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Reconciliation Bill Dead On Arrival In The Senate

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The House is expected to vote on a reconciliation bill Friday designed to unravel Obamacare and defund Planned Parenthood for a year, but at least three Republican senators won’t support the bill on the grounds it doesn’t go far enough.

Sen. Mike Lee, and senators Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz, who are running for president, said they won’t support the bill in a statement Thursday. So every other Republican in the Senate would have to vote yes to reach the 51 vote threshold needed for the bill to pass.

‘This simply isn’t good enough,” the senators wrote. “Each of us campaigned on a promise to fully repeal Obamacare and a reconciliation bill is the best way to send such legislation to President Obama’s desk. If this bill cannot be amended so that it fully repeals Obamacare pursuant to Senate rules, we cannot support this bill.”

The legislation would repeal the individual and employer mandate, the Cadillac tax, the medical device tax and eliminate the Independent Payment Advisory Board. It would also defund Planned Parenthood for a year.

Heritage Action for America, the lobbying branch of the Heritage Foundation, came out against the measure and encouraged other lawmakers to reject the measure.

“This bill will not restore Americans’ health care freedom because it leaves the main pillars of the law in place,” Heritage Action spokesman Dan Holler said in a statement. “GOP leaders are violating an explicit promise made in the budget and walking back on their public commitment to fully repeal Obamacare.”

If the fast-track bill does make it through the House, it cannot be filibustered and only needs a simple majority vote in the Senate to pass, rather than the typical 60 votes.

The White House says it would veto the bill.

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