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A4 U.S. NEWS
Saturday 1 July 2017
Summer looms with GOP stuck on health care, budget, taxes

Continued from Front rowing authority, prevent-
ing a government shut-
“It would be hard to fault down, and lifting budget
the average American for “caps” that are hobbling
thinking all that’s going on efforts to beef up the mili-
in Washington these days is tary.
high-drama hearings and Unlike health care, the
partisan sniping,” Ryan debt limit and a deal to
said. “But amid the count- fix the spending caps — a
down clocks and cable leftover from a failed 2011
news chatter, something budget deal — can only be
important is happening: resolved with Democratic
Congress is getting things help. However, they prom-
done to help improve peo- ise to consume political
ple’s lives.” capital and valuable time
In the first year of a presi- and energy, and there’s no
dency, the annual August political pay-off, other than
congressional recess is a forestalling disaster.
traditional point to take First, Congress is off on
stock. vacation to return in July
By that point, Obama had for a three-week session.
signed an economic re- Congressional aides and interns wait for a tram as corridors around the Senate are quiet after Then comes the traditional
covery bill and President lawmakers departed Capitol Hill in Washington, Friday, June 30, 2017, for the Independence monthlong August recess.
George W. Bush had won Day recess. The Republican leadership in the Senate decided this week to delay a vote on their After Labor Day comes a
his landmark tax cuts, while long-awaited health care bill in following opposition in the GOP ranks. four-week sprint to October
President Bill Clinton was (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) and the deadline to avert
celebrating a hard-fought “We laid out an agenda in can effectively get there. stalled on health care, the a government shutdown
budget package. November and December, The questions that con- budget and infrastructure, with a temporary spending
Trump has no comparable and we’re needing to get found us are those that we there are several other bill — and to forestall a di-
successes to trumpet — but there,” said House Rules can answer ourselves. And problems that need to be sastrous default on U.S. ob-
his allies in Congress say Committee Chairman Pete we will.” taken care of, including ligations by lifting the debt
they’re not worried. Sessions, R-Texas. “And we And as Republicans are increasing the nation’s bor- limit. q

Trump suggests just repeal Obamacare, then try to replace it

WASHINGTON (AP) — Presi- into Senate Republicans’ gotiations Friday, declar- reach a deal they should former President Barack
dent Donald Trump barged delicate health care ne- ing that if lawmakers can’t simply repeal “Obam- Obama’s health law fol-
acare” right away and lowed by a new effort at
then replace it later on. a working out a replace-
Trump’s tweet revives an ment. Trump is a known
approach that GOP lead- “Fox & Friends” viewer, but
ers and the president Republican Sen. Rand Paul
himself considered but of Kentucky also claimed
dismissed months ago as credit for recommending
impractical and politically the tactic to the president
unwise. And it’s likely to in a conversation earlier in
further complicate Major- the week.
ity Leader Mitch McCon- “Senator Rand Paul sug-
nell’s task as he struggles to gested this very idea to
bridge the divide between the president,” said Paul
GOP moderates and con- spokesman Sergio Gor.
servatives as senators leave “The senator fully agrees
Washington for the Fourth that we must immediately
of July break without hav- repeal Obamacare and
ing voted on a health care then work on replacing it
bill as planned. right away.”
“If Republican Senators are McConnell, R-Ky., has been
unable to pass what they trying to strike deals with
are working on now, they members of both factions
should immediately RE- in order to finalize a re-
PEAL, and then REPLACE at written bill lawmakers can
a later date!” Trump wrote. vote on when they return
The president sent his early- to the Capitol the second
morning tweet shortly after week of July. Even before
Nebraska Republican Sen. Trump weighed in, though,
Ben Sasse appeared on it wasn’t clear how far he
Fox News Channel’s “Fox was getting, and Trump’s
& Friends” to talk about a tweet did not appear
letter he had sent to Trump to suggest a lot of White
making that exact sugges- House confidence in the
tion: a vote on repealing outcome.q