White House – Page 11

This Recess, #ProtectOurCare

Town halls will be taking place over the next two weeks. — Photo: Steve Pope/Getty Images

Following their failure to hold a vote on the misguided American Health Care Act (AHCA), congressional Republicans now head into a two-week recess with more questions than answers. Despite continuing negotiations with the House Freedom Caucus, the basic dynamic hasn’t changed: for every vote Republicans pick up from the conservative wing of their House caucus, they lose votes from their moderate wing. And the reason for their continued failure hasn’t changed: the AHCA is a fundamentally flawed bill that would cause millions to lose health coverage by cutting Medicaid and taking away essential benefits.

Even worse, proposed concessions made by Vice President Mike Pence could undermine protections for people with pre-existing conditions, and lead to states allowing insurance companies to charge sick people more for coverage than healthier individuals, to name just two possible outcomes.

Republicans’ persistence and the AHCA’s shortcomings underline the importance of the next two weeks. As is customary for recess periods, Members of Congress from across the country will be holding town halls to hear directly from their constituents. Now more than ever, it’s imperative that lawmakers understand that a majority of voters are opposed to the AHCA and similar efforts to make Americans less healthy.

In partnership with Families USA, check out this comprehensive toolkit to help you tell lawmakers to #ProtectOurCare. From in-person meetings to attending town halls to speaking out on social media, there’s something for everyone who wants to get involved.

Are you planning to attend a town hall meeting in the next two weeks? If so, let us know in the comments below, and good luck!

Title X, the Gorsuch fight, & escalating tensions

freedom-caucus-wh-meeting Earlier this week, the Senate passed a resolution amending the Title X Family Planning Grant Program to allow states to withhold family planning funds from going to Planned Parenthood and other organizations that provide reproductive health services. The program, which allocates money for counseling, contraception and prenatal care, cannot be used for abortion services under previous law. The measure, which had already been passed in the House, sought to go even further and restrict any (Title X) grant money from going to any clinic providing these services.

Republican Senators Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski joined with Senate Democrats in opposing the measure, leaving the Senate tied with a 50-50 vote count. Vice President Mike Pence, who is constitutionally designated the ‘President of the Senate’ and is entitled to break ties in the chamber, cast a vote in favor of the misguided measure, allowing it to pass.

The Supreme Court confirmation fight also escalated in the Senate this week, with 34 of the chamber’s 48 Senate Democrats lining up to filibuster President Trump’s conservative nominee, federal judge Neil Gorsuch. Some Democrats cautioned against moving forward with the nomination while some of the President’s campaign associates are currently under federal investigation, while others were concerned by Senate Republicans’ refusal to consider Judge Merrick Garland’s nomination last year. Though judicial confirmations typically require a consensus 60-vote majority to limit floor debate and confirm a nominee, Senate Republicans are considering a ‘nuclear option’ that would amend Senate rules to confirm Judge Gorsuch by simple majority (51 votes). The Senate Judiciary committee plans to vote on the nomination on Monday, and a full vote before the Senate is expected by week’s end.

Finally, tensions between the conservative House Freedom Caucus and President Trump continued to escalate following last week’s failed attempt to hold a vote on the American Health Care Act. President Trump singled out the caucus in a string of tweets, accusing them of hurting the Republican agenda. The back and forth escalated further when the President singled out Members of Congress by name for obstructing the repeal of the Affordable Care Act.

AHCA Falters – Turns out Healthcare is Complicated

In a major defeat to both the White House and House Republicans, the American Health Care Act sustained a fatal blow today.

Despite an intense 24 hours of negotiations, House Republican members continued to defect in opposition to the bill. Ultimately this afternoon, Speaker Ryan moved to withdraw their health care reform plan just minutes before the House was scheduled to begin voting.

The chorus of resistance from nurses, providers, and patients from all across the country made this victory over this harmful bill possible. Thank you for your leadership and for your members’ engagement in this fight.