Senate Democrats on Saturday advanced their long-delayed healthcare, tax and climate bill following months of back-and-forth on whether the party would be able to pass major legislation addressing some of their progressive priorities before the midterm election.
Democrats, eager to promote the bill’s benefits on the campaign trail this fall, lauded it as historic. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, which issues cost estimates on legislation, said Saturday it was still working on one due to last-minute changes. An analysis of an earlier version of the bill found it would decrease the deficit by $102 billion over a decade.Democrats have been scrambling in recent days to tie up the negotiations — work that continued into Saturday.
After Saturday’s vote, lawmakers were expected to begin a lengthy series of votes on amendments to the bill — a process dubbed vote-a-rama. Under the reconciliation process, the minority party can offer unlimited amendments, and it typically takes the opportunity to propose politically contentious ideas designed to block a measure, or at least force the majority to take politically unfavorable votes.
If Senate Democrats are able to stick together through the amendment process, they hope to give final passage to the bill as soon as Sunday morning.