Sen. Whitehouse Issues Statement on Failure of Vote to Repeal Affordable Care Act

WASHINGTON, July 28 -- The office of Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., issued the following statement:

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Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, released the following statement on the failure of Senate legislation to repeal critical components of the Affordable Care Act, the so-called "skinny" repeal:

"Rather than work with Democrats to build on the gains we've made under the Affordable Care Act, the Republicans have engaged in the most partisan and secretive process I've ever seen in Congress. That process was shameful, and the legislation it yielded a sham.

"At least for now, Republicans' push to take away care from tens of thousands of Rhode Islanders and millions of Americans has failed. Medicaid remains intact, much to the relief of the millions of seniors, children, and people with disabilities it covers. They haven't turned back the clock to when pre-existing conditions and lifetime caps locked Americans out of the health insurance they needed.

"A number of my Republican colleagues have expressed willingness to work in a bipartisan fashion, through regular order, to continue to improve our health care system. I hope we can now begin that important work."