The United States House of Representatives is about to hold a vote on whether to pass the new American Health Care Act.
The House convened this morning at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time and is currently voting on the debate rules. There will be four hours of debate ahead of the American Health Care Act vote, with the the final vote expected between 4:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time.
However, the first series of votes will be held between 10:15 and 11:15 a.m. Eastern Time. Members of the House are expected to be leaving with the floor with the vote having been completed by between 4:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. Eastern Time.
In the days leading into the Obamacare repeal vote, it has become increasingly unclear whether Republicans have the votes to pass the American Health Care Act. No more than 21 Republicans can vote against the bill if it is to pass, and far more than 21 Republicans have expressed opposition to the bill.
Conservatives have said that the American Health Care Act is nothing more than “Obamacare Lite;” they dislike the fact that the bill relies so heavily on refundable tax credits, which they feel is just another entitlement and is not fundamentally different from Obamacare
The vote will be tight, though there has been some speculation that the White House may be able to strike a deal with conservative holdouts.