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Sen. John McCain Will Not Support Graham-Cassidy Obamacare Replacement Bill

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September 22, 2017

Sen. John McCain (R., Ariz.) says he can't support the Graham-Cassidy replacement to Obamacare "in good conscience," CNBC reported.

"As I have repeatedly stressed, health care reform legislation ought to be the product of regular order in the Senate," said McCain in a statement. "Committees of jurisdiction should mark up legislation with input from all committee members, and send their bill to the floor for debate and amendment."

McCain said he would consider supporting the proposal if it happened after debate, hearings, and amendment. "That has not been the case," he said. "Instead, the specter of September 30th budget reconciliation deadline has hung over this entire process."

McCain also said he does not want to vote for it without knowing how much the bill will cost or a CBO score.

"I cannot in good conscience vote for the Graham-Cassidy proposal," McCain said. "I believe we could do better working together, Republicans and Democrats, and have not yet really tried."

"Nor could I support it without knowing how much it will cost, how it will effect insurance premiums, and how many people will be helped or hurt by it," the senator continued. "Without a full CBO score, which won't be available by the end of the month, we won't have reliable answers to any of those questions."

The Congressional Budget Office announced earlier this week that they plan to release a preliminary assessment of the bill early next week.

McCain was one of the undecided votes on the measure and killed the GOP's Obamacare repeal bill back in August.