Senate with Vice President Pence Casting Tie-Breaker Vote, 51-50, Will Take Up the Health Care Bill. Senator Gillebrand “hard-pressed to remember a vote in the U.S. Senate that has treated the American people with less respect.” | WHITE PLAINS CITIZENETREPORTER 3,374,995 VISITS IN ONE YEAR---65,000 VISITS A WEEK BY 985,281 VISITORS

WPCNR WASHINGTON WIRE. From the Associated Press. July 25, 2017:

The U.S. Senate will take up the Republican drafted bill to replace the Affordable Health Care Act as a result of today’s Senate vote.

The Senate deadlocked 50-50 on whether to move forward with the health care debate, forcing Vice President Mike Pence to cast the tie-breaking vote and send the bill to the Senate floor.

The vote was enabled to be successful by Republican Senator John McCain, who had previously voiced major opposition to the Republican bill, returning from his hospitalization to attend the senate for the vote, and voting to take up debate on the bill. Pence broke the tie. Forty-seven other Republicans also voted to take up debate on the replacement bill, with just two, Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski were the two Republican Senators to oppose the bill, though at least 4 others, including McCain,had lead many to believe a positive vote to take up repeal would not be successful.

N.Y. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand today released the following statement on the Senate vote to open debate on the repeal of the Affordable Care Act:

“I am hard-pressed to remember a vote in the U.S. Senate that has treated the American people with less respect. This is not a game. My Republican colleagues would be well-served to remember this is about the health and wellbeing of millions of families in every corner of this country. When lawmakers are this secretive, you can be sure that it’s because the only losers will be regular Americans already struggling to pay for health care, and the winners will be millionaire health care CEOs, lobbyists, campaign donors, and the lawmakers themselves. This bill will harm millions of Americans and I will use every tool I have as a Senator to fight it. I encourage all New Yorkers to join me and to speak out and demand better than a back-room deal that harms those who work so hard to provide for their families. Democracy only works when regular people stand up and demand action. We cannot give up in this fight.”