Washington, D.C. – Over the weekend, Republicans continued to leave the American people high and dry as they refused to end the Trump-GOP health care crisis and government shutdown. On Friday, Senate Republican Leader John Thune rejected Senate Democrats’ proposal. Donald Trump doubled down on his hatred for the Affordable Care Act, calling it “the worst.” Senators Lindsey Graham and Bill Cassidy called for the repeal of the tax credits.
In response, Protect Our Care President Brad Woodhouse issued the following statement:
“This weekend has made clear that any offer ever made by Republicans to negotiate on health care tax credits was always a lie. On Thursday, Mike Johnson ruled out a vote on extending the credits in the House, on Friday, John Thune called a one-year extension of the tax credits a ‘non-starter,’ and over the weekend, multiple Republicans called for the credits to be repealed entirely. Well, we certainly know where Republicans stand. The same party that just months ago slashed Medicaid by a trillion dollars to pay for tax breaks for billionaires just told another 24 million Americans who rely on these credits for health care to pound sand – a fact millions of Americans won’t soon forget. The Republican war on health care marches on.”
Background
Since assuming office, Trump and Congressional Republicans have wielded their power to launch an unprecedented assault on the health care of everyday Americans. They gutted over $1 trillion from Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act (ACA) to fund tax breaks for billionaires and big corporations. Now, they are holding the government hostage in the longest shutdown in U.S. history to strip health care tax credits away from over 24 million Americans, doubling, tripling, and quadrupling the premiums of hard-working people. On Tuesday, the American people soundly rejected the Trump-GOP health care crisis in a slew of bellwether elections across the nation. But that’s not stopping the GOP. Thune is continuing the GOP health care betrayal, doubling down on his party’s crusade to make health care and life unaffordable for millions.