Washington, D.C. – Following Rep. Kevin McCarthy’s election as House Minority Leader, Brad Woodhouse, executive director of Protect Our Care, released the following statement:
“Kevin McCarthy is an anti-health care, out-of-touch politician, and his election to leadership shows that Republicans remain unwilling to listen to the American people and stop their repeal and sabotage campaign. Because of Kevin McCarthy’s failed leadership, California’s entire House Republican delegation voted to repeal the Affordable Care Act. These 14 House members supported legislation which would have kicked 23 million Americans off of their health insurance, jacked up premiums by double digits, and gutted protections for Americans with pre-existing conditions. Come January, as many as six of these Members will no longer be in Congress, with health care responsible for Democrats now holding those seats. We look forward to working with a new House, including health care champions Josh Harder, Katie Hill, Harley Rouda, and Mike Levin, to lower premiums and expand coverage for all Americans in the 116th Congress.”
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
Vox On Why California Republicans Stick With The Party On Health Care Repeal: “That’s The McCarthy Factor.” “But on major-ticket items like health care and tax reform, California’s culture of sticking with party has remained strong — one only helped by close allies in leadership that bring the promise of the national GOP’s support. That’s the McCarthy factor. The conservative California majority leader who’s both close to House Speaker Paul Ryan in leadership and an ally of President Donald Trump has an apparent strong hold on the California delegation. He’s not someone who will lead a policy debate, but he’s known for being well-liked and a skilled political tactician — enough to give members assurances of electoral protection.” [Vox, 11/20/17]
CA-10: Josh Harder Emphasized Jeff Denham’s Repeal Vote, Which Led Him To Run For Office. “To large and rambunctious crowds of volunteers on the final stretch of his campaign, Democrat Josh Harder on Saturday stressed the issue that started it all for him: healthcare. The former investor and venture capitalist spent most of the last decade outside his Central Valley district for school and work. But he has said he made his return to the place where he was born and raised to run for Congress — his first bid for elected office — because of Republican Rep. Jeff Denham’s vote to repeal the Affordable Health Care Act. ‘Every person you will be talking to today has a loved one who would be affected and hurt by that vote,’ he told a group of more than two dozen people gathered at a Turlock home for a canvass kickoff. ‘For me, it would be my younger brother, David. He was born 10 weeks premature.’” [Los Angeles Times, 11/3/18]
CA-25: Katie Hill Questioned Steve Knight At A Town Hall Over His Repeal Vote. “During a Q. & A. at the town hall, a young woman stood up. Speaking into a microphone held by one of Knight’s aides, she introduced herself, and people in the room began to whoop. ‘Last month, your party tried to overhaul the Affordable Care Act with the A.H.C.A.,’ she said, referring to the American Health Care Act, the proposed “Trumpcare” plan, which the Congressional Budget Office estimated would render twenty-three million people uninsured over the next decade. ‘And I think your constituents made it very clear how they felt about the A.H.C.A., as people here can attest.’ (Hundreds of residents of the Twenty-fifth District had protested outside of Knight’s office.) ‘As your constituent, I’d like to know,’ she added, ‘why you didn’t stand up to Paul Ryan and the rest of your party to protect us from that horrible piece of legislation?’ Knight, pacing at the front of the room, muttered something about people in the fifty-to-sixty-four-year-old age bracket and asked, ‘I’m sorry, what’s your first name?’ The audience guffawed. ‘Katie,’ the woman said.” [New Yorker, 6/12/18]
CA-48: Harley Rouda Hit Dana Rohrabacher So Much Over Pre-Existing Conditions He Tried To Change History, But It Wasn’t Enough. “Health care has been a key issue on the campaign trail… California GOP Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, who is in a tight re-election race against Democratic challenger and businessman Harley Rouda, has gone personal with a new TV campaign commercial in which he discusses his daughter Annika’s leukemia diagnosis and coverage for pre-existing health conditions. Yet the new ad doesn’t talk about the Orange County politician’s vote for the American Health Care Act of 2017. A Congressional Budget Office report warned the AHCA would result in 23 million Americans losing health-care coverage and would undermine protections for pre-existing medical conditions.” [CNBC, 10/5/18]
CA-49: Mike Levin Used Health Care To Flip A Seat That Had Been Republican For 18 Years.”On health care, Levin accuses his opponent of voting five times against covering pre-existing conditions. ‘We’ve got to do all we can to ensure quality and affordable care for everyone,’ Levin said during an interview with KPBS. ‘That will be our first order of business on the path to universal coverage, which I also see as one of the great moral issues of our time.’” [KPBS, 10/17/18]