Rep. Chris Collins (R-NY) on Thursday said he did not read the full text of the Republican bill to repeal and replace Obamacare before voting to pass it through the House.
“The actual legislation, the language in this bill including the two amendments that were added to it, we only saw that language in the past 24 hours. Did you actually sit down and read the entire bill plus all of the amendments?” CNN’s Wolf Blitzer asked Collins.
“I will fully admit, Wolf, I did not but I can also assure you my staff did,” Collins replied. “We have to rely on our staff.”
“This legislation affects a fifth of the U.S. economy and millions and millions of Americans,” Blitzer said. “Don’t you think it was important to actually sit down and read the language of this bill?”
“You know, I have to rely on my staff,” Collins said again. “I can probably tell you that I read every word and I wouldn’t be telling you the truth nor would any other member.”
Collins said he was “comfortable” that he understood the legislation “without poring through every word.”
“We rely on our staff and we rely on our committees,” he said. “I’m just being quite honest. That’s the way it is.”
