If you want to repeal Obamacare with FY17 reconciliation, you better do it soon:
*PARLIAMENTARIAN RULES ACA REPEAL MECHANISM EXPIRES SEPT 30— Anna Edgerton (@annaedge4) September 1, 2017
The dramatic vote at 2:20 AM where all forty eight Democrats and three Republican Senators voted against Skinny Repeal did not kill the bill. It merely killed an amendment in the form of a substitute to the underlying reconciliation compatible repeal measure. Senator Majority Leader McConnell then pulled the vehicle from consideration at that time. He reserved the right to put it back on the calendar.
The big question remained as to when the reconciliation vehicle dies. It will die if it is not passed in the fiscal year for the budget it was created from. That means it is only a viable vehicle until midnight on September 30, 2017. Once must-pass bills are taken care of (CHIP, Harvey, flood insurance, debt limit, FY-18 funding) Democrats must insist on either immediate adjournment until 12:01 AM October 1st or promise to filibuster everything including post office renaming bills to run out the clock.
Once FY-18 begins, the reconciliation instructions need to be written again and it basically forces a choice between tax cuts or the repeal buzz saw for Republicans.