Fighting back against the assault on healthcare

Members of the U.S. House of Representatives are expected to vote this week on H. Res. 271, a resolution led by Rep. Colin Allred (D-Texas), condemning the Trump administration’s campaign to take away Americans’ healthcare. The resolution comes after the administration decided to back the full invalidation of the Affordable Care Act in federal court.

On April 2, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) gathered with other top Democrats on the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court to introduce the resolution.

“Last week, the Trump administration decided not only to try to destroy protections for Americans living with pre-existing conditions, but to declare all-out war on the healthcare of hard-working families across the country. The American people deserve to see exactly where their representatives stand on the Trump administration’s vicious campaign to take away their healthcare,” said Pelosi. “We will continue to fight relentlessly to protect people with pre-existing conditions and lower health costs for American families—not take healthcare away.”

Rep. Allred acknowledged that no law is perfect and that he is willing to work with anyone to lower costs and defend protections for people with pre-existing conditions. “I urge my Republican colleagues to put politics aside,” he said. “Join us in standing up for the healthcare of all Americans.”

In a statement of support for the resolution, AFT President Randi Weingarten said the facts on healthcare are grim: “While most First-World countries have managed to offer people basic healthcare as a human right, in the U.S.—the wealthiest country in the world—many educators, nurses, public employees and graduate assistants live one illness or one pre-existing condition away from bankruptcy. That’s why this move to make healthcare more expensive—or completely inaccessible—is so cruel and callous. This does not reflect our values, it won’t help Americans to have a better life, and it certainly won’t make America great.”

[Adrienne Coles]