Lacking votes, Senate Republican leaders delay health care vote

WASHINGTON — Sources tell the Associated Press that Senate Republican leaders have abruptly delayed the vote on their health care bill until after the July 4th recess.

That's the word Tuesday as the GOP faced five defections from its ranks just hours after the Congressional Budget Office said the bill would force 22 million off insurance rolls.

>>MORE: Mom's photo of Boston Children's Hospital bill goes viral

It was a major blow for the seven-year-old effort to repeal and replace Barack Obama's Affordable Care Act.

Separately, President Donald Trump has invited all GOP senators to the White House Tuesday afternoon.

Analysis shows that millionaires would get tax cuts averaging $52,000 a year from the Senate Republicans' health bill.

Middle-income families would get about $260.

The analysis was done by the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center. It found that half of the tax cuts would go to families making more than $500,000 a year.

At the other end, families making $20,000 a year would, on average, get a $190 tax cut.

The Republican health bill would repeal and replace President Barack Obama's health law. The law imposed a series of tax increases mainly targeted high-income families. The Senate Republican bill would repeal the taxes, though not all at once.

Major veterans' organizations voiced concerns about a Senate Republican bill to repeal the nation's health care law. They fear the impact of rising insurance costs and are worried the underfunded Department of Veterans Affairs won't be able to fill the coverage gap.

Paralyzed Veterans of America is one of the six biggest nonpartisan veterans' groups. In a letter to senators Tuesday, it criticized an "opaque and closed" legislative process and proposed cuts to Medicaid that could lead to hundreds of thousands of lower-income veterans losing their insurance.

The organization joins a Democratic-leaning group, VoteVets, in opposing the bill. VoteVets launched a six-figure ad campaign in two states to pressure senators.

Disabled American Veterans and AMVETS also are expressing concern about the Senate legislation backed by President Donald Trump.

Associated Press