House Democrats passed the series of bills lined up Thursday to reverse the Trump administration's sabotage of the Affordable Care Act as well as measures to bring down the costs of prescription drugs. The linking of those two issues to enhance health care infuriated Republicans, who were looking for an undeserved win on health care.
The Democratic majority nonetheless passed the package of bills that would secure coverage for people with pre-existing medical conditions by rolling back Trump sabotage, putting Republicans who have been swearing up and down that those ongoing protections are their top priority on the spot. Now, says House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, it's up to the Senate to do the same. "There's been a relentless campaign of sabotage by the Trump administration to deny people health care, and thankfully, the new Democratic majority in the House has taken action," she said ahead of the vote. "But the Republican-led Senate? No movement. Nothing."
The ranking member of the powerful Energy and Commerce Committee, Rep. Greg Walden of Oregon, railed against Democratic efforts to restore Obamacare, from its protections to the government's responsibility to make using it easier. He called it a "bail out" of Obamacare, the law of the land, and "gotcha politics." Oh, the humanity.
The bills are part of a larger package of a dozen bills that would strengthen the law and, yes, force Republicans to once again put votes on the record for or against health care for Americans. "Gotcha" politics? Yes, as if that was a brand-new thing. But gotcha politics that serves the larger purpose of exposing, once again, Republicans' empty talk on health care.
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