Murphy, Democrats Go On Hunt For Republican Health Care Bill

June 21--In a show of protest of the secretive process Republicans are using to draft legislation to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, Sen. Chris Murphy and two of his Democratic colleagues hopped in a cab and headed to the Congressional Budget Office Tuesday seeking a copy of the bill.

"We wouldn't be doing this if we hadn't already been shut down in every way possible by the Republicans," Murphy said as he, Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey and Sen. Brian Schatz of Hawaii broadcast their trip live on Facebook.

Murphy said the trio didn't expect to be given a copy of the legislation by the CBO, a nonpartisan office that analyzes bills, but they wanted to draw a contrast with the way Republicans have handled the process compared to how Democrats did when the Affordable Care Act was passed.

"We'll go back to the drawing board, we'll think of other creative ways that we can try to get our hands on this [bill], but we represent millions of people between the three of us who are deeply fearful about what Republicans are about to do to them," Murphy said. "Unfortunately we didn't get the bill here but we'll try to find it through other ways."

In his second term in the House when Obamacare was debated, Murphy said there were countless committee hearings and more than a hundred amendments -- including some sponsored by Republicans -- were included in the bill's final version. The bill was debated for a month on the Senate floor.

But this time around 13 Republican senators have been meeting privately to draft the bill, which is expected to be voted on next week before Congress' July 4 recess. It's anticipated there will be only 10 hours of debate before the vote is held.

"We're about to vote on a monumental bill within days and no one has seen it," Booker said. "So what we're trying to do is demonstrate the absurdity of that. Here you have three senators standing on a street corner before the Congressional Budget Office and we're going to march in there and try to get a copy of the bill. Americans deserve to see this bill."

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. -- who was critical of Democrats' passage of the Affordable Care Act in 2010 without a single GOP vote -- has defended the Republicans' process.

"We've been dealing with this issue for seven years," he said last week. "It's not a new thing. We've spent a lot of time on it, all of us, both sides over the last seven years. We know a lot about the subject."

Democrats have stepped up their protests of Republicans' lack of transparency this week. Murphy, Sen. Richard Blumenthal and others took to the Senate floor Monday evening, slowing down the chamber with long, deliberate speeches and procedural motions.

"The combination of secrecy and speed are a toxic recipe," said Sen. Richard Blumenthal.

"My constituents, even though they are represented by Democrats, have no fewer rights than the citizens of Iowa or the citizens of Texas who are represented by Republicans," Murphy said in his late-night speech. "Why are my constituents not allowed to see the details of what is about to happen to their lives? Why are only a select group of Americans able to have a voice inside that room?"

McConnell told reporters Tuesday the language of the health care bill will be released Thursday. He said Democrats have shown they are not interested in negotiating with Republicans on health care legislation.

There will be "plenty of time" to review the bill, McConnell said. "This will be as transparent as it can be," he said.

With Republicans holding a 52-48 edge in the Senate they can afford to lose just two votes on the health care bill. Public opinion polling has shown that the House version of legislation to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act is wildly unpopular. A Quinnipiac Poll earlier this month found voters opposed the bill by an almost 4:1 margin.

The CBO reported 23 million more Americans would be uninsured in 10 years if the House health care bill was adopted into law. A CBO score for the Senate health care legislation is expected to come next week, likely just days before a vote.

Information from The Washington Post is included in this report.

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