Sen. John McCain said Friday that he supported the chamber's tax reform plan — saying it provided "much-needed tax relief for hard-working American families" — while Sen. Lisa Murkowski objected to the Republican legislation's move to eliminate the Obamacare individual mandate.
McCain, the six-term Arizona senator, praised the Senate Finance Committee for "holding numerous hearings and spending four days debating the bill and considering amendments in committee."
The panel is headed by Utah Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch.
McCain expressed hope in his statement that the reform plan might provide President Donald Trump a key legislative victory before the end of the year.
"I am hopeful that when we return from the Thanksgiving recess to consider tax reform on the Senate floor," McCain said, "we will see this process continue, with both sides of the aisle having sufficient opportunity to debate the merits of tax reform and offer amendments."
Meanwhile, Murkowski, who represents Alaska, told Roll Call that she would not support any Obamacare repeal if the Senate does not first pass legislation sponsored by Tennessee GOP Sen. Lamar Alexander and Washington state Democrat Patty Murray that would lower healthcare premiums.
"If the Congress is going to move forward with repeal of the individual mandate, we absolutely must have the Alexander-Murray piece that is passed into law," Murkowski said.
With Republicans holding a slim 52-48 majority in the Senate, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky cannot lose more than two GOP votes to pass the reform plan.
Maine Sen. Susan Collins also has expressed concerns about rolling back the Obamacare mandate in the tax plan — and Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson said Wednesday that he would not support the bill in its current form.
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