On the recordMarch 24, 2017
I remind my colleague that his vote for this bill will result in 65,800 people from his congressional district in New York losing health coverage and care. I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Washington (Ms. DelBene), a distinguished member of the Budget Committee and the Ways and Means Committee. Ms. DelBENE. Mr. Speaker, if Republicans crafted legislation that lived up to the promise of insurance for everybody, they would have broad bipartisan support. But that is not what they did. This bill threatens massive disruption and chaos, not only to our healthcare system, but to middle class families, families who sit at their kitchen table trying to figure out how to pay their mortgage, buy groceries, and also get health coverage for their kids. This Republican bill does nothing to help them. In their rush to check a political box, Republicans have crafted legislation that does nothing but hurt working Americans, and, in the last 24 hours, it has gone from bad to worse. Make no mistake, the changes made in the 11th hour to appease the most extreme Members of Congress have put lifesaving care even further out of reach. Some may use alternative facts, but this is reality, and the reality is that their bill robs $75 billion from Medicare, forces older Americans to pay five times more than others, and shifts $312 billion in out-of-pocket costs onto middle class families. But this is about more than numbers.…





