Senate Democrats are weighing whether they have enough procedural tricks — and stamina — to kill a possible GOP attempt to repeal Obamacare.
The Democrats are considering whether they could force enough amendment votes on the Senate floor to run out the clock and effectively kill the Obamacare repeal, by taking debate past Sept. 30, when the GOP’s special procedural tool to pass a bill with just a simple majority expires.
It could be the stuff of “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington” or even “Veep”: Democrats would have to stay awake to continue offering — and voting — on amendments for several days, or until the deadline passes. Or, if Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has the 50 votes to repeal Obamacare and the deadline loomed, he could shut down the process in a step critics say would forever change Senate precedent.
“It is a bill that reforms one-fifth of the American economy, in which senators have no opportunity to debate or amend until vote-a-rama,” said Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), using the nickname for the Senate process of voting on an unlimited number of amendments. “The only opportunity to debate this bill will be vote-a-rama.”
Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said Democrats haven’t yet made a decision on the best strategy to use if and when Republicans bring their last-ditch repeal bill to the floor.
“It’s physically possible,” Durbin said of the physical requirements of tying up the floor for multiple days in a chamber where the average lawmaker is 61 years old.
The unlimited amendment process, unique to the budget reconciliation process Republicans have embraced for the repeal effort, is a potentially powerful tool for the Senate minority. Members can force politically risky votes that can provide fodder for future campaigns and slow down a process they don’t support.
The amendment process usually ends at 3 or 4 in the morning, or when lawmakers tire out. A reconciliation vote-a-rama has not been cut off by the Senate majority leader without consent, and doing so could trigger a debate over parliamentary practices in the tradition-bound Senate.
Some Democrats speculate that McConnell would cut off debate if he has the votes to pass repeal and the deadline was near, calling it a “nuclear” move that would forever change the precedent of the Senate.
Curated from Senate Democrats ponder tying up repeal debate for days
