Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., predicted Friday on Newsmax that lawmakers are "probably going to be voting all night" on the massive tax and spending megabill and will have to modify several provisions after the Senate parliamentarian rejected key parts related to Medicaid in the bill.
"I think we're going to get it done this weekend," Hoeven said on "Wake Up America." "In any event, we're staying here until we get it done. … in my opinion, we will get it done this weekend, and we should get it done … we need to get it done before July 4."
However, several revisions need to be completed, including on Medicaid cuts after the parliamentarian rejected them, said Hoeven.
"We have to meet a variety of rules called the Byrd test, and on a budget bill, it means it has to relate to actual funding," he said, adding that most provisions that needed to be modified have already been done.
"Not everything is going to be the way that we had hoped or wanted it coming in, but we know this process, and we're going to be able to make the adjustments we think work in most cases," he said.
But all aspects of the bill are important, and "we must get it passed," Hoeven said.
"Whether it's securing the border and funding to do that, whether it's support for our military, whether it's part of our effort to make America energy dominant, extending those tax cuts that are going to grow our economy and allowing hardworking Americans to keep more of their money and grow our economy, help with deficit and debt reduction, all those things — the things that President [Donald] Trump ran on — are in this bill, and we absolutely need to get it across the finish line."
Several Republican senators have spoken out about how changes in Medicaid legislation would affect their constituents, but Hoeven said it's also important to remember that some states have "gamed the system" by how they access federal Medicaid funding.
"They need to put up their share of the cost as the program was intended," he said, adding that lawmakers have also worked on several ways to help with the transition, including setting up a fund for rural hospitals.
"This is about making sure that we sustain Medicaid for the long term," said Hoeven.
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Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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