know the action moves to the senate. esident donald trump attempts to overhaul the health care system but faces a far more perilous fate, the moderate republican senators that have already come out a case -- out against the legislation. senator say they are crafting their own bill and working at their own pace. they could take weeks or longer. our question is what is your message to the senate on health care? how should they approach medicaid? what role should states play? how should they handle pre-existing conditions? the numbers are on your screen. you can also reach us on social wj, and you can find us on facebook at facebook.com/cspan. the house legislation passed this week, would reshape the nation's health care system by eliminating federal medicaid funding and changing protections for people who buy insurance coverage on their own. "usa today" has a quick recap on the front page. here are the highlights of the house bill that allows insurers in some cases to raise premiums on customers with pre-existing conditions

up to the senate now. or courage to return." >> if you're the american people and are looking for honesty on what this bill means to you, not a bunch of congressmen and about midterm elections, how buzz that make you feel if you're worried about your pre-existing condition coverage? >> when i first heard that, i thought it was the gop singing good-bye to obamacare -- >> as did i, full disclosure. >> but it was the dems serenading and mocking their colleagues. >> could come back to haunt them. now, the obvious question, will this end up costing the gop, as they've just suggested with the singing, its majority in the house next year? the graphic shows house republicans who voted for the health care bill, republicans whose districts were won by hillary clinton last november. now, there are 14 of them, and republicans only hold a 23-seat majority in the house, not enough to flip the house by itself, but a long way toward that. >> when you look at some of the folks who didn't, the gop members who didn't vote for

in the senate? >> reporter: first, let's just pick up on what we heard here today with deputy press seetary sara huckabee sanders. she said they expect them to take this up in short order, and she got a lot of questions on this because a lot of republican leaders in the senate have stressed they are not working on any particular deadline, they want to get this right. so she was asked if the president has his own deadline. she underscored the point, look, the president wants to get this right as well. it sounds as if he's going to give the senate some space, at least initially. it is the more deliberative body. she was asked if the budget office wants to score this as they sort of indicated they would do. in terms of strategy behind the scenes, i can tell you, katy, that the administration plans to be very hands on. i think the broader question is what will we see this president do to try to get this moved through the senate. i anticipate he will be in close contact with senate leadership, but will he

in my view reaches another low for the united states senate. it is hard, i suppose to explain, but it takes unanimous consent for committees to meet while the united states senate is in session, and that's a request that's made on an on-going basis when the senate convenes, and it happened again this morning. and almost without exception, it's routine. the rules require that two hours after the united states senate convened, which we did at 9:30 this morning, no committee can then meet unless there is agreement. and so the majority leader today requested that that unanimous consent be granted, just like almost every other day in the united states senate. but what was different today was objection was raised by the minority whip. and apparently the explanation is the firing of the director of the f.b.i. last night. now, how the senate is functioning or not functioning seems to me to be unrelated to what transpired last night related to the director of the f.b.i. and so in this place that we're trying to do the people's work and to make decisions

senate career. from 1953 to 1960. the book is called jfk and the senate. germans recorded at the marshall fund in 2013, it runs one hour and 15 minutes. [applause] >> it's great to be around this table once again today because we have got some wonderful breakfast, and the people from all over the world, in due course we will have a chance to visit with all of them. the conversations go beyond breakfast. they continue on until everything going on in the world world. diplomacy might better contract with our congress, our administrations, others in washington, the leaders. i am excited about this idea. of course, it really follows through with work that course and my friend, john shaw has done an inspired me to have a new chapter in my life after the senate and continuing to think about the rest of the world, think about ways in which those who withdraw for service might be more effective and more humane. let me just say at the outset that this is an exciting day to talk about a new book above john f. kennedy, the pathway to the presidency. it is an exciting b

way the senate governs itself. by 1988, ford had gained sufficient stature to run for party whip. that year he successfully, unsuccessfully challenge the incumbent alan cranston of california. was in1990, cranston poor health, mired in controversy over the keating five savings and loan scandal. he decided not to run again for whip. ford immediately threw his hat in the ring. in congressional races it can be hard to pin down your colleagues as to whether they are for or against you. i'm told tha politicians on occasion can bet coy about that. in hi request of thes whip, wendell left nothing to chance. he kept a sheet of paper on the left-hand corner of his desk with the names of senators who were for him and those he was unsure of. committed to him, he wrote them a thank you note and asked for assigned proxy card. how do you like that? a tactic he had learned from senator robert bird of west virginia. ford got his commitments in writing, in writing. of wendell's predecessor was senator edward kennedy of massachusetts

now it is on its way to the senate. ed to undergo several changes there if it's going to have a chance of passage. meanwhile, on the other side of the capitol, senators voting today keep the federal government funded through the end of september to avoid a sutdown, right now, at least. that legislation will now go to president trump. he's expected to sign it. this compromise bill will put off a battle for funding for trump's proposed border wall along the border with mexico. >>> protesters gathering in new york city this afternoon ahead of president trump's first visit back to his hometown since taking officeralian prime minis malcolm turnbull. both leaders will visit the decommissioned aircraft carrier "the u.s.s. intrepid." there to mark the anniversary of the world war ii battle in which the two countries joined forces to fight the japanese in the pacific. president trump also announcing plansor his first overseas ip lat this month. trump says he's going to make stops in saudi arabia and israel. also meet with pope fr

that's the one the senate is grappling with. that's the one that this $8 billion last-minute fund that was slipped into the house bill in the 11th hour won't really solve. nobody really believes that. and you know, in the end, if the states opt out and people with pre-existing conditions can't get the health care they need, that's going to affect a lot of people, and i think that's the one that's going to come around to bite them. >> yeah, and i think what the democrats are going to try to do is really frame this as tax cuts for the rich paid for by, you know, gutting your health care, your access to health care and try to frame it that way. because there are tax cuts for the rich in here. make no mistake, the highest earners in america with the repeal of obamacare get a pay raise, basically, immediately if this is passed. and there's also the politics of this, you know? i mean, i think it's kind of icky, the democrats saying, you know -- ♪ good-bye -- to the republicans. people care what happens to them. but then listen to paul

still has to go through the the senate. when you talk to officials, you understand that's going to be part of the process. heading into the vote, they weren't making assurances to house republicans, by the way when your bill gets to the senate it's not going to undergo major changes. it will. the question of course becomes when it comes back to the house after it undergoes the changes can they get this to the president's desk. it's a lung, long way to go. that's why you herd democratic strategists celebrating. i think they're popping champagne bottles on the democratic side. >> they see political opportunities. we'll have live coverage once the president goes from the oval office, walks down those stairs into the rose garden and makes his statement. brooke baldwin is with us, brook, you know, a big win for the republicans and the house of representatives today. don't want to take anything away from that. but there's still a long, long way to go before this legislation or anything along the lines of repealing and replacing ob

he is now a member of the senate budget committee. r van hollen, what is your sense of what will happen in the senate now? >> well, lawrence, as you've been saying, the house republicans just launched this giant stink bomb into the united states senate. and there is no doubt republican senators don't want to deal with this. but i do believe we have to be worried about a false sense of security. we know how bad this bill is. after all, only 17% of the american people thought the original house bill was a good one, and they made it even worse. so on the one hand, we might get lulled into this false sense of security that republican senators will never act on it. on the other hand, pressure will build on a lot of them to do something. and i worry a little bit about what we saw happen to fred upton, right? fred upton came out against the bill. he got a lot of backlash. and then he came out with sort of a face-saving thing that really did not do anything to the bill. but he voted for it. we do need to make sure that mitch mcconnell doesn't

the senate ?. >> guest: i don't think republicans would ever call the repair and save but there are members and republicans that are discussing to have a bipartisan solution like senator collins in senator lindsey graham but the assumption will probably happen is that they will try t to pass the bill for reconciliation but the bipartisan option hits the plan b but there is enough understanding that something has to be done they have to work with democrats now with the second question of what would happen if the senate passes their version to pretty safe to assume it would not look the same as the house version there would have to get together or the house would have to pass the senate version and if that comes back that could be a real struggle in the house. >> host: what part of the timeline do they try to do that?. >> with the senate they are taking their time me be a few months may be over summer but you never know what will come up that isex just one example of that disrupted the republicans' pl

tonight the debate moves to the senate. the president says he is confident but one republican senator says the current bill has zero chance of passing there. spiking the ball. president trump holds a quickly arranged rose garden ceremony to declare victory, saying american's healthcare bills will be coming down. but it is only halftime. republicans need to get their bill to the president's desk, and democrats are gloating over what may happen when republican lawmakers next face the voters. and what's in the bill? there are still many questions about what the bill does. it was pushed through the house before the congressional budget office could estimate how much it will cost and how many people may lose coverage. we want to welcome our viewers in the united states and around the world. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room. >> this is "cnn breaking news." >> our breaking news. house republicans and the trump administration, they are celebrating after winning a key battle in what promises to be a tough war over heal

what is the outlook you have when it goes to the senate? ll there be radical changes it gets there? -- change if it gets there? post trump world, i can't make any projections with any certainty. the move to the right may made to get the house freedom caucus will not sit well with moderate republicans in the senate. you will likely see this be declared that on arrival. -- dead on arrival. david: what is the answer as you see it to get to market places around the country? how salient is the competition issue? >> in the competition issue is only salient to the extent that you have zero insurers. as long as you have one in sure, the market will work fine and other insurers will enter. problem because you can't deliver the subsidies with zero insurers. mechanical problem that under the obama administration they work hard to fix. the big issue is that insurers are facing and norma's uncertainty. they don't like uncertainty -- facing enormous uncertainty. they don't like uncertainty. just pull out of these exchanges rather than deal with that uncer

what about the senate? e same kind of magic act that he pulled off here with some members of the house? >> here's the challenge. it's plausible that the senate will pass some sort of obamacare repeal and replacement legislation. the challenge isn't so much getting the senate to pass something as the third step, which is getting the house and senate to compromise and agree on one final package. the washington exammer just reported that the senate has said it's not necessarily going to vote on this bill that passed the house and instead republicans there are considering writing their own legislation. so it's certainly possible the president will work with senate republicans to get them to support something. the challenge is getting moderate senate republicans, particularly members like rob portman of ohio, corey gardner of colorado to get on board with legislation that is definitely much more conservative than their constituents might want. that itself is an incredibly difficult negotiation. >> jon: we're luki

the presiding officer: the senator from florida. mr. rubio: mr. president, i come to the floor today to speak about an emerging crisis in our hemisphere in the nation of venezuela. it has been covered extensively in the press. i wanted to come today with an update and a suggestion -- a request of the administration about a step we can take. i am very pleased that today our ambassador to the united nations, nikki hailey, scheduled a discussion at the u.n. security council with regards to venezuela. it was not an open press discussion, but again it showed extraordinary leadership. i want to thank her for the leadership and for doing so. this deserves attention. venezuela is a country that's blessed with natural resources. it was once latin america's richest country, but today the people of venezuela are literally starving. its financial system has collapsed. as s.u.v. seen from the -- you've seen from the press reports, massive protests in the street. once proud democracy is now in the hands of a dictator nicolas maduro that has plunged that nation i

doing the same as well. you have senateepublicans who are not in nearly as much political peril as you are house republicans which is why we saw this rush to really get a political vote on the board yesterday. which we saw. what we did see from two very important people which just goes to talk to you about how long this could drag out, two people involved, mitch mcconnell, the senate republican leader said that the senate consideration will be scheduled following the completion, procedural and budgetary score keeping reviews meaning the senate is not really going to take any action on this until they see what the congressional budget office does to see what they think will be the score, how many people will be kicked off or how many people will help. of course, lamar alexander who is going to shepard it through the senate says it's great. we're going to finish the work on our own bill, let's be clear about that -- >> not this thing ha passed yesterday. >> and we're going to take time to get it right. those are pretty tellin

the senate may very well pull away the party punchbowl. what are you hearing from your senate compatriots? >> obviously we have more steps to take. the senate will be the next stop of the bus to finish line. i'm confident the senate will take it up. they will not be able ignore it and hopefully improve the bill going forward through the process. liz: do you see anything the senate might change to get it through, comes back to the house to reconcile? will you basically say, let's get it to the president trump's desk? >> depends on what the senate does obviously. you have to read the bill. that is always important. we look forward to that engagement with the senate. i think there is effort to improve it even further. bottom line there is work to be done. a lot of people across america today filled with anxiety and fear about what we did. we want to make sure we don't lose that voice in the process. liz: house majority whip steve scalise just said, this is a pretty bold statement, congressman, anyone coming between patients and their doctors e

. >> leaving here in the u.s. senate about a gallon, lawmakers expected to debate the nomination of iowa governor terry grant to the us ambassador to china. the confirmation vote expected at about 5:30 eastern. senators getting word on the white house budget plan for 2018, budget released tomorrow about briefings getting underway later today on what's in the docket. live coverage now of the u.s. senate here on c-span2. >> er. the chaplain: let us pray. eternal god, our hearts rise up to meet you, as the day rises to meet the sun. humble our lawmakers in your presence that they may delight in the power you provide. help them to remember that before honor comes humility. give them also the wisdom to know that their sufficiency comes from you. teach them your wisdom, as you infuse them with the spirit of reverence for you. may they make the commitment to faithfully serve you and country with their whole hearts. we pray in your great name. amen. the president pro tempore: please join me in reciting the pledge of allegiance t

the u.s. senate is about to gavel in to continue work on the nomination of jeffrey rosen to be deputy transportation secretary, a confirmation vote is possible later today. live senate coverage here on c-span2. lead the senate in pra. the chaplain: let us pray. savior, lead us as a shepherd guides his or her sheep. we find consolation in the knowledge that you have gone before us in order to bring us to your desired destination. direct the steps of our lawmakers so that even when they fail to fulfill your purposes, you will continue to uphold them with the right hand of your righteousness. may they never forget that nothing can separate them from your love. as they face the heat of tough decisions provide them with the watered gardens and living springs of your presence. lord, you have begun a good work in them. carry on to completion. we pray in your holy name. amen. the presiding officer: please join me in reciting the pledge of allegiance to the flag. i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united

>> it is with the senate and commitment actually higher cost. great uncertainty at a great deal of secrecy. over what the changes are to this amendment. i know a lot of confusion. what is going to be and even if we get it through, what happens in the senate, if it does not like what we were talking about? somentense time and confusion over the details. time when different it was shelved in march. as we watched the developments, a check on how markets are trading with julie hyman. julie: we are not seeing much reaction to the health care bill. stocks mostly on earnings and energy. in the 2 -- the 2 big themes. that has been the case most of the day. i want to talk about health care. health care is up a little bit, it has been up since election about 11% which is about the same the s&p 500 has risen. we have a chart on bloomberg of valuation, the health care index versus the s&p 500, the price to earnings ratio in white and the s&p 500 in blue. for much of the last several years, health care has been more expensive. that it changed and the spread o

reporter: what about the comey memo? senator rubio: he was limited in what he said because he said he didn't want us to come out here and tell you. so i -- look, i understand the desire of those in the justice department to ensure that no american is treated unfairly through disclosures and the like. i do also understand that congress has an important role to play both in oversight and in our constitutional authority. and that should not be impeded and hopefully there will not be conflict between the two roles and should not be. i really do have to go. reporter: was there 100% attendance in there? eporter: sir, your impression, rosenstein take any responsibility for the firing of jim comey and the memo he wrote and if not, where does the responsibility lie? >> i think obviously he stressed the responsibility of the decision for the president. it's an executive branch decision and it was an executive action. senator cassidy: his memo was written within the context of it. he very much avoided giving specific answers as to circumst

now it moves onto the senate. lcome to the second hour of "happening now," i am jon scott. >> l1melissal0 : i'm melissa francis in today for jenna lee. >> 213, the bill is passed it without objection, it is moved to the next table. >> l1melissal0 : passing with zero democrats support yesterday. president trump and house republicans celebrating their first major legislative win, but the battle is far from over. >> jon: chief congressional correspondent mike emanuel is live on capitol hill. is it safe to assume the senate is going to need some time to complete its work on health care? >> that is correct even though the senate has been talking about healthcare for months, i am told by senate sources to expect a lengthy process. the senate health chairman says his number one priority is welcoming millions of americans trapped in obamacare with zero or few healthcare choices. here is more from that chairman, lamar alexander. >> number two, i second goal is to lower premium costs. premium costs have increased and in some

the senate will proceed. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent that the resolutions be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, all en bloc. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to the immediate consideration of calendar no. 25, s. 110. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: calendar no. 25, s. 110, a bill to require the secretary of commerce, acting through the administrator of noaa to establish a constituent-driven program and so forth and for other purposes. the presiding officer: without objection, the senate will proceed to the measure. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent the bill be considered read a third time and passed and the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: now, mr. president, i ask unanimous consent the senate -- the committee on the judiciary be discharged from fu

so i'd like to introduce our panel for the senate role on the judicial confirmation process. first, we have martin gold. mr. gold is a partner with capital counsel llc. he brings over 40 years of experience on senate staff and in private practice. he is a recognized authority on matters of congressional rules and parliamentary strategies. mr. gold is the author of "senate procedure and practice," a widely-consulted primer on senate floor procedure now in its third edition. he frequently advises in offices of senators and serves on the adjunct faculty at george washington university. he often speaks about congress as well as political and public policy developments. mr. gold is a graduate of the washington college of law at american university and serves on the board of the friends of the law library of the library of congress. next we have kurt levy who is president of the committee for justice and a veteran of supreme court confirmation be battles. for those of you who don't know, cfj was founded boyden gray and others in 2002 in response to democrat obstruction of president

in the senate the debate is only beginning. >> well the senate will write its own bill, that's the way it works, right in they will pass ours and we pass theirs. >> some on the left like tim kane say for starters they need to see costs. >> they rushed through the bill without knowing how much it would cost, without a protection for people with preexisting conditions. >> quite a few republicans are looking at it with caution. >> part of the problem i have is that the underlying premise of obamacare was that the federal government would buy insurance and some of the things we have to work on, for example, are the refundable tax credit. we need to make sure that that's sufficient so that low-income people can actually buy a policy. >> we will work together carefully to write our own bill. we will make sure we know what our bill costs. >> special budget rules allow the senate to pass health care with just 51 votes but republicans probably need some help from democrats. republicans have the majority in the senate but it's not as big as the majority they have over in the house. the senate is

dean of the senate, the longest-serving senator. i want to start with health care. susan, said in your reporting that both democrats and republicans saying if we can just work with the other side. today, thursday as we record this, we had an interview with the majority leader. in an exquisite interview, mcconnell said health care and taxes still top the republican legislative agenda. he added he will not reach out to the minority democrats on either one because differences between the two parties are to start. >> and they don't need to stark.to >> and they don't need to necessarily if they use the budgetary procedure that allows 51 votes. then they would not need any democrats and they would block a democratic filibuster eliminating the 60 votes threshold but that would only come into play if they can get agreement amongst themselves on health care and they are not right now which i think it's valid. the rhetoric that mcconnell -- the rhetoric is what we all work together when in fact no one has officially sat down and work as a group. there is a very small working g

shifted to the senate. after that it will have to do to the house where the house will likely eat or take on a proposal a lot of their members are uncomfortable left. there is a lot of work left on this bill. it's important to note, you make a really really good point, this is a dramatic shift in the u.s. healthcare system. no question about it. there's been a lot of talk about specific amendments, interesting details and political winners and losers here. it's important go through what this bill will actually do, even if it will be changed, compare it to what current law is. this republican proposal, how it will actually finance things and focus on heavily refundable tax across. this is a shift from what we've seen on obamacare and rely heavily on generous subsidies and a phasing out on the medicare expansion program and conservative shifts republicans wanted a long period of time of that medicare program changing the funding on per capita basis, based on enrollees itself. what we're seeing here is a propos

although, as you remember, they have now changed -- the senate has now changed the rules. you only need those 51 votes. thank you for walking us through it and we will talk more down the road. >> great, thanks so much. sen. grassley: start until a ranking member or members get here. in this particul

now live to the senate floor on c-span2. the presiding officer: the senate will come to order. today's prayer will be offered by chaplain patrick conray. conroy. the house chaplain: let us pray. eternal lord god, we are astounded by the bountiful flow of your blessings. we thank you for the gift of this day that we receive from your generous bounty. inspire our lawmakers to use these precious hours and minutes for your glory. help them to understand that when they have an awareness of the brevity of their days on earth, it will provide them with hearts of wisdom. bless also and strengthen the many staffers who provide the wind beneath the wings of our leaders. we pray in your holy name. amen. the presiding officer: please join me in reciting the pledge of allegiance to our flag. i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. the presiding officer: the clerk will read a communication to the senate. the clerk: washington, d.c., may 4, 2017. to the senate:

i yield the floor. a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from montana. mr. tester: i would ask unanimous consent for three minutes, and it's probably going to be less than that. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. tester: thank you, mr. president. i'd like to thank the members of the body for this. look, this is an omnibus that i'm going to vote for. there are some things that have been disturbing about it, there is no doubts about that, not to mention the fact that congress took seven months to take care of this plan for the long term, which created uncertainty out there on the ground. seven months that congress sat on their hands that left towns and hospitals and airports and our citizenry in the lurch. but it does do some good things, and i think it does reflect values of rural america, which i think is really important. i think it's a responsible budget for rural americans in states like montana. one of the things i think it does that is entirely appropriate it pushes the education department to consider the upward bound grant applications that

what would happen if the senate republicans passed the act for the reconciliation of the senate? >> guest: i don't think they've ever college repair and save but i do think there are members that are discussing they want to have a bipartisan solution and those like senators cassidy and collins and lindsey graham has talked about this but also the assumption they will try to pass their bill in the reconciliation but the bipartisan option is constantly falling apart. something has to be done. if they can't do it they will have to work with democrats. for the second question of what would happen, technically what happens if the senate passes their version of the healthcare bill then they will have to go. it's not going to look like the house, so then the house or the senate would have to get together and hammer out the differences or would have to pass the senate version of the bill. >> host: what is the timeline window. we are here maybe a few us. it's kind of a ripple in the pond for the plan you never know, this could take longer than it was ever expected to end it will get back

live coverage and out of the use senate here on c-span2 the president pro tempore: the senate will come to order. the chaplain, dr. barry black, will lead the senate in prayer. the chaplain: let us pray. eternal god, the source of our praise, we magnify your name. we place our trust in you, for you are our helper throughout life's seasons. be mindful of our senators and bless them. keep them on the path that leads to life. may your peace stay with them, guarding their hearts and minds. give them the wisdom to practice integrity in all of their conduct. keep them from stumbling and slipping, as you prepare them to stand before your presence with great joy. we pray in your merciful name. amen. the president pro tempore: please join me in reciting the pledge of allegiance to our flag. i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. mr. mcconnell: mr. president. the presiding officer: the majority leader is recognized. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent that fol

because frankly we have very limited resources, and so does the senate. if either one of these investigations were to get derailed, it would mean only half of the eyes on task. >> adam schiff, ranking member, top democrat in the house intelligence committee, sir, thank you for your time tonight. i really appreciat you being here. >> you bet. thanks, rachel. >> that does it for us tonight. big day in the news today. no time to stop paying attention. game on. we'll see you again tomorrow. now it's time for "the last word with lawrence o'donnell." good evening, lawrence. >> good evening, rachel. it's all about the tax cuts that the republicans so, many of them were voting, especially the moderates were voting for a tax cut bill in which the health care stuff was just collateral damage. >> a tax cut bill that only goes to people making over $200,000 a year. people who did pretty well despite that tax being on them to pay for obamacare. >> but what they -- what paul ryan realized and what trump eventually was convinced of is you cannot move on to their bigger t

by the way, the senate moves slowly. this is going to be a real challenge for the president who now has this first victory under his belt trying to be patient with the gal lay shall pace of the senate. i asked one senator when i came here tonight, what's the fastest you can move any kind of bill out of the senate? the senate said, unclear. by contrast i asked a trump starve that same question, they said probably by june, as in next month. we'll see. >> they don't control the legislation calendar. >> 11 states most likely to be affected by preexisting conditions all voted for donald trump and 35% have preexisting conditions. >> 50% of americans have preexisting conditions. this is a very serious issues. a lot of republicans saying it doesn't really affect people because it's saying the states can get a waiver. reality is a lot of states get a waiver. there were about 35 states before who had these high risk pools before obamacare. this was something they were doing. can i just say, not to be the skunk at the picnic, this f

he chaired the senate rules committee from 1986 to 1994. the body that considers changes to the way the senate government health. i net -- governs in itself. by 1988 ford gained stature to run for party whip. he unsuccessfully challenged the incumbent from california. in 1990, cranston was in poor health and embroiled in controversy over the savings and loan scandal and decided not to run for whip ford. through his hat in the ring. in congressional races it can be hard to pin down your colleagues if they are for or against you. politicianse on occasion can be cory about that. wendell left nothing to chance. he kept a sheet of paper. on the left-hand corner of his , with the names of senators for him and those he was unsure of. when a senator committed to him, androte a thank you note asked for assigned proxy card. a tactic he had learned from the senator from west virginia. ford shrewdly got his commitments in writing. 's predecessors with senator edward kennedy of massachusetts, who failed to take similar precautions. in 1971, kennedy was r

the senate. republicans have a tiny majority there and don't like a lot of what they see in the house bill. >> reporter: the senate will write its own bill. that's clear. mitch mcconnell's made that clear. others in leadership have made that clear. so we'll be writing our own bill. >> and as these policy fights play out, the next campaign takes shape in an instant. democrats lost the house, remember, after passing obamacare. they think republicans are returning the favor. >> you have every provision of this bill tattoos on your forehead. you will glow in the dark with this one. you will glow in the dark. >> with us this friday to share their reporting, cnn nia-malika henderson, michael, and mary katherine. on day 105 the president was down right giddy. >> coming from a different world and only being a politician for a short period of time, how am i doing? am i okay? i'm president. do you believe it? >> he is president. it's a celebration he earned. his efforts played a big part in winning house pa

>> the problem of getting this through the senate is not just that you have moderate republicans in theate. you have different republicans with different bills of what this bill ought to do. you've had senators write about how the concern cuts medicaid and there are constituents that rae lie on that because the state would have to end up to pick up slack for what the government wouldn't do anymore. senator lisa murr you can skows alaska and people have to buy insurance in the private markets and their states have rural areas with very high of tcosts e lower subsidies would have a problem and it would be hard to drop a bill that satisfies people and also satisfies people like ted cruz and mike leigh who have a much more conservative vision for what the bill ought to do and the next question is if you can get something to pass the senate. if you go back to the house it's likely to be something far to the left than the house bill and you have the people in the house freedom caucus who rejected the first version of the bill as not being conservative enough? are they going to roll over and p

there are two key issues in the senate. e first is that idea of all allowing states to opt out of the nationwide assurance for people with pre-existing conditions. hard to see that getting through. the people in the house voted for a controversial idea that is unlikely to see the light of day. the other perhaps bigger is the question of the medicaid expansion. you have in the end after initial resistance a number of states with republican governors that did expand medicaid. in many case, the beneficiaries, like ohio, are concentrated among the lower older income wid whites who are republicans. it will be very difficult for republican senators from states like ohio or nevada or even arkansas to vote for anything like the $880 billion in medicaid cuts in the house bill. >> here is what is it in, april, as far as we know. let's put this up here for viewers to try to understand it. we start with what is out. the individual mandate. the employer mandate. these were not popular ever with republicans. the subsidy for out of pocket

the senate never took it. that was the beginning of the idea that the president, then president obama, was forcing members of the party to take a vote. the first time i heard the statement walk the plank is when they tried to get nancy pelosi to vote on the carbon tax bill. that cost them majority in the house. it did not affect the senate as much. >> the shoe on the other foot sdplch. >> molly, you have me hankering for a hunk of cheese. >>> are they lying when they say the deductibles will go down under the new health care bill. what they say after this. ♪♪ that's it? yeah. ♪ everybody two seconds! ♪ "dear sebastian, after careful consideration of your application, it is with great pleasure that we offer our congratulations on your acceptance..." through the tuition assistance program, every day mcdonald's helps more people go to college. it's part of our commitment to being america's best first job. ♪ poallergies?reather. stuffy nose? can't sleep? take that. a breathe right nasal strip instantly opens your n

the senate will proceed to the measure. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent that the moran amendment at the desk be considered and agreed to, the bill as amended be considered read a third time and passed and the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent the committee on veterans' affairs be discharged from further consideration of s. 114 and the senate proceed to its immediate consideration. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: s. 114, a bill to amend title 38, united states code, and so forth. the presiding officer: is there objection to proceeding to the measure? without objection. the committee is discharged and the senate will proceed to the measure. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent the bill be considered read a third time and passed and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: now,

[applause] >> the u.s. senate today considering the nomination of rachel brand to be associate attorney general. number three official at the justice department. the confirmation vote set for noon eastern today. the senate judiciary committee voted along party lines 11-9 to are her confirmation. tomorrow deputy attorney general rod rosenstein will brief all senators meeting about the president's firing of fbi director james comey. you should also know that this morning north carolina senator thom tillis was attending a race here in washington, d.c., he was taken from that race in an ambulance. so he will not be attending today's session of the u.s. senate. and now to live coverage of the senate here on c-span2. the president pro tempore: the senate will come to order. the chaplain dr. barry black will lead the senate in prayer. the chaplain: let us pray. god and god alone,. we praise you that you give power to the weak. and to those who have no might, you increase their strength,. increase the stamina of our lawma

that comes with the senate confirmation process. madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from tennessee. mr. alexander: madam president, i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to the immediate consideration of h.r. 375 which was received from the house. the presiding officer: which the clerk will report. the clerk: the clerk: the clerk: an act to -- located at 719 church street in nashville, tennessee, as the fred c. thompson federal building and united states courthouse. the presiding officer: is there objection to proceeding to the measure? without objection. mr. alexander: i ask unanimous consent i ask that the bill be considered made and laid upon the table. the presiding officer: without t objection. mr. alexander: thank you, madam president. i'm grateful that the senate has approved that measure naming the fred d. thompson federal building in nashville. i stand at the desk of former senator thompson. this was a desk that senator howard baker also had. i have the desk myself because senator thompson and i we

the senate. what is so interesting to me is that countless experts have come out and said this bill is going to drive up costs and mean less coverage for the elderly, poor, people with pre-existing conditions. it seems like the house republicans in the trump administration are betting that all of the experts are wrong. they are saying, just trust us. because the question is right, how much should government due on health care? the republican house has kicked that down the road because they see the politics. now that people have the coverage, hard to take something away. but it seems like the trump administration is betting that all of the experts are wrong. that all of the dire predictions -- >> just like nancy pelosi did with the original obamacare. that was the big structural mistake that you would think republicans would learn from. it's that sort of opacity, not only bad for the legislation itself -- >> it is bad for average americans. and i hate to turn to this, but politically heading into

the senate will slaughter this legislation. many in the house hope he will or hope the senate will. if you want to know how bad of a bill this is, many of the people voting for it in the house hope that the senate kills it and replaces it with something less terrible. >> bill: could they have afforded not to act on this? >> they had to do something. i would still say for republicans the best outcome is that it gets slaughtered in the senate and there is some fight happens and it falls apart. that means that we don't have republican obamacare. it also means that donald trump and republicans can run on the fact that no democrats are lifting a single finger the try to clean up the mess they made. that's a powerful political point. >> it is going to be a long time. cbo score still to come, all of this still to come, the idea that there is momentum now needs to be balanced with the fact that you and shannon were saying we have weeks and weeks of stuff that has the take place before we get to the senate being serious about this. take your time. >> bill: nice to see both of you and i know w

by law, the senate has to wait for the price tag before they can vote. agree with what phil was saying earlier. this kind of dove tails with what senator mccain was saying. broad strokes, yes. you can get agreement with the house. mccain is talking about the promise and the pledge to repeal this that will motivate the senate to try to get things done. but the problem in the senate, as is with any legislative body, it's the fine details that i think may trip up republicans. for example, in the house, there are block grants for medicade that will reduce historically the cost of medicade. i'm already hearing from republican senators who are fearful who that will leave in the hrur fp. they're afraid some people won't be be able an afford coverage. there are people afraid of people ages 50 to 64 and rates going up. even though they may agree with the premise of giving states flexibility. i have also floated senate ideas in the house. for example, some senators are talking ab giving states the tphresability to keep obamacare and auto enroll people in basic heal

the senate? tart the negotiations tomorrow in the senate. we're in the 7th inning of the world series, one out, we have a man on second. the senate is at bat. if they hit a home run. all we have to do is move the senate to the third base so we score with reconciliation when house and senate bills come together this is far from over. the bill we have today will not look like the bill finally passed. we talk about tort reform and selling across state lines and other things that will make this even a better bill than it is today but there is no doubt the republicans must pass this legislation. cheryl: the dems are ready though, doug. nancy pelosi already came out and said they walked t pla didn't they? bernie sanders, let me tell you what he came out and said, what senators on democratic side say, it helps rich, cutting 24 medicaid, going off old cbo score, planned parenthood, older americans. they're ready with their talking points. they're ready to debate this. >> look, cheryl, in 2010 and 2014, ob

the senate doesn't have those rules. in the end of a bill passes the house and a bill passes the senate, typically they're not exactly the same. they must go to a conference committee and go to the president. he can get rid of the whole thing with a veto signature or if he signs it or vetoes that the congress can override it. most of right stick. fewer than 4% of presidential vetoes have been overturned. the process is muddled, it's muddy, it's messy, it's noisy. it was meant to be that way. >> a short version of that, bill has to pass an identical form and bought the house and thethi senate. >> i was a remember the committees. remember what a standing committee is. this is where bills are written, study, marked up, investigated, standing committees are permanent and allows expertise from members ofng congress. >> another call from california. >> good morning.. i would like to give a shout out to my third. mr. cummings.s? my question is, what are topics that are most likely to appear on effort to use? >> we always tell he

but that is just the first step in the senate the debate is only beginning. >> well, the senate will that's the way it works, right? they'll pass theirs, we'll pass ours, and then we'll go to conference. >> reporter: the house passed their bill thursday. some on the left like senator tim kaine say for starters they need to say the estimated cost. >> they rushed through a bill without knowing how many millions of people it would hurt, without knowing how much it would cost, without a protection for people with pre-existing conditions. >> reporter: and quite a few republicans are looking at it with caution. >> part of the problem i have is that the underlying premise of obamacare was that the federal government would, for the first time, buy insurance policy for people. that fundamental promise of obamacare is kept. some of the things we're going to have to work on, for example, are the refundable tax credit. we need to make sure that that's sufficient so that low income people can actually buy a policy. >> we will work together carefully to write our own bill. we will make sure we know

it has zero chance of passing the senate. i do think they needed to extricate themselves from a self-made political debacle, which is if they hadn't passed something, it goes down as the biggest broken political promise in our lifetimes by ten. so -- >> so that's the project. the project they're pursuing is that? >> -- to be able to go back and say to republican voters, hey, we voted to repeal and replace obamacare. now, if you're one of the 14 republicans in the 23 districts that hillary clinton won and you understand coming into a mid term that you've only had three elections in the last 118 years where the incumbent president's party picked up seats in the first midterm, you know, i think there's an outstanding chance that those 14 have walked off the plank. and i would be watching closely this georgia six special election and see the impact there. >> anna, you work for move on, and i was curious what the perspective is from where you're sitting because this seemed to me like rock fuel for the resistance. i remember back in

what do they need to do on the senate side? >> that's one of the reason senate leaders said they plan to start on their own in coming up with their own plan separate from the house plan to try to come up with something they can get 50 votes in order to pass. winning over every republican is essential because mitch mcconnell said he is not expecting any help from democrats because many democrats have said they will not support any bill that includes a full on repeal of obamacare. >> i am very worried that in the rush to judgment, we create a major healthcare problem for people, and we lose a lot of jobs in doing so and we create a whole atmosphere of unpredictability. >> paul ryan and others have said if unpredictability that's a crisis caused by obamacare, another obstacle is that they are limited in what they can do in the bill because they want to pass it with a simple majority using reconciliation which means they cannot make many of the broad changes they would like too. mitch mcconnell said he's in no rush to get this done