Democrats Cheer Crushing Trump-Ryan Failure to Kill Obamacare

2017-03-24 19

Trump; promises he can’t keep as usual–CNN screenshot

Democratic officials and elected leaders cheered as a major GOP defeat Speaker Paul Ryan’s withdrawal of the Trumpcare bill intended to repeal and replace Obamacare.

Lawmakers were scheduled to vote this afternoon after Republican leaders delayed it yesterday only to again pull the plug after Ryan spoke with Trump as both realized they didn’t have enough votes to pass the bill.

“The only way anything ever happens in Washington is when regular people stand up and speak out – and that’s exactly what happened with this awful bill to repeal the Affordable Care Act,” U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) said. “After so many New Yorkers and people across America raised their voices in opposition to this bill, the House of Representatives backed down today from a plan that would have taken away health care from an estimated 24 million Americans, would have brought us back to the days when insurance companies could refuse to cover maternity care, and would have made health care much more expensive for families and seniors – all while giving huge tax breaks to insurance companies and drug companies. We should continue to work to improve our health care system, but this was a bad bill, and I’m glad it was stopped.”

Rep. Barbara Lee said: “House Republicans’ failure to pass their cold-hearted, destructive repeal of the Affordable Care Act is a resounding victory for the resistance and the American people. Republicans should take a hard look at the unified opposition of the American people and abandon their campaign to strip healthcare from seniors, veterans, people living with HIV, and children.

“After vowing that his best and final offer would succeed, President Trump’s Art of the Deal was exposed for what it is: a futile approach to governance. By defeating this bill today, Congressional Democrats have stopped President Trump’s dangerous deal and protected the most vulnerable among us. We must never forget that the power of the people won this battle. Now more than ever we must stay vigilant and continue to resist President Trump’s un-American agenda.”

“From the beginning, TrumpCare was a bad piece of legislation that would have ripped away healthcare from 24 million Americans, imposed an age tax on older healthcare recipients and removed many essential health services from insurance plans,” said Rep. Nydia M. Velázquez (D-NY). “The American people made clear that they opposed this bill by wide margins and I am relieved this measure was stopped in its tracks. I can only hope now that the Administration and the Republican Leadership recommit to working with Democrats on other issues going forward. Building consensus is the only way to address the pressing matters facing our nation. However, if Republicans continue a go-it-alone, slash-and-burn approach to legislation, I suspect they will see this same result frequently in the future.”

New York City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, said: “Seven years after the Affordable Care Act was passed, Republican leadership have finally done a service to the American people by withdrawing their reckless attempt at its repeal. Although likely only a temporary stopgap, over 20 million citizens who found healthcare coverage under the original law – many representing vulnerable communities of color or advanced age – will maintain their insurance for another day.”

She added: “For thousands of New Yorkers, this development also ensures continued access to the much-needed state Medicaid programs threatened by AHCA amendments. The relief being felt by millions of low- and middle-income individuals cannot be understated, and today has been an undeniable victory for democratic ideals in our country. However, we know that this debate is far from over, and that we must continue to work to ensure that available coverage is comprehensive and affordable for the constituents it is meant to serve. If the goal of years of protestation from the right has been to provide a functional healthcare plan for all, then it is well-past time to prove it – and I look forward to seeing those in Washington, D.C. and Albany do just that.”

Randi Weingarten, the American Federation of Teachers President, said: “We elect people to Congress to solve problems, not to make life worse for Americans. The Trump-Ryan healthcare bill not only failed to deliver on the president’s campaign promises of a healthcare bill that lowers costs and expands coverage for all Americans, but also created a plan under which the only winners were the wealthy, insurance executives and other corporations, who would have received big tax breaks.”

She added: “Everyone else was a loser under this bill—including the 24 million Americans whose coverage would have been ripped away, and those with employer-based healthcare coverage who faced increased taxes. It would have resulted in higher costs, particularly for seniors; less coverage, particularly for women and children; and a shift in costs to states resulting in increased state and community fiscal burdens.”

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