Last night, two more Senate Republicans—Sens. Moran (R-KS) and Lee (R-UT) publicly said they would not vote for the Senate’s version of Trumpcare. That meant the bill, in its current form, was officially dead. But the fight is far from over. Majority leaders in Congress have an even worse plan amounts to a “burn it down” strategy – that of “repeal and delay” which would strip more than 30 million people of their care to give even bigger tax breaks to the rich at the expense of middle class families.
McConnell’s repeal and delay suggestion would mean that the Senate would vote for the House health care bill and then to repeal the Affordable Care Act completely. The repeal would not take effect for two years, theoretically giving the Senate that much more time (eight years was not enough) to come up with a replacement plan. This vote will look remarkably similar to the 2015 repeal bill, which the CBO estimated would leave 32 million people uninsured by 2026 while costs skyrocket and put affordable health care out of reach for millions of working Americans. But the damage would come much sooner than that. Passing a repeal and delay bill would unravel the insurance market almost immediately.
So far, things are not looking good for McConnell and Trump, already Sens. Collins (R-ME), Capito (R-WV), and McCain (R-AZ) have come out in opposition to the idea. But this fight is far from over.
ACTION OF THE DAY
Keep fighting. Consistent resistance to efforts to take health care away from millions of Americans has stopped Congressional Republicans’ repeated attempts to pass Trumpcare, but we cannot let up the pressure now. They are determined to do anything they can to repeal the Affordable Care Act. Call today to let your senator know we’re still watching: (202) 224-3121.
WHAT’S TRENDING
Budgets. Today, the House of Representatives released their budget proposal and—surprise!—it looks a lot like Trump’s budget (the one that would devastate programs that millions of people rely on). The plan takes a wrecking ball to health care, infrastructure, education, affordable housing, clean air and water, and more all to give tax breaks to big business and the wealthy few.
Made in America. The week continues. And the same day that Trump began his scheduled push of the “hire American, buy American” message, the federal government announced plans to ramp up the number of temporary foreign workers in the U.S.
Tax Reform. Part of the reason Congressional Republicans are so eager to finish this health care fight is so they can move on to tax reform. New analysis from the Tax Policy Center finds that Trump’s proposed tax cuts would give the top 0.1 percent of earners an average tax cut of $937,700. It would give the average family earning under $2,5000 an average tax cut of $40.
FACT CHECK
“More bills…than any president ever.” Yesterday, Trump said, “We’ve signed more bills — and I’m talking about through the legislature — than any president, ever.” He hasn’t.
UNDER THE RADAR
Special session. The Texas state legislature is set to convene today for a special session called by Republican Governor Greg Abbott. On the governor’s list of 20 legislative items to address are two anti-trans bathroom bills which would undo and prevent local nondiscrimination ordinances and prohibit schools from protecting transgender students. Business leaders have denounced the North Carolina-style bathroom bills, and Texas House Republican Speaker Joe Straus has spoken out against the legislation. Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, who is largely driving the special session agenda, has called transgender people “predators.” Governor Abbott has pledged to hold lawmakers responsible for opposing his legislative agenda during the special session.
GOOD NEWS
Express yourself. Soon there will be an emoji (or two) to accurately express our feelings about many Trump administration actions, from trying to repeal the Affordable Care Act to dismissing their collusion as fake news.