WASHINGTON – In a hearing of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies today, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Tom Price admitted to U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) that he has not seen the Senate Republicans’ secret plan to repeal the Affordable Care Act and rip away health care from millions of Americans. For the past few weeks, a group of 13 male Republican senators have been crafting health care repeal legislation behind closed doors, and apparently without input from the very department that would carry out this legislation should it be signed into law by President Trump.
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Secretary Price admitted that while his staff has provided some technical assistance, he has not seen any legislative language.
“Have you or anyone in your department seen what the Senate Republicans are working on in terms of their version of Trumpcare?” Senator Durbin asked.
“My staff has provided technical assistance. I haven’t seen any legislative language,” Secretary Price responded.
Durbin continued: “You have not seen it? You haven’t seen it either? Well we haven’t seen it either and we’re told that we are going to vote on it in a matter of days without a CBO score and without any revelation of what’s included in that. Do you think that’s a responsible thing to do in terms of the health care of all of the people living in America?”
Video of Durbin’s remarks on the Senate floor are available here.
Audio of Durbin’s remarks on the Senate floor is available here.
Durbin Report: TrumpCare: Less for More, An Analysis of the Impact of Repealing the Affordable Care Act on Illinois
