Senate Republicans on Wednesday voted against an amendment sponsored by Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (N.Y.) to create a point of order against any future budget reconciliation bill that doesn’t lower out-of-pocket health care costs for Americans.
Schumer offered a motion to waive the Budget Act with respect to his amendment in order to put Republicans on the record about lowering health care costs. The vote was part of a so-called vote-a-rama, a series of back-to-back amendment votes that is expected to last for hours.
The proposal failed by a vote of 48 to 50. But two vulnerable Republicans voted for it: Sens. Susan Collins (R) of Maine and Dan Sullivan (R) of Alaska.
The amendment, however, even if approved wouldn’t have had the force of law because it would be in relation to the Senate budget resolution, which will lay the procedural groundwork for passing a reconciliation package later this year.
Republicans plan to pass a budget reconciliation bill next month that would fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol for the next three and a half years and cost between $70 billion and $80 billion.
Democrats have refused to fund ICE and Border Patrol through the regular appropriations process unless President Trump agrees to reform immigration enforcement by requiring federal officers to obtain judicial officers before entering a private home and banning officers from wearing masks.
Schumer, speaking on the floor, criticized Republicans for circumventing the regular appropriations process by advancing ICE and Border Patrol funding through the budget reconciliation process, thereby avoiding a Democratic filibuster.
He said Democrats would use the late night vote-a-rama on amendments to the budget resolution to highlight their party’s focus on high living costs, which millions of Americans are struggling to afford.
“Democrats are standing up for the American people,” Schumer said before the vote.
“Democrats are united and strong, focused like a laser on reducing costs, this will be a reconciliation of reckoning for Senate Republicans who will continue to pay the price for their actions tonight,” he said.
