GOP-led Senate defeats Nelson's amendment to protect Medicare

By a vote of 47 to 51, the U.S. Senate today defeated an amendment offered by U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) earlier today to block Republicans’ efforts to cut more than $473 billion from Medicare.
“Why in the world would we want to cut $473 billion from Medicare?,” Nelson said on the Senate floor moments before the Senate began voting on his amendment. “My amendment simply restores that cut and replaces it with eliminating a number of the tax loopholes. It’s a simple amendment. Save Medicare.”
Nelson’s measure, which he filed today as an amendment to the Republicans’ budget plan currently being considered in the Senate, would have restored the $473 billion in cuts to Medicare by closing special interest tax loopholes instead.
The text of Nelson’s amendment is available here.
You can watch video of Nelson’s remarks on the Senate floor prior to the vote here: https://youtu.be/LUicdWWNNDU.

And here’s a rush transcript:
U.S. Senator Bill Nelson
Remarks on the Senate floor
October 18, 2017
Sen. Nelson: Before Medicare, one half of senior citizens in this country did not have health care health insurance. Medicare changed that.
Why in the world would we want to cut $473 billion from Medicare?
It doesn’t make sense. So my amendment simply restores that cut and replaces it with eliminating a number of the tax loopholes.
It’s a simple amendment. Save Medicare.