Firebrand Ted Cruz Finding Shades Of Gray In Previously Black-And-White Health Debate
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) has emerged as a central figure in Republicans' health law efforts and is cautiously embracing a one-time foreign word: compromise. In other news, conservatives have thrown up some red flags on changes to the American Health Care Act, staff departures uproot the Senate's ambitious agenda, health care groups that have been shut out of the process take their message directly to the American people, and more.
Texas Tribune:
Ted Cruz On Health Care Overhaul: "Of Course I'll Compromise"
Five years ago, Ted Cruz was running for an open U.S. Senate seat in Texas. One of his biggest talking points: repealing President Obama's 2010 health care law... Yet as U.S. Senate Republicans hash out how to unwind Obamacare behind closed doors, the world is not so black and white anymore for the junior senator from Texas, who is playing a central role in those negotiations that are virtually certain not to lead to a measure that repeals every word of Obamacare. (Livingston, 6/19)
The Hill:
RSC Warns Senate: Healthcare Changes May 'Jeopardize' Bill
The Republican Study Committee (RSC) is sending up a warning flare to Senate Republicans over changes to the ObamaCare repeal-and-replace bill, warning that the alterations “may jeopardize final passage in the House.” The RSC, which the largest bloc of conservatives in Congress, has drafted a letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) raising “serious concerns” with the direction of the Senate’s healthcare legislation. (Roubein, 6/19)
CQ Roll Call:
Senate GOP Staff Departures Undermine Health And Tax Agenda
Key Republican staffers are departing Capitol Hill now that the GOP controls Congress and the White House, raising questions about how the party will advance its ambitious agenda to overhaul the U.S. tax code and health care system. Senior personnel for the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee have departed and lobbyists say others are preparing to leave the Senate Finance Committee. A handful of health policy staffers for members on those panels have also left for jobs off Capitol Hill and a key individual on the Senate Budget Committee was recently nominated for a senior post at the State Department. (Williams, 6/19)
Marketplace:
On Health Care, Consumer Groups Have No Seat At The Table
The Senate is working to get its own version of the American Health Care Act ready before it goes on recess July 3. Only a small group of senators is working on it, without the input of many other people. This has been frustrating for some consumer groups, who say they’ve been locked out. (Ben-Achour, 6/19)
The New York Times:
C.B.O. Head, Who Prizes Nonpartisanship, Finds Work Under G.O.P. Attack
When much of Washington was glued to the testimony of former F.B.I. director James B. Comey this month, Keith Hall, the head of the Congressional Budget Office, was one of the few who averted their eyes from televisions. For Mr. Hall, avoiding political spectacles — anything politically partisan, really — has become second nature. On his commute to Capitol Hill, he tunes out the buzz of partisan chatter on talk radio. At home, cable news is a no-no. And because friends sometimes try to talk to him about politics, he has become a master in the art of the dodge. But the noise may soon be impossible to ignore. (Rappeport, 6/19)
Sacramento Bee:
California Is Worried About Losing Health Care
A new statewide poll found that Golden State supporters of the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, outnumber opponents by more than 2 to 1. About two-thirds of Californians say they support the law, including 45 percent who do so strongly, while just 26 percent say they’re against it, according to the poll released late Monday by UC Berkeley’s Institute of Governmental Studies and done for the California Health Care Foundation. (Cadelago, 6/19)
San Jose Mercury News:
Poll: Californians Fear Losing Coverage In Obamacare Reform
As the Republican-led U.S. Senate prepares to vote — possibly by next week — to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, a new poll shows that 56 percent of Californians worry that they or someone in their family will lose health insurance coverage if the law, commonly called Obamacare, is dismantled. The poll, by UC Berkeley’s Institute of Governmental Studies, comes at a time when a record number of Golden State residents — 65 percent — now support the Affordable Care Act, said Mark DiCamillo, who directs the Berkeley IGS poll. (Seipel, 6/19)
