Rep. Pelosi Issues statement on American Health Care Act

WASHINGTON, March 28 -- Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., issued the following speech, which was published in the Congressional Record on March 27, on the American Health Care Act:

Mr. Speaker, on March 25, 1966--51 years ago, this past Saturday--Dr. King spoke these words: "Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health is the most shocking and the most inhuman because it often results in physical death."

We came to this floor to fight TrumpCare last week with the moral force of Dr. Martin Luther King's words in our heart. Affordable health care is a civil right; a fundamental right for every American. As we remember Dr. King's wisdom, as we debated this bill: we did so in tribute to our colleague Bobby Rush's late wife, Carolyn Rush. Carolyn was active in the civil rights movement, and she was a champion for Americans' health care. Her funeral was Saturday, the 51st anniversary of Dr. King's words. We were proud to honor Carolyn Rush's memory by saving the Affordable Care Act from repeal and protecting the health of the American people.

Speaker Ryan called this bill an "act of mercy." There is no mercy here. Indeed, inequality and inhumanity is exactly what TrumpCare has in store for the American people.

Sister Simone Campbell said: "This is not the faithful way forward and must be rejected." The Catholic Health Association wrote: "We strongly encourage the full House to reject this 'replacement' bill." As the United Methodist Church said, opposing TrumpCare: "People will die because of efforts like this to roll back health care." Lutheran Services in America said TrumpCare "will jeopardize the health care and long term services and supports of millions of Americans." The Episcopal Church says TrumpCare "falls woefully short of our spiritual calling to care for the 'least of these,' as well as the noble values upon which our great nation was founded."

Rather than an act of mercy, TrumpCare is a moral monstrosity that will devastate seniors, children and hard-working Americans. I grant our Republican friends their position. I respect them and their constituents who sent them here. But I do not accept the wrong priorities in TrumpCare--tax cuts for the rich at the expense of tens of millions of working families across America.

TrumpCare spotlights the difference in the priorities of the Democrats and Republicans in Congress--whether we in Congress believe in a public role in meeting the needs of the American people. It is about governance itself. Trumpcare is consistent with the Ryan budget that destroys the Medicare guarantee. It is a step forward in the long- standing Republican belief that Medicare should "wither on the vine;" that Medicaid should be shrunken; that Social Security should be privatized.

If you believe we have a role and a responsibility to protect the health and wellbeing of the American people, you must reject the bill before us now. Here's how TrumpCare hurts the American people:

1. Higher Costs--TrumpCare forces families to pay higher premiums and deductibles, increasing out-of-pocket costs.

2. Less Coverage--TrumpCare will take away health care from 24 million hard-working Americans.

3. Key Protections Gutted--TrumpCare eradicates Essential Health Benefits, such as maternity, prescription drug and emergency coverage-- functionally destroying protections for Americans with pre-existing conditions.

4. A Crushing Age Tax--TrumpCare forces Americans aged 50-64 to pay premiums five times higher than what others pay for health coverage, no matter how healthy they are.

5. Steals from Medicare--TrumpCare shortens the life of the Medicare Trust Fund and ransacks funds that seniors depend on to get the long- term care they need.

Republicans' bill would increase costs and cut coverage for millions of Americans, while leaving coverage for Members of Congress untouched. And as bad as TrumpCare was already, in the middle of the night Republicans made it even worse.

TrumpCare would make being a woman a pre-existing condition again. Stripping guaranteed maternity care is a pregnancy tax, pure and simple. Under Trumpcare, Americans will be forced to pay extra for hospital coverage; prescription drug coverage; rehab, pregnancy, maternity, newborn and pediatric care. When Republicans eradicate essential health benefits, they are destroying the protections for Americans with pre-existing conditions--no matter if they are covered through the marketplace or their employer.

If Republicans have their way, families, seniors, vulnerable children, Americans with disabilities, people struggling to overcome addiction and the sick will lose their health care. Rural hospitals will be closed and nearly 2 million jobs will be destroyed across America. Millions of veterans will lose access to tax credits for health care. All of this to give another massive tax for the richest in America.

TrumpCare is a billionaire's tax cut disguised as a health care bill. It is Robin Hood in reverse--one of the largest transfers of wealth from working families to the rich in our history. We honor the vision of our founders, who risked everything to advance the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness; a healthier life, and the liberty to pursue your happiness.

Today, as we fight to preserve affordable health care as the right of every American, not a privilege for the few, we fight for children like Zoe Madison Lihn. Zoe was born with a congenital heart defect in May 2010. She faced her first--of three heart surgeries--at 15 hours old. By six months old, Zoe was halfway to the lifetime limit her insurer placed on her care. She faced a grim future; not only using up her lifetime limit by pre-school, but carrying a pre-existing condition that will require attention and care for the rest of her life. Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, Zoe is protected. But TrumpCare puts her future in danger--higher costs, less care.

I began with Dr. Martin Luther King, and I will end with Pope Francis, who spoke of Dr. King in his speech to Congress. As Pope Francis said: "Health is not a consumer good but a universal right, so access to health services cannot be a privilege." Our responsibility to the sick and the hurt is biblical. It is fundamental to who we are. Today, let us declare once again that affordable health care must be the right of every American--not the privilege of the few. For the sake of our values, to honor our responsibilities, to protect the health of the American people, I urged my colleagues to vote no on this moral monstrosity--the TrumpCare bill.

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