Ed Markey: “Thank you, Mr. President. Mr. President, earlier today the Senate voted on a bill to dismantle this country's…”

“Thank you, Mr. President. Mr. President, earlier today the Senate voted on a bill to dismantle this country's healthcare--a cruel bill that would affect every single American and one-sixth of our economy; a heartless bill that was crafted in secret, without public debate and without input from the families who will be impacted; an inhumane bill that would make health insurance unaffordable for millions of Americans and leave millions more with no access at all. Despite this legislative malpractice, despite numerous independent analyses and nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office findings that millions of Americans will lose coverage and face increased costs, despite Americans from across the country pleading with Republicans not to rip away their coverage or take a machete to Medicaid, despite all that, President Trump and Republican leadership put politics ahead of people and voted to repeal the Affordable Care Act. That is a travesty. I have often said that the proudest vote of my career was the one I cast in favor of the Affordable Care Act. The second proudest vote is today, voting no on this cruel, heartless, inhumane bill. To all of my constituents in Massachusetts, please know that I vote no with you in mind. Massachusetts is the home of universal healthcare. We have a model for the Affordable Care Act. Because of our belief that healthcare is a right and not just a privilege, 98 percent of Massachusetts residents have healthcare coverage.…”