[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 103 (Friday, June 16, 2017)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E839]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        DENOUNCING IMPACT OF TRUMPCARE ON OUR NATION'S VETERANS

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                          HON. TERRI A. SEWELL

                               of alabama

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, June 16, 2017

  Ms. SEWELL of Alabama. Mr. Speaker, today, on behalf of the men and 
women who have served our country, I want to apologize that the 
majority excluded our Nation's Veterans when they voted for Trumpcare.
  Make no mistake, Trumpcare, would disallow any veteran eligible for 
government healthcare from receiving a tax credit even if the veteran 
has an individual health plan. The majority had an opportunity to fix 
this but they chose to exclude Veterans so they could pass their bill 
through reconciliation. Veterans lost in the Majority's procedural 
gimmicks. Today, they are trying to fix this mess but it simply isn't 
enough. The underlying bill, Trumpcare, would only make health coverage 
less accessible and affordable for Veterans.
  Political expediency should never be used as an excuse to use 
Veterans as an afterthought.
  As others have mentioned, this bill is like adding new tires to a car 
you're sending to the junkyard. This bill does nothing to improve the 
inadequate tax credits under Trumpcare for all Americans, nothing to 
eliminate the age-tax in Trumpcare causing older Veterans to pay more, 
and nothing to protect Veterans when their state opts to waive 
essential health benefits or reinstate lifetime caps.
  The majority of House Republicans voted for Trumpcare, which caps and 
guts Medicaid by $800 billion. Trump proposes another $600 billion from 
Medicaid in his budget.
  Almost 2 million veterans and 660,000 veterans spouses rely on 
Medicaid for their health services. In my home state of Alabama, around 
28,000 veterans are enrolled in Medicaid. According to a study by the 
Urban Institute, the rate of uninsured veterans fell by 42 percent 
between 2013 and 2015.
  States that expanded Medicaid saw a 34 percent increase in the number 
of Medicaid-enrolled veterans, whereas states that declined the 
expansion saw a 3 percent increase. In Alabama, percent about 13,000 
uninsured Veterans would have qualified for health coverage had the 
state expanded. The President and the majority aim to cut Medicaid in 
all states, and therefore cap coverage and benefits to hundreds of 
thousands of Veterans across this country. Recalcitrance didn't work 
for Alabama and it will not work in the rest of the country.
  Now is the time to build on the progress the ACA made for our 
Veterans, not roll it back by dismantling coverage and access for 
millions of Veterans. Veterans deserve better than stale lip service.

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