WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Today, after repeated failed attempts, the Senate voted for a motion to proceed to move health care to the floor for debate. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has failed to inform not only the American people, but also the other 99 Senators what they will ultimately be voting on, a straight repeal of the Affordable Care Act or repealing and replacing the ACA with what House Republicans forced through earlier this year.
After a failed attempt in March, House Republicans voted in May to repeal much of the Affordable Care Act, passing a bill that would throw 24 million Americans off of their health care and threaten the coverage for tens of millions more. The bill would slash funding for Medicaid, the program that provides insurance for low-income people, roll back much of Medicaid's expansion, gut provisions that prevented women from being charged more for insurance coverage than men, and permit insurance companies to once again refuse coverage for preexisting conditions such as asthma and respiratory illnesses, diseases caused by air and water pollution.
In response, Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune released the following statement:
“Nearly every Senate Republican has now made it abundantly clear they have no issue stripping healthcare away from millions of Americans while they continue to enjoy taxpayer-funded coverage.
“Republican’s deadly and dangerous attempts to gut environmental standards will only be compounded by this vicious and dangerous plan to strip healthcare away from millions of Americans. Voting to proceed sight unseen on a bill with such implications is irresponsible and reprehensible. The health effects of pollution aren’t cheap -- and the hospital and doctor's visits, medications, and other health needs that come with breathing dirty air and drinking dirty water add up. Without affordable health care or environmental health and safety standards, Senate Republicans are putting countless lives aat risk. The Senators who voted to move this dangerous bill forward should be ashamed of themselves.”
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About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with more than 3 million members and supporters. In addition to helping people from all backgrounds explore nature and our outdoor heritage, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.