Mar 2, 2017

Congressmen hunt for secret Obamacare repeal/replace bill

Sarah Kliff / Twitter

The GOP has drafted some portion of a bill to repeal and replace Obamacare, which reportedly was being kept in Capitol room H-157 for Republican House members to stop in and view today. Rand Paul then made it his mission to track down and release the bill — only to be stopped at H-157's door.

He then held an impromptu press conference outside of "the secret office for the secret bill" and vowed to "keep pressure up all day today" to get House leadership to release the bill.

Democrats including Minority Whip Steny Hoyer and Paul Tonko smelled blood in the water as they showed up at the room to try to get a peek at the bill. Hoyer said Republican secrecy around the bill was"not good order for the American people." Tonko said he wants to read the bill "because it's affecting one-sixth of our nation's economy."

A twist! Reporters were let into H-157 to confirm that the bill was not being held there.

Rep. Jan Schakowsky: "Well, we're on a treasure hunt, I guess." She added that lawmakers might need a sniffer dog to find the bill.

One member compares this to an egg hunt. This being finding the Obamacare bill. pic.twitter.com/f89hZl5121— Caitlin Owens (@caitlinnowens) March 2, 2017

There's also this video, by HuffPost reporter Matt Fuller, that has a special Steny Hoyer monologue:

Here is a @MEPFuller periscope that includes Hoyer lecturing a statue of Abraham Lincoln https://t.co/KwyzBcm92W— Justin Green (@JGreenDC) March 2, 2017

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U.S. coronavirus updates

Data: The Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins; Map: Andrew Witherspoon/Axios. This graphic includes "probable deaths" that New York City began reporting on April 14.

More than 62,300 U.S. health care workers have tested positive for the novel coronavirus and at least 291 have died from the virus, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported on Tuesday. COVID-19 had infected about 9,300 health professionals when the CDC gave its last update on April 17.

By the numbers: More than 98,900 people have died from COVID-19 and over 1.6 million have tested positive in the U.S. Over 384,900 Americans have recovered and more than 14.9 million tests have been conducted.

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Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

  1. Global: Total confirmed cases as of 11:00 p.m. ET: 5,589,626 — Total deaths: 350,453 — Total recoveries — 2,286,956 — Map.
  2. U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 11:00 p.m. ET: 1,680,913 — Total deaths: 98,913 — Total recoveries: 384,902 — Total tested: 14,907,041 — Map.
  3. Federal response: DOJ investigates meatpacking industry over soaring beef prices — Mike Pence's press secretary returns to work.
  4. Congress: House Republicans to sue Nancy Pelosi in effort to block proxy voting.
  5. Business: How the new workplace could leave parents behind.
  6. Tech: Twitter fact-checks Trump's tweets about mail-in voting for first time — Google to open offices July 6 for 10% of workers.
  7. Public health: Coronavirus antibodies could give "short-term immunity," CDC says, but more data is needed— CDC releases guidance on when you can be around others after contracting the virus.
  8. What should I do? When you can be around others after contracting the coronavirus — Traveling, asthma, dishes, disinfectants and being contagious — Masks, lending books and self-isolating — Exercise, laundry, what counts as soap — Pets, moving and personal health — Answers about the virus from Axios experts — What to know about social distancing — How to minimize your risk.
  9. Other resources: CDC on how to avoid the virus, what to do if you get it, the right mask to wear.

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Updated 15 mins ago - Politics & Policy

World coronavirus updates

Data: The Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins; Map: Axios Visuals

There are no COVID-19 patients in hospital in New Zealand, which reported just 21 active cases after days of zero new infections. A top NZ health official said Tuesday he's "confident we have broken the chain of domestic transmission."

By the numbers: Almost 5.5 million people have tested positive for the novel coronavirus as of Tuesday, and more than 2.2 million have recovered. The U.S. has reported the most cases in the world (over 1.6 million from 14.9 million tests).

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