Frank Pallone: “The Republicans have never supported the Affordable Care Act. When we passed it--and I was one of the drafters how many…”

“The Republicans have never supported the Affordable Care Act. When we passed it--and I was one of the drafters how many years ago now--I think there were none--certainly almost no Republican votes. They were not there when we tried to expand tax credits because we knew that in order for people to be able to afford their health insurance, we would have to reauthorize the tax credits from time to time or expand them for certain incomes. They were never there. Frankly, I don't want to go into this in any great deal or depth today, but the bottom line is that I and most Democrats believe that healthcare is a basic right and that we, as a Congress, have a responsibility to make it so that most people, if not all Americans, can have health insurance because, otherwise, they can't see a doctor. They end up in the emergency room. They get sicker, and our society suffers for it, either financially, healthwise, or whatever. I don't really want to get into this debate about who, when, and where because the bottom line is that the Republican Party has never supported any of this.”