AFGE Issues Statement on Health Care Bill

WASHINGTON, June 22 -- The American Federation of Government Employees issued the following statement by National President J. David Cox Sr. in response to the Senate's draft legislation dismantling the Affordable Care Act:

"The Senate's bill follows the same failed approach as the House-passed bill. It would deny health care coverage to millions of Americans in order to lavish huge tax cuts on corporations and the wealthiest 1 percent.

"The Senate bill would cut Medicaid even deeper than the House bill, and both bills could leave millions of veterans unable to afford health insurance because they would no longer qualify for tax credits.

"The Senate may have written its health care bill behind closed doors, but the harmful effects this bill would have on millions of Americans could not be clearer. What Congressional leaders are doing is shameful and disgusting, and anyone with an ounce of compassion for their fellow humans should be outraged."

The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) is the largest federal employee union, representing 700,000 workers in the federal government and the government of the District of Columbia.