Sen. David Perdue: Americans should be ‘outraged’ over Senate failure on ACA repeal vote

Albany Herald (GA)

July 28--ALBANY -- U.S. Sen. David Perdue, R-Sea Island, said early this morning that Americans "should be outraged" after the Senate failed to pass a so-called "skinny" repeal of the Affordable Care Act.

"Throughout this entire process, we have witnessed everything that's wrong with Washington," Perdue said. "The Senate had a real opportunity to dismantle the most damaging parts of Obamacare. As Republicans have railed against the failures of Obamacare for the last seven years, Democrats have failed to acknowledge any shortcomings of Obamacare and refused to try to fix a broken system."

Both Perdue and U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Marietta, voted for the legislation, but three Republicans senators, including John McCain of Arizona, joined with the 46 Democratic and two independent senators to scuttle the measure, which failed by a 49-51 vote.

Among the provisions of Obamacare that the bill would have rescinded were the individual and employer mandates for medical coverage.

McCain earlier this week voted to start debate on the resolution to repeal the ACA -- a vote that passed with Vice President Mike Pence breaking a 50-50 tie -- but said his vote to move ahead with debate was not an assurance that he would vote for the bill in the end. Even a phone call from President Trump at the last minute couldn't persuade him to change his mind.

Perdue said the rejection leaves the nation in a bad situation.

"Now, due to an unworkable budget process and politicians who put their political self-interests ahead of national interest, Obamacare remains the law of the land," Perdue said. "This means that the poorest among us will continue to be fined because they can't afford Obamacare. This means more than 300,000 Georgians below the poverty line will still not have access to the insurance Obamacare promised. Additionally, this means the Medicaid expansion will continue as an open-ended government program that cannot be sustained.

"The American people should be outraged and should demand real change now. It is extremely important that we get this fixed. We have to make sure people have access to affordable health care, which they don't under Obamacare. We have got to work to reduce premiums, which have skyrocketed and priced people out of the market. We have got to put Medicaid on a sustainable path and make sure pre-existing conditions continue to be covered. Those are the big objectives and nothing has changed. Now, we have got to come together and get this done for the American people."

As Republicans regroup on the issue, it appears unlikely a vote will take place before the Senate recess in mid-August. Reports this morning said McCain was returning to Arizona to begin cancer treatment.

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