Just Politics

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Globe Staff July 25, 2017

What did the Senate just vote on?

The Senate just voted 50-50 to begin debating the repeal and replacement of the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare.

Because of the tie vote, Vice President Mike Pence had to cast the deciding vote.

The vote means that debate on the controversial proposal can begin, but it doesn’t mean that a bill will eventually pass.

Republicans lost two of their 52-member majority on the way, leading to the tie, and some other GOP members have expressed concerns even though they voted for debate to begin.

US Senator John McCain, who returned to cast a vote despite a diagnosis of brain cancer, delivered an eloquent speech after the vote, saying the proposal currently pending was “a shell of a bill, we all know that.”