Republicans eke out vote to allow debate to start on healthcare legislation
Washington — After a months-long struggle, Republicans have succeeded in bringing Obamacare repeal legislation, a centrepiece of their 2016 election campaigns, to a debate on the US Senate floor. Now the hard part begins.Republicans, deeply divided over the proper role of the government in helping low-income people receive healthcare, eked out a procedural win on Tuesday when the Senate voted 51-50, with vice-president Mike Pence breaking a tie, to allow debate to start on legislation.The outcome came as a huge relief to President Donald Trump, who has called Obamacare a "disaster" and pushed fellow Republicans in recent days to follow through on the party’s seven-year quest to roll back the law.But hours later, Senate Republican leadership suffered a setback when the repeal-and-replace plan that they had been working on since May failed to get enough votes for approval, with nine out of 52 Republicans voting against it.Usually, bills reach the floor with a predictable outcome: sena...
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