Trump: ObamaCare is death
President Donald Trump urged Republican senators Monday to keep their promise to the American people to repeal and replace ObamaCare, as a critical vote looms Tuesday to advance a debate on the Senate floor.
“For Senate Republicans this is their chance to keep their promise … to the American people to provide emergency relief to those in desperate need of help,” Trump said at the White House Monday. “The American people have waited long enough. There’s been enough talk and no action, now is the time for action … We must repeal and replace ObamaCare now.”
While Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said the party will attempt to move ahead with a health care vote this week, it has yet to be decided whether that vote will be on a repeal and replace plan or a repeal-only measure. But before they can vote on either, the chamber must approve a motion to proceed on Tuesday, which would allow McConnell to bring a bill up for consideration. Trump said Monday, anyone who votes against that motion is essentially saying they are fine with the current state of the health care marketplace.
“The question for every senator, Democrat or Republican, is whether they will side with the ObamaCare architects… or with its forgotten victims,” he said. “Any senator who votes against debate is telling America you are fine with the ObamaCare nightmare.”
On Monday, the president listed many of the components of the senate’s revised health care bill, saying despite criticisms some Americans might suffer under the GOP plan, the Affordable Care Act is the real problem: “ObamaCare is death, that’s the one that is death. And besides that, it’s failing so you won’t have it anyway.”
According to the Congressional Budget Office, the Senate’s most recent bill would cause an additional 22 million individuals to lose coverage over the next decade when compared with a continuation of the current law.
The revised bill to repeal and replace ObamaCare failed to garner enough support within the party last week. Intraparty divisions have been hard for members of the leadership to satisfy as conservatives want as much of the Affordable Care Act erased as possible, while the more moderate members of the party are concerned about slowing the expansion of Medicaid and how Americans’ coverage will be affected.
The GOP can only afford to lose the support of 2 of its 52 senators in order for a measure to pass.