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House speaker appears to give boost to Senate health-care push

The Washington Post: The Senate Republican plan for a scaled-back overhaul of the Affordable Care Act was headed for a cliffhanger vote when House Republican leaders said late Thursday that they were willing to use the proposal as a basis for negotiating a broader rollback of the law.

After a two-hour standoff, House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) issued a measured statement expressing openness to a House-Senate conference that many rank-and-file Republican senators have demanded as a condition for backing “skinny repeal” legislation that has little substantive appeal to them.

Ryan’s statement came as the Senate prepared for a marathon session of votes on health-care legislation that was expected to begin late Thursday and extend into Friday morning. The speaker also scheduled a pivotal meeting with his House caucus Friday to hash out the Senate’s demands.

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