Key Vote Alert – “No” on SGR Replacement Bill (HR ___)
KEY VOTE ALERT
“No” on SGR Replacement Bill (HR ___)
The Club for Growth urges all members of Congress to vote “NO” on the SGR Replacement Bill (HR ___) that was recently introduced in the House without being fully offset. A vote on this bill which could include partial offset language yet to be released is expected sometime next week. This vote will be included in the Club’s 2015 Congressional Scorecard.
For the past decade and a half, Congress has routinely passed “doc fix” bills that increased reimbursements to health care providers in the face of scheduled cuts. These fixes papered over the well-intended Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) formula that tried to tamp down health care costs, but was extremely flawed. In any legislation replacing the SGR formula, the Club’s top concern is that it is fully paid for with sensible reforms. Unfortunately, this bill falls woefully short of that goal. News reports state that the 10-year cost of the new bill is $200 billion, of which only $70 billion will be offset. Part of this huge price tag is a 2-year extension of CHIP, a program that should be terminated. Worse, a cost estimate by the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget suggests this bill will add $400 billion to the national debt over 20 years. All of this, of course, assumes that Congress will abide by the $70 billion offset. But we consider it far from certain that they will.
If an official cost estimate comes out that shows this bill is fully offset by real spending cuts or reforms, the Club will remove its objections to the plan.
Our Congressional Scorecard for the 114th Congress provides a comprehensive rating of how well or how poorly each member of Congress supports pro-growth, free-market policies and will be distributed to our members and to the public.
Vote Results
Club Position
No
Required for Majority
1/2
Vote Results
Bill Passed
Vote Number
144
Vote Date
April 14, 2015
Vote Counts
YEAs:
88
NAYs:
8
Not Voting:
0
Tammy Baldwin
WI
D
Y
Michael Bennet
CO
D
Y
Richard Blumenthal
CT
D
Y
Cory Booker
NJ
D
Y
Barbara Boxer
CA
D
Y
Sherrod Brown
OH
D
Y
Maria Cantwell
WA
D
Y
Benjamin Cardin
MD
D
Y
Thomas Carper
DE
D
Y
Bob Casey
PA
D
Y
Christopher Coons
DE
D
Y
Richard Durbin
IL
D
Y
Dianne Feinstein
CA
D
Y
Al Franken
MN
D
Y
Kirsten Gillibrand
NY
D
Y
Martin Heinrich
NM
D
Y
Heidi Heitkamp
ND
D
Y
Mazie Hirono
HI
D
Y
Tim Kaine
VA
D
Y
Amy Klobuchar
MN
D
Y
Patrick Leahy
VT
D
Y
Joe Manchin
WV
D
Y
Edward Markey
MA
D
Y
Claire McCaskill
MO
D
Y
Robert Menendez
NJ
D
Y
Jeff Merkley
OR
D
Y
Barbara Mikulski
MD
D
Y
Christopher Murphy
CT
D
Y
Patty Murray
WA
D
Y
Bill Nelson
FL
D
Y
Gary Peters
MI
D
Y
Jack Reed
RI
D
Y
Harry Reid
NV
D
Y
Brian Schatz
HI
D
Y
Chuck Schumer
NY
D
Y
Jeanne Shaheen
NH
D
Y
Debbie Stabenow
MI
D
Y
Jon Tester
MT
D
Y
Tom Udall
NM
D
Y
Mark Warner
VA
D
Y
Elizabeth Warren
MA
D
Y
Sheldon Whitehouse
RI
D
Y
Ron Wyden
OR
D
Y
Angus King
ME
I
Y
Bernie Sanders
VT
I
Y
Lamar Alexander
TN
R
Y
Kelly Ayotte
NH
R
Y
John Barrasso
WY
R
Y
Richard Burr
NC
R
Y
Shelley Moore Capito
WV
R
Y
Bill Cassidy
LA
R
Y
Daniel Coats
IN
R
Y
Thad Cochran
MS
R
Y
Susan Collins
ME
R
Y
Bob Corker
TN
R
Y
John Cornyn
TX
R
Y
Tom Cotton
AR
R
Y
Mike Crapo
ID
R
Y
Ted Cruz
TX
R
N
Steve Daines
MT
R
Y
Michael Enzi
WY
R
Y
Joni Ernst
IA
R
Y
Deb Fischer
NE
R
Y
Jeff Flake
AZ
R
Y
Cory Gardner
CO
R
Y
Lindsey Graham
SC
R
Y
Chuck Grassley
IA
R
Y
Orrin Hatch
UT
R
Y
Dean Heller
NV
R
Y
John Hoeven
ND
R
Y
James Inhofe
OK
R
Y
Johnny Isakson
GA
R
Y
Ron Johnson
WI
R
Y
Mark Kirk
IL
R
Y
James Lankford
OK
R
Y
Mike Lee
UT
R
N
John McCain
AZ
R
Y
Mitch McConnell
KY
R
Y
Lisa Murkowski
AK
R
Y
Rand Paul
KY
R
Y
David Perdue
GA
R
N
Rob Portman
OH
R
Y
Jim Risch
ID
R
Y
Pat Roberts
KS
R
Y
Mike Rounds
SD
R
Y
Marco Rubio
FL
R
N
Ben Sasse
NE
R
N
Tim Scott
SC
R
N
Jeff Sessions
AL
R
N
Richard Shelby
AL
R
N
Dan Sullivan
AK
R
Y
John Thune
SD
R
Y
Thom Tillis
NC
R
Y
Pat Toomey
PA
R
Y
David Vitter
LA
R
Y
Roger Wicker
MS
R
Y