Lacking the votes for repeal, McConnell announces transition to tax reform
Lacking the votes for repeal, Senate Republicans announced yesterday that they will NOT be voting on the Graham-Cassidy bill, which would have taken away health care from millions of Americans, including 6.7 million Californians. This bill was the latest and cruelest attempt to date to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA). It would have explicitly and intentionally inflicted massive cuts to California, which embraced the ACA and enrolled millions, and diverted funds to those states that did not.
We want to thank you, our partners and tireless advocates in California and across the country who again defended health care for millions. And we thank our California Senators for never wavering in their opposition to these latest harmful repeal efforts.
But, let’s be perfectly clear. The fight is not over! We must remain vigilant. As we’ve seen time and again, Republican repeal efforts never seem to stay dead for long. September 30 is the deadline for Congress to use the current budget reconciliation process, which allows the Senate to pass a bill on a majority vote rather than 60 votes.
What’s next?
Even after this deadline and as Congress moves on to tax reform, the threat is not over. We renew our calls to California’s Congressional leaders to protect Medicaid and Medicare from devastating cuts as part of tax reform and federal budget proposals. As this latest repeal attempt has failed, we echo calls for a return to bi-partisan efforts to strengthen and fix the ACA by shoring up the insurance marketplace. We need stability and certainty, not unpredictability and sabotage.
Upcoming Activities:
- Phone banks will continue! We need to finish the job and make sure that our Congressional representatives oppose any new repeal efforts. The #Fight4OurHealth campaign is updating its messaging to thank Senators for not moving ahead with the vote, but also asking them, and our CA congressional delegation, to stay the course to protect our health care and not vote for any budget or legislation that cuts or caps Medicaid. Find a location near you: http://fightandresist.org/events
- Thunderclap is still live! Using the same link, the campaign will also be updating the messaging to thank those who stood with us and call on them to oppose any other harmful health care proposals. Please sign up here: http://thndr.me/cRNNz4. We still need 250 to commit by mid-day today, 9/27!
- Stay connected with CPEHN! Visit our ACA Defense Hub for information on the latest budget and tax reform proposals. We will be sharing more updates with you as things continue to unfold.
- Join the #Fight4OurHealth coalition call on Friday 9/29 at 11:00 am for a recap of what occurred this week and next steps. Call-in: 866-906-7447, Code: 9174075.