Area Dems: Let's work to fix Obamacare; Toomey: Don't give up on repeal

U.S. Senate Democrats from the region applauded early Friday as the latest Republican attempt to scale back the Affordable Care Act went down in flames. The Senate's lone Republican from the area, Sen. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania, urged GOP lawmakers to try again.

"Tonight is a victory for millions of Americans who will not lose health coverage because Senate Republicans failed to pass their latest disgraceful attempt at a health repeal bill," said Sen. Cory Booker (D., N.J.).

Sen. Bob Menendez, also a Democrat from New Jersey, said, "Tonight, millions of American families who rely on the affordable health coverage provided under the ACA can breathe a sigh of relief."

He urged Republicans and Democrats to put aside differences and work on a compromise, although since President Obama first introduced the Affordable Care Act during his first term, there has been virtually no effort at finding a middle ground by either party.

Sen. Bob Casey (D., Pa.) praised Sen. John McCain, (R., Ariz.), who cast the deciding vote against the bill, while also lauding two other Republicans who voted against it, Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska.

"The Senate Republican health care plan was a terrible bill for the middle class and that is why it was rejected on a bipartisan basis," Casey said in tweet after the vote.

Both of Delaware's Democratic U.S. senators, Chris Coons and Tom Carper, said they were willing to work with Republicans to find common ground and fix the Affordable Care Act, generally known as Obamacare.

The 51-49 Senate vote to reject a scaled-back bill revamping aspects of the Affordable Care Act came at around 1:30 a.m.  The bill would have ended the legal requirement that all Americans carry health insurance and a rule that firms with 50 more employees provide coverage to their staff. Although it would have left untouched a significant expansion of Medicaid, the government health-care program for lower-income people, many Republicans had hoped that issue and others would be addressed when lawmakers crafted a compromise between the differing House and Senate bills.

Toomey, in a statement, expressed disappointment at the failed Republican effort but suggested he was willing to try again at some point.

"I am disappointed with this setback on efforts to fix our broken health care system," he said in a statement. "For hundreds of thousands of Pennsylvanians suffering the higher costs and fewer choices causes by Obamacare's collapse, Congress must not give up on repealing and replacing the failed health care law."