July 10, 2012
Washington, D.C. — Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) Co-Chair Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) introduced a motion to adjourn the House of Representatives today after fellow Co-Chair Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva (D-AZ) and other CPC members spoke against a House Republican bill to repeal the Affordable Care Act. The Co-Chairs called on Republicans to focus on creating jobs for the American people instead of wasting time on this 31st vote to repeal health care for Americans.
Republicans have spent more than 80 hours trying to repeal health care since they took control in 2011. The repeal vote this week will not pass the Senate or be signed into law by President Obama. Against Democrats’ objections, the House already passed a bill repealing the Affordable Care Act in January of 2011, making today’s vote especially pointless. The Affordable Care Act became law in 2010.
“Republicans are wasting time trying to take away health care instead of creating jobs or protecting tax cuts for 98 percent of Americans,” Ellison said. “If Speaker Boehner is going to waste time on partisan legislation that isn’t going anywhere, Members of Congress should be in their districts listening to their constituents. Instead of protecting women from discrimination and helping children with preexisting conditions, Republicans are responding to the Supreme Court’s decision by engaging in partisan tactics.”
“There are serious problems with how we provide for the sick and injured in this country, whether Republicans choose to acknowledge them or not,” Rep. Grijalva said. “Hand-waving and wasting weeks of everyone’s time are not solutions to a major national issue. The country is moving on without them, and they seem totally unprepared to respond. The House should have been passing job creation bills for the past year and a half, not refighting old battles. The American people are tired of gridlock, and today we’re seeing once again where that gridlock is really coming from.”
The Affordable Care Act will reduce the national deficit by $230 billion in the first 10 years, according to the Congressional Budget Office. Republicans voting to repeal the law are voting against that reduction and voting to eliminate the following popular measures:
· Granting access to affordable health insurance to more than 30 million uninsured Americans
· Ending insurance company discrimination against people with pre-existing conditions and prohibiting price discrimination by gender
· Allowing young adults to stay on their parents’ health care plans up to age 26
· Closing the drug price donut hole for seniors and granting free preventive care to Medicare beneficiaries
· Making sure insurance companies spend appropriate money on benefits and do not overcompensate upper management at customer expense
· Preventing Medicare fraud, waste, abuse and overpayment for services
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