NV Dems & Local Health Care Advocates Slam Dishonest Senator Dean Heller’s Lies, Broken Promises

LAS VEGAS, Aug. 2 -- The Nevada Democratic Party issued the following news release:

Today in Las Vegas, Democratic leaders and local health care advocates slammed Republican Senator Dean Heller for his recent votes to dismantle the Affordable Care Act and his support for a dangerous new proposal to end Medicaid expansion. On June 23, Senator Heller said at a press conference, "I cannot support a piece of legislation that takes away insurance from tens of millions of Americans and hundreds of thousands of Nevadans." Nevada State Democratic Party Chair William McCurdy II announced plans today to hold Dishonest Dean accountable for that broken promise throughout the upcoming August recess.

"This is the definition of a broken promise," said Nevada State Democratic Party Chair William McCurdy II. "People's lives are on the line, and Dishonest Dean played partisan politics. We can't trust this two-faced career politician to stick to his word, and clearly that's never going to change. Nevada voters are sick and tired of being deceived by their Senator, and the first step to voting him out in 2018 is holding him accountable throughout this August recess."

"Dean Heller made a very clear promise to Nevadans that he couldn't support a bill that takes health insurance away from hundreds of thousands of his constituents," said Assemblyman Nelson Araujo. "When your actions so clearly contradict your words, your words become meaningless and you can't be trusted. Our state will not stand for a Senator who says he'll do the right thing when he's here in Nevada, but votes with President Trump when he's in Washington. There's only one word for Senator Heller's behavior on health care: dishonest."

"I am a health care voter," said Joe Merlino, who fought cancer thanks to the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid expansion. "I was shaken down by a devastating diagnosis, and the ACA brought me back to being a functioning, working, taxpaying member of my community. I will never forget how Senator Heller and Washington Republicans voted to rip apart the ACA and how they continue to try to gut the Medicaid funding that saved my life. Their actions are inhumane and immoral."