[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 7]
[House]
[Page 9707]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1030
            NEW HEALTHCARE BILL IS ONLY GOOD FOR THE WEALTHY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Aguilar) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. AGUILAR. Mr. Speaker, earlier this year, we watched President 
Donald Trump and Speaker Paul Ryan ram their healthcare bill through 
the House of Representatives before it even had a cost analysis.
  It didn't take long for us to learn why. It will strip over 20 
million Americans of affordable healthcare. It will drive up premiums 
and out-of-pocket expenses for older Americans by as much as 25 
percent. It will allow insurance companies to discriminate against 
pregnant women, children, and seniors. And this is all so Donald Trump 
can give a tax break to his wealthiest friends.
  Mr. Speaker, this healthcare bill will literally be a death sentence 
to some Americans. House Republicans had years--let me say that again--
had years to come up with ways to make healthcare more affordable. But 
instead, they would rather pull the plug out from millions of families 
who put their healthcare in the hands of the insurance companies.
  Since the Affordable Care Act was signed into law, nearly 40,000 of 
my constituents have enrolled in Covered California, and nearly 200,000 
in San Bernardino County, our residents, have been added to Medi-Cal 
following the ACA expansion. TrumpCare will end Medicaid and leave 
millions of Americans without coverage.
  Children will be stripped of their coverage because their parents 
will fall into an income bracket that doesn't satisfy our President. 
This legislation isn't just bad, it is detestable. According to Donald 
Trump, it is even mean. Though, apparently, it doesn't matter how mean 
it is for middle class families as long as it gives tax breaks to his 
wealthy friends.
  And now, Senate Republicans have taken a page out of the House 
Republican playbook and are writing their healthcare bill in secret. 
This is not how we govern. This is not what the American people expect.

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