Hours after Republicans pulled the vote in the House of Representatives on their bill to replace Obamacare Friday, local congressmen and senators weighed in on why the bill failed to garner enough support.
Democratic Senator Kamala Harris gave a speech earlier this week in opposition to the bill.
In a statement Friday she said:
“This is a testament to the millions of Americans who stood up and spoke out to reject the idea that health care is a privilege and not a right. This sends a clear message to President Trump and Republicans. We will not cut the deficit by cutting care. We will not give tax breaks to insurers while giving higher medical bills to patients. We will not tell seniors, cancer patients, and women, ‘you’re on your own.’ Our constituents sent us to Washington to help improve the lives of all Americans, whether we’re Democrats, Republicans, or Independents. It’s time we do that.”
Congresswoman Karen Bass, a Democract representing LA, said in her statement that Democrats will keep standing up for people with pre-existing conditions and make sure that the marketplace provides coverage for those who need it. Her statement reads in part:
“Through the president’s proud negotiating tactics, the People’s House was left today to deliberate on a rushed bill that would have been more expensive than the president’s initial draft, yet still manage to abandon the same 24 million Americans by 2026. The pulling of this bill reflects the White House’s devastating inexperience and the inability of the Republican Party to effectively govern this body. I hope that the past weeks have sent the White House a strong message on behalf of the American people about their plans for the future of health care in our country.”
Democratic Rep. Susan Davis called the failure a “victory for the American people and our democracy,” in her statement. “It’s a testament to the power of the American people to have their voices heard on a bill that would have directly impacted their lives. I hope they will continue to weigh in and show this administration that its reckless policies will not pass muster with them. Clearly the American people didn't buy the Art of Repeal. The president just learned that health care's not just business - it's personal when people's lives are at stake.”
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Democratic Rep. Juan Vargas called the failed bill “disastrous” and said it looks like it might be the beginning of the end of the Trump agenda.
“The Deal-Maker-in-Chief wasn’t able to deliver on one of his key promises,” Vargas said in the statement. “I’m glad they pulled the bill. Hopefully, this means that my Republican colleagues acknowledged how disastrous Trumpcare would be for millions of people across the country. It's time for us to come together to find bipartisan solutions and make improvements to our health care system that will lower costs and increase access to quality, equitable and affordable health care for all Americans."
Republican Congressman Darrell Issa said the millions of Americans who had their insurance plans cancelled and and suffered premium hikes under Obamacare are depending on lawmakers repealing and replacing the law.
“We must deliver relief from this law and return choice back to the people, however the [American Health Care Act] was an imperfect approach and I believe that we can do better,” he said in his statement. Issa said they will "go back to the drawing board” to get it right for Americans worried about rising costs.
Scripps Health President and CEO Chris Van Gorder also made a statement regarding the pulling of the bill. He said the political fight has created a lot of uncertainty in the health care industry, but said that maintaining the status quo isn’t a good option either. His statement reads in full:
“Now that Republican leaders in the House of Representatives have pulled the new health care bill, the obvious question is what will happen next.
Clearly this is far from being over. The political battle waged over the last two months has created a great deal of uncertainty for everyone in the health care industry, including health care providers like Scripps Health.
At the same time, maintaining the status quo isn’t an attractive option. While extending insurance coverage to millions of more Americans under the Affordable Care Act has been a great accomplishment, we can all agree that the original legislation has some flaws that need to be addressed.
Perhaps this pause in the partisan firestorm in Washington offers the perfect opportunity to find consensus in this incredibly important debate.
I believe these priorities offer the keys to success: Making sure as many Americans as possible have insurance coverage; ensuring that coverage is affordable; and giving health care providers a seat at the table to hammer out the details since we are the ones who better understand the downstream impact of health reform legislation.
Just as Obamacare represented the will of the Democrats, Trumpcare or Ryancare represents the interests of the Republicans. Such partisan-based approaches will always be handicapped by the opposite party’s out-of-hand rejection.
Instead, we should all be joining forces to create AmericasCare – legislation based on compromise and flexibility.
Acting in a truly bipartisan effort will provide a foundation to sustain the provisions of a health care law for years to come and to fix the inevitable problems that will surface as we move from political legislation to real-world experience. And it will move us closer than ever to the goals we all share – insurance coverage for all Americans, better access to care and improved quality.”
