Last week, House Republicans were given yet another opportunity to separate themselves from Donald Trump's lawsuit to destroy the Affordable Care Act. Once again, they sided with Trump. The House considered amendments to top a "minibus" spending package Thursday and in addition to funding a number of agencies, they adopted an amendment to defund the Trump administration's efforts in federal courts to overthrow the law.
Freshman Democratic Rep. Laura Underwood of Illinois offered the amendment, which passed 238-194. Just four Republicans decided that sticking with the American people—particularly the 134 million estimated to have pre-existing conditions—isn't as important as sticking with Trump. What's at stake in this lawsuit is health coverage for 20 million people who've gained it through Obamacare is at stake here, as well as the ongoing coverage for people whose illnesses could once again be excluded in health plans if the law is struck down.
This is the second time the vast majority of Republicans voted with Trump and against Americans on health care in just two months. Just last month, the House passed the Protecting Americans with Preexisting Conditions Act of 2019 230-183, with just four Republicans breaking ranks.
They really couldn't make it more clear. A decade later, Republicans are still fighting against the idea that everyone should have access to health coverage and they're still lying about it. They've had nine years of debate to come up with a plan and they've failed for nine years. And they're going to go out on the campaign trail one more time to try to convince voters that none of that has happened and they have a plan. The good news is, voters stopped believing that years ago.
Published with permission from Daily Kos.
