U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy: GOP health care bill is ‘garbage’
U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut launched a harsh attack against the ongoing efforts by Senate Republicans to replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA), dubbing it “garbage” and predicting that its passage will be damage the GOP”™s political future.
In a speech delivered on the Senate floor yesterday, Murphy tartly observed divisions within the Republican ranks related to the health care legislation, saying, “I understand that many of my Republican colleagues here don’t ascribe to all of the beliefs and statements of our president, but he is the leader of the Republican party.” He then berated the GOP proposals for failing to address issues relating to the costs and quality of health care and complained that Connecticut would suffer if Medicaid funding was slashed.
“The cut to the state of Connecticut would be $3 billion,” he said. “We are a tiny state. Our Medicaid program is somewhere in the order of $8 million. The promise was that we wouldn’t cut Medicaid. This bill cuts Medicaid.”
Murphy talked about the benefits of the ACA by citing the example of “Alison,” a Sacred Heart University nursing school graduate whose life-saving liver transplant operation was accommodated by the existing healthcare laws. He then repeated an offer made by Democratic leaders in Congress for a bipartisan discussion on the subject while further insulting the Republican”™s endeavors.
“I think the Republicans should scrap this garbage piece of legislation, and I hope that they understand that our offer is sincere ”“ it is not political ”“ that Democrats do want to sit down with Republicans and try to provide some reasonable fix to what still ails our health care system,” he stated.
However, Murphy prophesized that the GOP would face severe consequences if they fail to heed his offer. “Whether this bill passes or not, the fact that Republicans have walked out on a plank with a partisan piece of legislation that takes insurance from 23 million people across the country and, as every poll shows, is widely unpopular, will be a political liability for Republicans,” he said.