Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) on Tuesday said Democrats will keep fighting Senate Republicans’ proposal to repeal parts of Obamacare, after Republican leaders announced that a vote on the bill will be delayed until after the July 4 recess.
“We know the fight is not over, that is for sure,” Schumer said at a press conference after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) announced the delay. “We’re not resting on any laurels, nor do we feel any sense yet of accomplishment.”
Schumer said Senate Republicans will continue trying to corral enough votes to pass the proposal.
“Over the next couple of weeks, we know that Leader McConnell will try to use a slush fund to buy off Republicans, cut back-room deals, to try and get this thing done,” he said.
Schumer cited the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office’s estimate that 22 million more people would lose coverage by 2026 than under current law.
“The truth is, as CBO made clear yesterday, the Republicans cannot excise the rotten core at the center of their health care bill,” he said. “Even Trump voters don’t like it. That is not going to change with any little tweak that wins over this senator or that.”
He called for Republican senators to “abandon the closed-door secret process” they used to draft the legislation.
“Go to regular order, have committee hearings, allow amendments and go back to the idea that you need 60 votes, a bipartisan majority, to pass a bill, and we can start over again and work together,” he said.
Schumer said Democrats will “watch” the bill and fight any future iterations “tooth and nail” if they resemble the current proposal.
“We’re going to fight the bill,” he said. “And we have a darn good chance of defeating it — a week from now, a month from now, a year from now.”
Maybe, just maybe, the DNC, DCCC, etc. could use this as a rallying point?
You know, the first time I even heard of the DCCC was here, about one week ago. I can guarantee my peers haven’t heard of it. Few know what the DNC is. That’s probably not good.
Glad I got into this thread early.
The Ds now have an opportunity to change the debate and offer a new healthcare program to enhance O’care. While Liz Warren think single-payer is the answer (and probably would be the cheapest) the taxes necessary to make it work will face major PR hurdles probably not possible to get over.
Instead, refresh the idea of a public option, which was popular, is just an “option” for consumers, would cover the 10 essential benefits, and cut insurance companies out of the loop (another popular step with the public at large, though not the Rs who are beholden to them). Off it to both individuals AND employers at a lower cost that most private insurance and it would get to single-payer (or at least dominant market position) in short order as private insurance companies could not compete or would need to behave and actually become more efficient.
I just moved from PA to DE, and I lost my Blue Cross PA coverage which was great because it was a silver plan with a zero deductible but co-pay up to a reasonable amount out of pocket. This plan wasn’t offered in DE. The public option plans could do something similar, use community rating and the current subsidy structure, and expand coverage.
The advantage is that healthcare and insurance would not be a slave to insurance company whims and would provide a carrier at a reasonable cost everywhere.
If that’s not good enough for the far left, I’m happy to add basic coverage for doctor visits and preventive care for everyone outside of insurance, and stop-loss for all plans so that nobody goes broke. And we should increase taxes EVEN MORE on the wealthy to cover any additional cost.
The comparison needs to be stark, with the people getting more and the widely perceived bad guys and their GOP mouthpieces looking bad.
Keep it up, Chuck
You have to admit that the Democratic senators are doing a really good job in opposition. With no power, while being shut out of any negotiations, they are still managing to drive narratives and get things done for the American people. The only thing that could be done better is getting the message out…the Democrats in general need a point person who can state loud and clear what the Democrats stand for and how the Republicans are not interested in helping the common person.