Sanders Signals Backing of Senate Slowdown Over Health Care Bill

(Bloomberg) — Sen. Bernie Sanders signaled support for Democrats trying to shut down Senate business in response to Republicans’ closed-door work on legislation to change the Affordable Care Act.

“I am in favor of the American people and members of Congress doing everything that we can to defeat that horrific piece of legislation that will hurt tens and tens of millions of people in our country,” Sanders said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

(Related: Senate GOP Writing ACA Change Bill Behind Closed Doors)

CNN reported on Saturday, citing unnamed sources, that Democrats are considering steps to halt Senate business to protest Republicans working on their health bill in secret.

The former Democratic presidential candidate from Vermont responded to a question about whether he favors such a tactic, as a small group of Senate Republicans prepare their version of a bill that the House passed on May 4 to repeal and replace President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul.

Options open to the Democrats include using parliamentary moves to prevent committees from meeting for longer than two hours, which would make it difficult for Republicans to schedule votes on even routine matters, CNN said.

Democrats have protested Senate Republican leaders drafting their health care bill behind closed doors. Even some rank-and-file Republican senators, including Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Jeff Flake of Arizona, have said they don’t know what’s in the measure.