As House Republicans prepared to vote on their health care bill today, several of Louisiana’s GOP lawmakers said Thursday they were still reviewing the legislation.
USA Today reports Republican leaders were still making changes late Thursday to legislation that would repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wisconsin, postponed Thursday’s planned vote on the American Health Care Act as efforts continued to appease conservative and moderate lawmakers.
It’s hard to commit to supporting a measure that is still being negotiated, said Cole Avery, spokesman for Republican Rep. Ralph Abraham.
“Dr. Abraham believes that Obamacare is a failure and must be repealed,” Avery said. “There are a lot of things in motion with the AHCA, and he’s going to wait for the dust to settle before making a final decision as to whether this bill is the best path to lead us away from Obamacare.”
Today’s vote is expected to be close. Republican leaders, including Louisiana Rep. Steve Scalise, were pushing hard to garner enough support to pass the bill. With Democrats unified in opposition to the bill, the legislation will not pass if more than 22 Republicans vote against it.
Republican Rep. Clay Higgins says he will vote for the GOP plan, but other Louisiana lawmakers weren’t as locked in as of Thursday night. Spokespeople for Republican Reps. Mike Johnson and Garret Graves said they were still reviewing the plan. Rep. Cedric Richmond—the lone Democrat in the Louisiana delegation and chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus—opposes the bill and is urging his colleagues to vote against it.
USA Today has the full story.
