Health-care vote moves to Senate
Republicans moved on Tuesday to force a U.S. Senate vote to repeal President Barack Obama’s health-care overhaul a day after a federal judge in Florida ruled that the law was unconstitutional.
The bid was made as a Republican amendment to an unrelated federal aviation bill, and is expected to be blocked by Democrtats.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said all 47 Republicans in the Senate would back the repeal, but 60 votes are needed.
“It is not going to go anywhere,” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said of the amendment.
The Republican-led House of Representatives voted last month to repeal the health-care law. On Monday, U.S. District Judge Roger Vinson of Pensacola, Fla., ruled the law unconstitutional, a decision expected to reach higher levels of the court system.
On Tuesday, Florida Republican Governor Rick Scott said his state would not implement the law until it was clear what the appeals process would bring, as he believes Vinson’s decision will hold.
“We are not going to spend a lot of time and money with regard to trying to get ready to implement that (law) until we know exactly what is going to happen,” Scott told reporters.