Republican leaders will be asking Congress for a vote on the American Health Care Act (known as RyanCare) despite rounds of changes that were not released until midnight the night before the vote.
The move, which echoes Nancy Pelosi’s call to pass ObamaCare seven years ago, will have members of Congress voting on legislation they have not even read.
Some members have expressed their disgust with the move:
We must have the opportunity to read and understand the final bill before we vote. It's irresponsible to do otherwise. https://t.co/91HeTkY8Db
— Justin Amash (@justinamash) March 24, 2017
Additionally, the Congressional Budget Office has not had the opportunity to score the impact of the changes.
The last change to RyanCare resulted in the CBO downgrading the plan’s cost savings by half.
The plan now will save taxpayers a mere $140 billion over ten years but will still cost over $1.7 trillion dollars.
Additionally, plan premiums are expected to rise by 20% and stay elevated until at least 2020.
This will cost the average family another $3,600 annually for their health insurance – or the cost of a car payment each month.
Regardless of the flawed plan proposed by Paul Ryan and back in full by President Trump, Republicans are demanding a vote.
If the measure fails, President Trump has signaled that he will “allow” ObamaCare to stay in place and will give up on his full-throated campaign pledge to repeal the legislation.
Trump has also promised retribution to members of the Freedom Caucus who vote against RyanCare.