New Dem Energy & Commerce Members Blast Republicans for Voting to Strip Health Care Coverage from 13.7 Million Americans to Finance Billionaire Tax Breaks

Today, New Democrat Coalition Energy & Commerce Committee Members, including Rep. Greg Landsman (OH-01), Rep. Jennifer McClellan (VA-04), Rep. Scott Peters (CA-50), Rep. Lori Trahan (MA-03), Rep. Troy Carter (LA-02), and Rep. Lizzie Fletcher (TX-07) issued a joint statement following the Committee’s markup and party-line passage of the Republican reconciliation package:

“The reconciliation package our Republican colleagues just forced through the Committee shocks the conscience. In their effort to give the richest billionaires yet another unearned tax cut, House Republicans are betraying the American people.

“For more than 24 hours, we told the stories of our constituents and laid out the devastating impacts this legislation would have on the American people. We detailed how their Medicaid cuts would rip health care coverage away from a staggering 13.7 million people, including by raising Affordable Care Act premiums to jeopardize coverage for four million Americans. We railed against their efforts to defund reproductive healthcare at Planned Parenthood, raise copays on the lowest-income Americans, and handcuff healthcare providers at nursing homes and community health centers.

“All the while, our Republican colleagues either remained silent or echoed the same lies they’ve been spreading for months to justify their multi-trillion dollar handout to billionaires, financed on the backs of working people.

“The legislation is not inevitable, and the stakes are too high to give in. New Dems will do everything in our power to fight for our constituents, elevating the voices of everyday Americans to speak out against this injustice and blocking this bill at every opportunity.”

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