroll tax that helps finance Medicare – which would appeal to moderates who have balked at the prospect of cutting taxes for the wealthy while reducing benefits for the poor.

“Obviously that’s the direction I think that a lot of our members want to move, is to keep some of those (taxes) in place and be able to use those revenues to put it into other places in the bill,” Thune said, while stressing that no decisions were final.

Republicans could also retain Obamacare’s limit on corporate tax deductions for executive pay in the health insurance industry, one Senate source said.

It was unclear whether the bill would include a proposal by conservative Republican Ted Cruz that would allow insurers to offer basic low-cost healthcare plans that do not comply with Obamacare regulations.

Cruz argues it would help to lower premiums, but critics say it would allow insurers to offer skimpier plans that may not cover essential health benefits while also charging more for more comprehensive, Obamacare-compliant plans.

The Senate Republican healthcare bill unveiled last month would phase out the Obamacare expansion of Medicaid health insurance for the poor and disabled, sharply cut federal Medicaid spending beginning in 2025, repeal many of Obamacare’s taxes, end a penalty on individuals who do not obtain insurance and overhaul Obamacare’s subsidies to help people buy insurance with tax credits.

Democrats are united in opposition to the bill and at least 10 Republicans have said they oppose the existing draft. The House of Representatives passed its own version in May.

Moderate Republicans are uneasy about the millions of people forecast to lose their medical insurance under the draft legislation, and hard-line conservatives say it leaves too much of Obamacare intact.

Democrats call the Republican legislation a giveaway to the rich that would hurt the most vulnerable Americans.

(Additional reporting by David Morgan and Amanda Becker; Writing by Susan Cornwell and Tom Brown; Editing by Mary Milliken and Leslie Adler)

Trump presses congressional Republicans to pass healthcare plan

By Susan Heavey and Susan Cornwell

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Donald Trump on Monday prodded the Republican-led U.S. Congress to pass major healthcare legislation but huge obstacles remained in the Senate as key lawmakers in his party voiced pessimism about the chances of rolling back the Obamacare law.

The House of Representatives approved its healthcare bill in May but the Senate’s version appeared to be in growing trouble as lawmakers returned to Washington from a week-long recess.

“I cannot imagine that Congress would dare to leave Washington without a beautiful new HealthCare bill fully approved and ready to go!” Trump wrote on Twitter, referring to the seven-year Republican quest to dismantle Democratic former President Barack Obama’s signature legislative achievement.

Trump appeared to be referring to the August recess that lawmakers typically take.

Senate Republican leaders have faced a revolt within their ranks, with moderate senators uneasy about the millions of Americans forecast to lose their medical insurance under the legislation and hard-line conservatives saying the bill leaves too much of Obamacare intact.

Republican Senator Pat Toomey said a new version of the legislation is expected to be released on Monday, telling the CNBC program “Squawk Box” that “there’s a shot” of getting to the 50 votes his party needs to win passage in the 100-seat Senate, with Vice President Mike Pence casting a tie-breaking vote.

Repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act, dubbed Obamacare, was a central campaign pledge for Trump.

Obamacare expanded health insurance coverage to some 20 million people, with much of the increase due to an expansion of the Medicaid government health insurance program for the poor and disabled.

Republicans criticize the law as a costly government intrusion into the healthcare system while Democrats call the Republican legislation a giveaway to the rich that will hurt millions of the most vulnerable Americans.

“The Senate now is literally within weeks of being able to deliver on that promise to the American people,” Pence said in an interview with conservative radio host Laura Ingraham, adding there is “not yet agreement” in the Senate “but we are close.”

Some Republican lawmakers were more pessimistic, with Senator John McCain saying on Sunday the legislation is “probably going to be dead.”

Opponents of the legislation are expected to hold protests in Washington, organizing sit-ins at congressional offices, holding marches and stage vigils outside Republican senators’ homes. During last week’s recess, liberal groups organized town hall meetings and protests and ran advertisements criticizing the bill.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell faces the tricky task of crafting a bill that can attract Republican moderates and hard-line conservatives in a chamber his party controls with a slim 52-48 majority.

The Senate legislation would phase out the Medicaid expansion, drastically cut federal Medicaid spending beginning in 2025, repeal most of Obamacare’s taxes, end a penalty on Americans who do not obtain insurance and overhaul Obamacare’s subsidies to help people buy insurance with tax credits.

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, which assesses the impact of legislation, has estimated 22 million people would lose health insurance over the next decade under the Senate bill.

Shares of U.S. hospital companies and health insurers, which have been particularly sensitive to developments involving the healthcare legislation, were mixed in midday trading on Monday.

Among hospital stocks, Tenet Healthcare Corp edged up 0.3 percent while HCA Healthcare Inc fell 0.5 percent.

Insurer Anthem Inc inched up 0.1 percent while Centene Corp, an insurer focused on Medicaid, was flat.

The broader S&P 500 healthcare sector was off 0.1 percent, underperforming a 0.2 percent gain for the overall S&P .SPX.

(For a graphic on who’s covered under Medicaid, click http://bit.ly/2u3O2Mu)

 

(Additional reporting by Doina Chiacu; Writing by Will Dunham; Editing by Tom Brown)

 

Senate revises Russia sanctions bill, sends it to House

National flags of Russia and the U.S. fly at Vnukovo International Airport in Moscow, Russia April 11, 2017. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov

By Patricia Zengerle

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Senate resolved a technical issue on Thursday that had stalled a new package of sanctions on Russia but the measure faces opposition in the House that could mean more delays, lawmakers said.

The Countering Iran’s Destabilizing Activities Act, which also includes the Russia sanctions, passed the Senate in a 98-2 vote on June 15.

Many lawmakers hoped the bill would become law in time to send a strong message to Russian President Vladimir Putin before President Donald Trump’s meeting with him in Germany next week.

But the Senate bill stalled when House Republican leaders said it violated a constitutional requirement that legislation affecting revenues originate in the House, known as a “blue slip” violation.

Lawmakers from the two chambers have bickered about it since. Democrats accused House Republicans of trying to kill the bill to please Trump after administration officials said they had concerns about it. House Republican leaders insisted their objection was solely a procedural one.

“The speaker has made clear that we will take up sanctions once the House receives it,” said AshLee Strong, a spokeswoman for Speaker Paul Ryan.

The Senate resolved the procedural issue on Thursday. But the delay means the House will not vote until after the G20, because of Congress’ recess next week.

“This is now going to be a referendum on the Republican leadership, if they are going to go along with the president’s coddling of Putin and the Russians, then that will have to be their legacy,” said Representative Eliot Engel, the top House Foreign Affairs Committee Democrat.

Engel and Republican committee chairman Ed Royce have said they want the sanctions passed quickly.

Some House Republicans have reservations. Representative Pete Sessions, whose home state of Texas is central to U.S. energy, said he wanted assurances about how the bill would affect businesses.

Representative Mark Meadows said he would look at the bill closely after hearing from the Italian, German and British ambassadors, who had energy-related concerns.

“It could potentially run into trouble. But it’s too early to tell,” Meadows said.

The legislation would put into law sanctions previously established via ex-President Barack Obama’s executive orders. It includes sanctions on mining and other industries, and targets Russians responsible for cyber attacks or supplying weapons to Syria’s government.

It also sets up a review process that would require Trump to get Congress’ approval before easing sanctions on Russia.

(Reporting by Patricia Zengerle; Additional reporting by Amanda Becker; Editing by Frances Kerry and Bill Trott)

Facing revolt on healthcare bill, U.S. Senate Republicans delay vote

Protesters demonstrate the Republican healthcare bill outside Republican Congressman Darrell Issa's office in Vista, California, June 27, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Blake

By Susan Cornwell and Richard Cowan

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Senate Republican leaders postponed a vote on a healthcare overhaul on Tuesday after resistance from members of their own party, and President Donald Trump summoned Republican senators to the White House to urge them to break the impasse.

The delay put the future of a longtime top Republican priority in doubt amid concerns about the Senate bill from both moderate and conservative Republicans. With Democrats united in their opposition, Republicans can afford to lose only two votes among their own ranks in the Senate.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell had been pushing for a vote ahead of the July 4 recess that starts at the end of the week. The legislation would repeal major elements of Obamacare and shrink the Medicaid government healthcare program for the poor.

“We’re going to press on,” McConnell said after announcing the delay, adding that leaders would keep working to make senators “comfortable” with the bill. “We’re optimistic we’re going to get to a result that is better than the status quo.”

At the White House meeting with most of the 52 Republican senators, Trump said it was vital to reach agreement on the Senate healthcare measure because Obamacare was “melting down.”

“So we’re going to talk and we’re going to see what we can do. We’re getting very close,” Trump told the senators. But he added, “If we don’t get it done, it’s just going to be something that we’re not going to like, and that’s okay.”

McConnell, whose party has a razor-thin majority in the 100-member Senate, told reporters that Republican leaders would work through the week to win over the 50 senators needed to pass the bill, with a vote planned after the recess. Vice President Mike Pence could provide the crucial vote needed to break a tie.

“I think we can get 50 votes to yes by the end of the week,” Republican Senator Roger Wicker said after the White House meeting.

REPUBLICAN OPPOSITION GROWS

The House of Representatives last month passed its own version of a healthcare bill, but the Senate bill has been criticized from both the left and the right. Moderate Republicans worried millions of people would lose their insurance. Conservatives said the bill does not do enough to erase Obamacare.

The bill’s prospects were not helped by a Congressional Budget Office analysis on Monday saying it would cause 22 million Americans to lose insurance over the next decade, although it would reduce the federal deficit by $321 billion over that period.

The report prompted Senator Susan Collins, a Republican moderate, to say she could not support the bill as it stands. At least four conservative Republican senators said they were still opposed after the CBO analysis.

Three more Republicans, Rob Portman of Ohio, Jerry Moran of Kansas and Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia, said after the delay was announced that they oppose the current draft.

Portman and Capito cited the bill’s Medicaid cutbacks and how that would hurt efforts to combat the opioid epidemic that has taken a heavy toll in their states. The Medicaid program was expanded under former President Barack Obama’s signature healthcare law.

“I think giving time to digest is a good thing,” Republican Senator Bob Corker said after the delay was announced.

“UNCERTAINTY” ON WALL STREET

U.S. stock prices fell, as the decision to postpone the vote added to investor worries about Trump’s ability to deliver on his promises of tax reform and deregulation, as well as changes to the health sector. Those expected changes have driven a rally in U.S. stocks this year.

The benchmark S&P 500 index closed down 0.8 percent, and the Dow Jones industrial average finished down 0.46 percent.

“The market likes certainty and now there’s uncertainty. What is this going to look like when this gets out of the next iteration?” said Peter Costa, president of trading firm Empire Executions Inc.

Passing the measure would be a win for Trump as he seeks to shift attention after weeks of questions over Russia’s role in last year’s U.S. presidential election.

McConnell has promised since 2010 that Republicans, who view Obamacare as a costly government intrusion, would destroy the law “root and branch” if they controlled Congress and the White House. Republicans worry a failure to deliver will cost them votes in next year’s congressional elections.

If the Senate passes a healthcare bill, it will either have to be approved by the House or the two chambers would reconcile the differences in a conference committee. Otherwise, the House could pass a new version and send it back to the Senate.

Lawmakers are expected to leave town by Friday for their July 4 holiday break, which runs all next week. The Senate returns to work on July 10, the House on July 11. Lawmakers then have three weeks in session before their month-long August recess.

(This story corrects Dow Jones industrial average’s percent loss in 16th paragraph.)

(Additional reporting by Yasmeen Abulateb, Amanda Becker, Eric Walsh, Susan Heavey and Tim Ahmann; Writing by John Whitesides and Frances Kerry; Editing by Leslie Adler)

Republican leaders work to buoy Senate healthcare bill

FILE PHOTO: U.S. Vice President Mike Pence attends a healthcare listening session at the White House in Washington, DC, U.S. June 5, 2017. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts

By Susan Cornwell and Richard Cowan

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Republican leaders are in a frenzied push to shore up support for a healthcare bill in the U.S. Senate after a non-partisan congressional office said on Monday it would cause 22 million Americans to lose insurance over the next decade.

Vice President Mike Pence is expected to travel to Capitol Hill on Tuesday to join Senate Republicans for a policy lunch before hosting a key conservative senator for dinner.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell will continue meeting on-the-fence senators facing questions from their governors and state Medicaid offices about the bill’s cuts to the government insurance program for the poor and disabled, lawmakers said.

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) analysis on Monday prompted Senator Susan Collins, a key moderate vote, to say she could not support moving forward on the bill as it was written.

At least four conservative Republicans – Senators Ted Cruz, Rand Paul, Ron Johnson and Mike Lee – said their opposition remained unchanged after the CBO analysis.

Further, Collins, Paul and Johnson, along with Senator Dean Heller, have all said they will oppose a procedural motion that would allow McConnell to move forward and bring the bill up for a vote. Heller, a moderate Republican up for re-election next year in Nevada, is already facing political fallout after a group started by former campaign aides to President Donald Trump and Pence promised to run ads against him.

The overlapping concerns and competing interests of the lawmakers highlights the balancing act facing McConnell as he tries to unify his party and deliver a legislative win to the president.

Trump – and most Republicans in Congress – were elected on campaign pledges to repeal and replace Obamacare, Democratic President Barack Obama’s signature 2010 law that extended insurance coverage to some 20 million Americans. The pressure is on for them to deliver now that they control the White House, House of Representatives and Senate.

McConnell’s goal was to vote on the bill before the July 4 recess that starts at the end of this week. He can afford to lose just two Republican senators from their 52-seat majority in the 100-seat Senate to pass healthcare, with Pence casting the tie-breaking vote.

Moderate senators are concerned about millions of people losing insurance. Conservative senators have said the Senate bill does not do enough to repeal Obamacare.

The CBO is only able to assess the impact of legislation within a 10-year window, but it said insurance losses were expected to grow beyond 22 million due to deep cuts to Medicaid that are not scheduled to go into effect until 2025. The CBO estimated it would decrease the budget deficit by $321 billion between 2017 and 2026.

If the Senate passes a bill, it will either have to be approved by the House, which passed its own version last month, or the two chambers would have to reconcile their differences in a conference committee. Otherwise, the House could pass a new version and bounce it back to the Senate.

(Writing by Amanda Becker; Additional reporting by Yasmeen Abulateb, Amanda Becker and Eric Walsh; Editing by Paul Tait)