Donald Trump

Local Lawmakers Applaud Failure of GOP Health Care Bill

Lawmakers in New England are reacting to the failure of the GOP's health care bill.

House Speaker Paul Ryan pulled the bill Friday after an inability to get the support needed to pass the American Health Care Act.

"I have concerns about the legislation as it's currently written, and I know that other governors did, as well," Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker said.

Baker, a Republican, confirmed he sent letters to members of his delegation asking them to vote against the GOP plan.

"My job, as the governor of Massachusetts, is to look out for the best interests of Massachusetts," he said. "Starting in 2020, we would lose about $1 billion a year, and Massachusetts has worked really hard on a bipartisan basis over the course of the last decade to get to what most people would call universal coverage for people here in the Commonwealth."

A major objective of Donald Trump's campaign was to repeal and replace Barack Obama's Affordable Care Act. The GOP's bill was panned by Democratic congressmen and failed to garner significant support from the Republican majority.

"House Republican leadership and President Trump hastily pushed this legislation forward without public hearings and with very limited debate. We heard loud and clear from the families we represent that Trumpcare would put their access to health care at risk," Democratic Rep. Stephen Lynch of Massachusetts said. "I hope my colleagues on the other side of the aisle will now take into account how the American people have reacted to their so-called plan and I call for a sincere, bipartisan effort to make needed improvements to the Affordable Care Act."

"This bill would take away health care and increase costs of millions of Americans and tens of thousands of Granite Staters," said Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire.

"The failure of Trumpcare is good news for people across New Hampshire and America who would have faced higher costs for less care," agreed fellow Democratic Sen. Maggie Hassan. "While I am encouraged to see this measure fail in the U.S. House of Representatives, we must stay vigilant against attempts to pull our health care system backward."

"Today is a victory for the millions of Americans who would have lost their health care and been forced to pay more for less coverage under Trumpcare. This bill was nothing but a tax cut for billionaires paid for by taking health care away from 24 million Americans," Democratic Rep. Jim McGovern of Massachusetts said. "Today is a reminder that the real power in our democracy is with the people. Thank you to everyone in Massachusetts who made their voices heard. This wouldn't have been possible without you."

"It has been something to watch Trump and Ryan on this. Trump keeps calling it 'Ryancare' and Ryan keeps calling it 'Trumpcare,'" Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts said. "Nobody wants to own this stinker."

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