WATCH: Sen healthcare vote delay doesn’t mean death for bill

by The Hill Staff - 06/27/17 5:44 PM ET

The decision to delay a vote on the GOP’s healthcare bill does not mean the ObamaCare repeal effort will die in the Senate, according to a House Republican deputy whip.

{mosads}”This is Washington, you know, people pretty much had bets on us that we could never get a bill out of the House. This is important,” Rep. Bob Latta (R-Ohio) said in an interview with The Hill’s Molly K. Hooper.

Latta’s comments come after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) announced Tuesday that he would delay a vote on the Senate GOP’s “Better Care Reconciliation Act”. The vote was originally expected this week, but will instead be held when lawmakers return from the July 4th recess.

As of Tuesday morning, at least six senators opposed the Obamacare repeal bill. McConnell can only afford to lose two GOP votes and still pass the measure, as all Senate Democrats are expected to vote no.

Pushing the Senate vote until after the July 4th recess could mean an ObamaCare repeal and replacement bill would reach the president’s desk later than expected; perhaps eating into the month-long August recess.

The fate of the Senate GOP healthcare bill appears to be following in the footsteps of the House-approved American Health Care Act (ACHA). The ACHA was approved nearly two months after Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.) pulled its consideration from the floor.

“The main thing is is we just have to get the work done,” Latta said of the timing. “I have not heard anybody say ‘gee, I don’t want to be here in August,’ everybody says we’ve got to get this work done,” Latta added.