Rep. Neal Issues Statement on CBO Report for Senate GOP Health Care Bill

WASHINGTON, June 26 -- Rep. Richard Neal, D-Mass., ranking Democratic member of the House Ways and Means Committee, issued the following statement after the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Officereleased a score of the Senate Republicans' health care bill:

"Today's CBO score has pulled back the curtain of Senate Republicans' health care bill: it's about giving huge tax cuts to millionaires and billionaires and dismantling important middle class programs like Medicaid and Medicare, all in the name of 'health care reform.'

"Senate Republicans foolishly followed the lead of House Republicans by drafting this bill in complete secrecy, without a single hearing, markup, or any public input. The result is a bill that would cause 22 million Americans to lose their health insurance and is opposed by virtually the entire medical community, including advocacy groups for patients, seniors, hospitals, nurses, and rural health care providers.

"And not only that, this bill would also impose an age tax on seniors, remove key protections for pre-existing conditions, and decimate the Medicaid program, which would harm children, seniors in long-term care, and middle class families across the country.

"Senate Republicans should use today's CBO report as an opportunity to go back to the drawing board and instead work with Democrats to strengthen our nation's health care system."