House Democrats warned their Republican colleagues against voting for the American Health Care Act on Friday, pointing to the speed with which it was pushed through the chamber and its unpopularity in a recent poll.
“What is happening today is a lose-lose situation for the Republicans,” Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said of the legislation during a press conference with party leadership.
“It’s a lose for the American people, that’s for sure,” she continued. “But the people who vote for this will have this vote tattooed to their foreheads as they go forward.”
House Democratic Caucus Chair Joe Crowley (D-NY) added: “The adage, ‘damned if you do, damned if you don’t’? They may feel damned if they don’t. We believe they’ll be even more damned if they do.”
The Democrats referred to a Quinnipiac poll released Thursday that found those opposed to the AHCA outweighed those in favor of it three-to-one.
They also criticized Republicans for rushing the measure through the House, and took aim at a last-minute amendment to, among other things, eliminate the Obamacare requirement that insurers cover Essential Health Benefits, like prescription coverage and maternity care.
“This bill has become worse every hour that it has been considered, which is a very very short period of time,” Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-MD) said.
