House Republicans finally think they’ve badgered, bullied, and bribed enough of their members to pass Zombie Trumpcare. They’ve given them special rules to batter liberal states and deprive women of choice. They’ve exempted themselves from having to live with their disaster. The CBO hasn’t yet scored the bill, so the true level of damage isn’t even known, but there’s no doubt that it’s huge and Republicans are hurrying to push the bill through before people know how bad it really is. Above all they’ve crafted a “healthcare bill” that is actually a massive giveaway to the wealthy.
... the House GOP health plan reduces revenues by nearly $900 billion over the decade, according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), including $592 billion in tax cuts largely for the wealthy.
The bill has provisions that allow states to opt out of covering pre-existing conditions, casting millions of Americans to the less-than-tender mercies of hugely underfunded “risk pools.” Republicans have bought off moderates by giving a limited, one-time boost to the bill that keeps the worst of the damage from hitting in first two years. But then the real cuts kick in and even states with Democratic governors will be face brutal decisions as funding drops precipitously.
Why did Republicans do it that way? Because two years from now is after the 2018 elections. The Republicans think if they win this one, they’ll score points with their base and still be able to go back to voters in the next congressional election and say “See? We repealed Obamacare and everything is fine!” They think that will be enough to secure their seats and drain the energy from those opposed to their trickle-down agenda.
They think if they break the resistance today, it’ll stay broken.
The resistance to Trump and his Republicans is a lot stronger than they think. It’s not a passing fad, it’s not something they can quiet with a single defeat. But … don’t give them the chance to steal our energy. Stop. Them. Here.
House Republicans are hell-bent on ripping away our health insurance. Call your member of Congress at 202-224-3121, and demand they vote NO on a renewed Trumpcare that is worse than the one before. Remind them they work for you.
Republicans really think they’re going to do it this time.
House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy came out of a closed door leadership meeting around 7 p.m. Wednesday night to announce that they had locked up the votes to pass the bill and would bring it to the floor on Thursday.
“I think we have enough votes,” he told reporters. “It’s a good bill. As you know, we already debated a large portion of this. We’re going to pass it.”
After over seven years of pretending to do something about healthcare to satisfy their base, Republicans are now trying to actually hurt actual people … to satisfy their base. But first they made certain that they don’t have to live with it.
As Republicans rush to vote on their latest ObamaCare repeal-and-replace plan, it appears to still include a waiver exempting members of Congress and their staffs from losing the healthcare bill's popular provisions.
The Affordable Care Act required congress members and their staffs to purchase plans from the exchange, just like their constituents. But now Republicans can shake off that just-another-citizen smell and know that they’re properly exempt from the wreck they’re causing.
The House Rules Committee approved procedural rules Wednesday night to fast-track consideration of both the GOP healthcare bill and the separate measure to address the potential congressional exemption.
This express train can still be stopped. Call your member of Congress at 202-224-3121. Do it quickly, because time is short.