WASHINGTON, D.C. (CBS) — The Senate voted Tuesday in favor on a motion to proceed with debate on the Senate’s health care plan to effectively repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. On Tuesday night, the Senate Republican plan to repeal and replace the health care law failed on a procedural vote.

The Senate adjourned but will return on Wednesday morning at 9:30 a.m. to resume debate and consideration of amendments to the Republican health care bill. The next series of votes is expected at 11:30 a.m. Eastern.
• After 50 “no” votes on the motion to proceed to debate (including all Democrats plus two Republicans) and 50 “yes” votes from Republicans, Vice President Mike Pence broke the tie
• Sen. John McCain was welcomed back to Senate with standing ovation, votes “yes”
• Senate GOP’s plan to repeal and replace Obamacare, known as BCRA, fails in procedural vote, at about 9:30 p.m.

The first vote was intended to open debate on the American Health Care Act (AHCA), the GOP-sponsored Obamacare replacement plan that passed the House of Representatives in May.

Numerous amendments will now be offered that will dramatically change the nature of the House-passed legislation. Some amendments include a proposal to repeal and replace Obamacare, while another could simply repeal the 2010 health care law in its entirety and provide Congress with two years to figure out a replacement health care plan.

President Donald Trump has publicly pressured Republicans to vote to proceed and find a way to replace Obamacare.

Read this story on the CBS News website for the full list of Tuesday updates while Senate was in session. </s> The Senate is expected to begin a "vote-a-rama" Thursday on legislation to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act.

The "vote-a-rama" — which occurs after the Senate debates for 20 hours on proposed legislation — allows any senator to introduce an unlimited number of amendments that are voted on without debate.

After the comprehensive replacement bill and the "clean" repeal bill were defeated this week, GOP leaders are now looking to pass a "skinny repeal" bill that would make limited changes to the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare.

You can watch the proceedings live in the player above. </s> WASHINGTON - The Senate voted Wednesday to defeat a bill that would have repealed Obamacare within two years without any immediate plan to replace the sweeping health care law.

Senators voted 45-55 in favor of the bill, falling six votes short of the 51 needed to pass it. Seven Republicans voted against it: John McCain of Arizona, Dean Heller of Nevada, Susan Collins of Maine, Rob Portman of Ohio, Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia.

The vote comes on the second day of a 20-hour Senate debate on health care as Republican leaders scramble to win enough votes from their own members to pass something to replace the Affordable Care Act. The Senate began its session Wednesday morning with about 17 hours left in the debate.

Here's a look at where things stand now:

What are they voting on today?

The big vote so far was the failed attempt to pass the amendment by Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., to repeal the Affordable Care Act within two years, which would have given lawmakers time to come up with a replacement plan before the law expired. The proposal is the same as one passed by Congress in 2015, which was vetoed by former president Barack Obama. Collins is the only Republican senator who voted against the bill both times.

With a Republican president in the White House, GOP leaders tried again. Paul and other conservatives have led the push for a complete repeal of Obamacare. But there has been a lot of hesitation among Republicans for "repeal" without a plan for "replace."

What have they already voted on?

On Tuesday, senators voted 50-50 to begin debate on a health care bill. Vice President Pence had to come to the Senate chamber to break the tie and allow debate to start.

After that, the biggest news came Tuesday night when senators defeated a Republican bill, on a vote of 43-57, to replace Obamacare. Nine Republican senators voted against the legislation, which was drafted by Senate Republican leaders.

It included a proposal by Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, to allow insurers to sell bare-bones health care plans that don't cover maternity care and other major benefits as long as the companies also sell plans that include a full range of benefits.

The defeated plan also included a proposal by Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, to provide $100 billion in aid to help low-income Americans pay their medical bills after they lose Medicaid coverage as a result of the Senate health care bill.

What are Democrats doing?

The Democrats have been voting against the Republican bills to repeal and replace Obamacare. They also are using procedural tactics to try to slow down the debate process.

For example, Sen. Joe Donnelly, D-Ind., will offer a motion Wednesday to send health care legislation back to the Finance Committee for consideration. On Tuesday, they objected to the usual Senate practice of waiving the reading of the bill, so Senate clerks had to spend several hours reading the leadership replacement bill aloud.

What happens after the 20 hours of debate are over?

A vote-a-rama will begin on dozens of amendments offered by senators of both parties. That is expected to start Thursday.

Do Republican Senate leaders have an endgame?

With the defeat of the comprehensive replacement bill and the "clean" repeal bill, GOP leaders are now looking to pass a "skinny repeal" bill that would make limited changes to Obamacare. It would likely strip out the law's tax on medical devices and its requirements for individuals to buy health insurance and large employers to provide coverage for their workers.

If that plan passes the Senate, it would most likely go to a conference committee of House and Senate negotiators who would try to work out a final compromise.

Democrats say Senate leaders just want to pass anything they can take to this conference committee, where the real bill would be crafted.

"It's becoming clearer that, in the end, the majority leader might push a much scaled-back version of repeal in the hopes of passing something, so-called skinny repeal, just to get to conference," Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said in a speech on the Senate floor Wednesday. "But my colleagues, make no mistake about it, skinny repeal is equal to full repeal. It's a Trojan horse designed to get the House and Senate into conference where the hard-right flank of the Republican Caucus, the (House) Freedom Caucus, will demand full repeal or something very close to it."

Why has it been so difficult for the Senate to reach agreement?

Republican leaders have been trying to please the conservative and moderate wings of their party, and they have so far failed to win the support of both groups.

Conservatives generally want a complete repeal of Obamacare's taxes and regulations while moderates worry that ending the law's Medicaid expansion will leave struggling Americans with no way to afford medical coverage.

"Ultimately, we want to get legislation to finally end the failed Obamacare status quo through Congress and to the president’s desk for his signature," Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said Wednesday in a speech on the Senate floor. "This certainly won’t be easy. Hardly anything in this process has been." </s> WASHINGTON (CBSMiami) – Senators will be back on Capitol Hill on Wednesday to continue debate on repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act, aka Obamacare.

Tuesday night, by a vote of 43-57 the Senate Republican plan to repeal and replace the health care law failed on a procedural vote.

The Senate adjourned but will return at 9:30 a.m. to resume debate and consideration of amendments to a Republican health care bill. The next series of votes is expected at 11:30 a.m.

The vote on that bill took place just hours after they decided, by the narrowest margin possible, to proceed with debates on health care.

“We’re now one step closer to liberating our citizens from this Obamacare nightmare,” said President Donald Trump during a press conference Tuesday afternoon.

Wednesday’s debate will focus on the American Health Care Act (AHCA), the GOP plan that passed the House of Representatives in May.

Numerous amendments will now be offered that will dramatically change the nature of the House-passed legislation. Some amendments include a proposal to repeal and replace Obamacare, while another could simply repeal the 2010 health care law in its entirety and provide Congress with two years to figure out a replacement health care plan.

Nine Republicans came out against Tuesday night’s amendment in the first of what is expected to be many versions of the bill headed to the Senate floor this week.

“Anyone who thinks this is over is sadly mistaken, there are many many Republicans who don’t like this bill who don’t want to vote for it, they’re under enormous pressure to vote for it,” said Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-NY.

The House plan, which was rejected by the Senate, is the one that, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, would’ve resulted in 22 million fewer people with health care coverage by 2026. </s> The US Senate voted to begin debate on how to repeal and, eventually, replace the healthcare reform implemented by former President Barack Obama, although it is still not known what the final form of the bill might be.

Vice President Mike Pence on Tuesday, presiding over the Upper House, had to use his tiebreaking authority to overcome the impasse between Republicans and Democrats, given that conservative Senators Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski voted against the motion to begin debate on the bill, Efe news reported.

Senate Republicans are not in agreement on how to overturn ObamaCare, but President Donald Trump has been relentlessly pressuring the GOP to push forward with some kind of healthcare reform and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell convened the vote to begin debate without a concrete text for the bill in hand.

So far, the three bills presented to attempt to overturn ObamaCare have not managed to garner Republican consensus, and thus Trump and the party -- although it holds a majority in the Senate -- have been unable to fulfill one of their key campaign promises.

Senator John McCain of Arizona, despite his recent diagnosis of brain cancer, returned to Washington exclusively for Tuesday's session so that he could vote on the motion to begin debate on the health care matter.

McCain reportedly voted to begin debate, despite the fact that various analyses have estimated that some 24 million people would lose their health care coverage over the next decade if Republicans manage to push through some kind of bill to overturn ObamaCare.

All Senate Democrats, along with Collins and Murkowski, voted against the motion to begin debate.

However, about half a dozen Republican lawmakers kept their cards close to the vest until the last moment on how they would vote, having expressed serious doubts about the legislative alternatives to ObamaCare presented to date.

In the meantime, the mini-victory does not guarantee that Republicans will be able to find consensus within their ranks for some kind of bill to repeal ObamaCare. </s> WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Senate passed a vote today to begin discussing repealing the Affordable Care Act, with Vice President Mike Pence casting the tie-breaking vote to move forward.

Two Republican Senators voted no, but there were three that were pinpointed as possible swing votes, and all three of them decided to vote with their Republican colleagues.

Senators Rob Portman of Ohio, Dean Heller of Nevada, and Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia all recently said they have doubts about repealing the Affordable Care Act, but decided against blocking the motion to move forward to floor debate.

John McCain, who was recently diagnosed with brain cancer, flew from Arizona to D.C. to take part in the vote, which actually turned out to be crucial to the vote passing since it ended in a 50-50 tie with Vice President Pence breaking the deadlock.

The Senate now has to debate healthcare for 20 hours on the Senate floor as different proposals are brought up, including a potential full ACA repeal and the Better Care Reconciliation Act.

Again, today's vote in itself doesn't affect the ACA, but its the first step for the Senate to begin discussions toward overhauling the ACA. </s> Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky. walks to the Senate Chamber on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, July 25, 2017. (AAP)

Republicans have won a narrow vote in the United States Senate to begin formal debate of healthcare legislation as they look to repeal Obamacare.

The US Senate has voted to begin formal debate of healthcare legislation that would repeal major elements of Obamacare and possibly replace it with a less costly program.

By a vote of 51-50, with Vice President Mike Pence breaking a tie, the Republican effort cleared an important procedural hurdle in the Senate, but it was still unclear whether there would eventually be enough votes to pass a bill.

The outcome was a huge relief for President Donald Trump, who had pushed his fellow Republicans hard in recent days to live up to the party's campaign promises to repeal the 2010 Affordable Care Act, commonly known as Obamacare.

Senator John McCain, who has been battling brain cancer at home in Arizona, made a dramatic return to the Capitol to cast a vote to open the healthcare debate. He received an ovation from his fellow senators when he entered the chamber.

Senators Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski were the only Republicans to oppose the measure. Democrats were united in opposition to the motion to proceed.

A loss on Tuesday could have been a death blow for Republican efforts to repeal Obamacare, and also cast doubt on Trump's prospects to achieve any of his other top legislative agenda items, including tax reform.

"We have a duty to act," Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told senators before the vote, reminding Republicans they had promised to repeal Obamacare in four straight elections. "We can't let this moment slip by."

As the vote opened, more than two dozen protesters in the Senate chamber chanted "kill the bill" before they were removed.

The Senate will now launch what McConnell has promised will be a robust debate on healthcare that could include a variety of amendments.

Senators said a variety of approaches have been discussed, including a straight repeal of Obamacare with no replacement plan, or repealing and replacing the law while also overhauling Medicaid, the federal health insurance program for the poor and disabled.

Senate Republicans also could consider a shortened version of repeal, called a "skinny repeal," that would end Obamacare's individual and employer mandates and the medical device tax, a Senate aide and a lobbyist said. </s> WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Senate Republicans narrowly agreed on Tuesday to open debate on a bill to repeal Obamacare, but the party’s seven-year effort to roll back Democratic President Barack Obama’s signature healthcare law still faces significant hurdles.

The Senate deadlocked 50-50 on whether to move forward with the healthcare debate, forcing Vice President Mike Pence to cast the tie-breaking vote and send the bill to the Senate floor.

The outcome was a huge relief for President Donald Trump, who had pushed his fellow Republicans hard in recent days to live up to the party’s campaign promises to repeal the 2010 Affordable Care Act, commonly known as Obamacare.

But the narrow victory on a simple procedural matter raised questions about whether Republicans can muster the votes necessary to pass any of the repeal approaches the Senate will consider.

Senator John McCain, who has been battling brain cancer at home in Arizona, made a dramatic return to the Capitol to cast a vote to open the healthcare debate. He received an ovation from his fellow senators when he entered the chamber.

Senators Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski were the only Republicans to oppose the measure. Democrats were united in opposition to the motion to proceed.

A loss on Tuesday could have been a death blow for Republican efforts to repeal Obamacare, and also cast doubt on Trump’s prospects to achieve any of his other top legislative agenda items, including tax reform.

“We have a duty to act,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told senators before the vote, reminding Republicans they had promised to repeal Obamacare in four straight elections. “We can’t let this moment slip by.”

As the vote opened, more than two dozen protesters in the Senate chamber chanted “kill the bill” before they were removed.

The Senate will now launch what McConnell has promised will be a robust debate on healthcare that could include a variety of amendments.

Senators said a variety of approaches have been discussed, including a straight repeal of Obamacare with no replacement plan, or repealing and replacing the law while also overhauling Medicaid, the federal health insurance program for the poor and disabled.

Senate Republicans also could consider a shortened version of repeal, called a “skinny repeal,” that would end Obamacare’s individual and employer mandates and the medical device tax, a Senate aide and a lobbyist said.

“Some of us want clean repeal, some of us want the Senate leadership bill, they’re both going to get a vote early on and I think that’s a fair way to do it,” Republican Senator Rand Paul said. “If either one of them fails and another one succeeds, maybe we can find something in between that actually succeeds.” </s> WASHINGTON – Republicans finally cleared a key hurdle in their years-long effort to repeal Obamacare, the landmark law that reshaped health care and redefined campaign priorities for multiple election cycles.

Tuesday's high-stakes vote allows the Senate to simply begin debate with a likely vote on a straight repeal bill and perhaps a GOP health care reform plan next week.

The vote narrowly passed along party lines, with Vice President Mike Pence breaking the 50-50 tie.

It was preceded by the dramatic return of Sen. John McCain, who recently announced he has brain cancer. The Arizona lawmaker walked onto the Senate floor to a standing ovation, offering a critically needed vote to help Republicans break the deadlock.

President Donald Trump congratulated his colleagues on Capitol Hill immediately following the vote.

"This was a big step," he proclaimed. "I want to thank Senator John McCain and all of the Republicans."

"I want to congratulate [the] American people," he added. "We're going to give you great health care."

The president used the bully pulpit of the Oval Office to pressure the Senate into action after repeated failed attempts to cobble enough support among the Republican conference for its plan to replace the Affordable Care Act, President Barack Obama's signature domestic achievement.

Ahead of the procedural vote, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., called it an "important first step toward repealing Obamacare" and addressing its "failures."

"Any senator who votes against starting debate is telling America that you are fine with the Obamacare nightmare," McConnell said, reiterating President Trump's words.

Republicans who opposed the vote for debate include Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska.

Protesters temporarily interrupted with chants of "Kill the bill" and shouts of "Shame."
The U.S. Senate votes to open debate on repealing and possibly replacing Obamacare.