Participating in the Senate Democrats’ protest of the GOP plan to repeal the Affordable Care Act and kick more than 20 million Americans off their health insurance, Sen. Bernie Sanders stormed the Senate floor and blasted Trumpcare as “barbaric and immoral.”
Sanders didn’t mince words:
I know this is a very sensitive issue, but I’m going to raise it, and that is that the horrible and unspeakable truth is that if this legislation were to pass … many thousands of our fellow Americans every single year will die, and many more will suffer and become much sicker than they should.
The Vermont senator and former Democratic presidential candidate said that the latest Republican plan “is not worthy of a great nation” and it “should not see the light of day.”
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Sanders’s comments come as Democrats hold another evening of Senate floor speeches protesting the GOP effort to pass Trumpcare. Republicans are hoping to pass the deeply unpopular and dangerous legislation before the members of the Senate leave town for the July 4th recess.
It also comes hours after the Congressional Budget Office released its analysis of the latest Senate health bill, finding that 22 million of Americans would lose their insurance under the plan – not to mention nearly $800 billion in cuts to Medicaid and thousands who will lose essential health benefits.
Of the CBO score, Sanders said that it “gives us 22 million reasons” why it should get blocked in Congress.
Some senators, led by Cory Booker, also took their protest outside the walls of the Senate and onto the steps of the Capitol, where they took turns explaining why the legislation is bad for the country.
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Luckily, the legislation appears to be on the verge of collapse as at least two Republican senators – Rand Paul and Susan Collins – are firm “no” votes while a handful of others – Dean Heller, Lisa Murkowski, Ron Johnson, among others – have signaled that they could oppose the legislation, too.
While these senators are smart to consider opposing legislation that will hurt millions of Americans and is deeply unpopular, it is unlikely to brighten their political fortunes.
When all is said and done, Republicans all across the country own this effort to take health insurance coverage away from millions of Americans, and they are likely to pay a significant price in next year’s midterm elections.
Sean Colarossi currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and was an organizing fellow for both of President Obama’s presidential campaigns. He also worked with Planned Parenthood as an Affordable Care Act Outreach Organizer in 2014, helping northeast Ohio residents obtain health insurance coverage.
