Holdout Paul says He's a 'Yes' On Tuesday's Test Vote - Senate Health Bill

Kentucky GOP Sen. Rand Paul said Tuesday he’ll vote later in the day to advance the chamber’s ObamaCare overhaul bill but again suggested he won’t give final support to legislation that doesn’t have input from him and other conservative senators.

The Republican-led House has already passed its ObamaCare overhaul measure. But Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has yet to get enough votes in his chamber to even take a preliminary vote like the one scheduled for Tuesday afternoon.

The Kentucky Republican will need support from at least 50 of the chamber’s 52 GOP senators, with Vice President Pence casting a tie-breaking vote. President Trump is pushing the Republican-led Senate to pass an overhaul bill before Congress’ August recess begins next week.

Paul, elected in 2010 in the Tea Party wave, says he and others like Texas GOP Sen. Ted Cruz have offered conservative amendments to lower insurance costs for Americans and cut billions in insurance company subsidies.

However, he argues the text of the overhaul legislation being considered Tuesday has not been reviewed by the Congressional Budget Office, which means those amendments cannot pass without getting 60 votes.