Pelosi Remarks at House Democratic Leadership Press Conference on TrumpCare Vote
Leader Pelosi's Opening Remarks:
"Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Tomorrow, March 25th marks the 51st Anniversary of when Dr. Martin Luther King said, ‘Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health is the most shocking and the most inhuman because it often results in physical death.' 51 years ago tomorrow. So, today is really a values debate as we go into it about a sense of community, who we are as a nation.
"The facts are very clear about this bill. In terms of health care, higher costs, people will pay higher premiums, higher deductibles, out-of-pocket costs – plain and simple. Less coverage – TrumpCare will take away health care from 24 million hard-working Americans. But, not only that. The latest one, the key protections gutted by eradicating the essential health benefits requirement affects the 155 million Americans who receive their benefits through the workplace, as the distinguished Chairman mentioned – some more I will add – in addition to mental health, prescription drugs, hospitalization, pregnancy, maternity and new baby care, rehabilitation services and devices for people with injuries, pediatric vision and dental care, ambulatory care. Under the Affordable Care Act, the Secretary could add more to the essential list but not subtract. This subtracts. It's really, very sad.
"In addition to that, there's a crushing age tax, forces Americans 50-64 years to pay premiums five times higher than what others pay for health coverage no matter how healthy are. There's also a veterans tax. We've seen [Senator] Tammy Duckworth yesterday with Members of our Veterans Affairs Committee talk about the unfairness for the Veterans Tax, which is saying to the veterans, ‘[You] cannot take advantage of the tax deduction,' if they are eligible to receive health care at the VA. It is very, very unfair. Our Veterans Committee Members will be talking more about it at length, but both vets and others, who have veterans issues, are the most knowledgeable on the subject, have been calling Members about that. And then it steals from Medicare – TrumpCare. I mean, steals from Medicare.
"So let me say: higher premiums, less coverage, essential benefits gutted, age tax, veterans tax, steals from Medicare. All of this to give a tax break to the richest people in America. It's in their DNA. They can't help themselves. This is more of a tax break bill for the rich than it is a health care bill.
"As we believe – in the values debate – that health care is a right for all Americans, not just a privilege for the few. Here they are – giving a tax break. And ironically, many of the people who will lose their health care voted for President Trump, live in red areas. Much of the money that will go to richest people in America are in blue areas. Now, isn't that something?
"With that, I'm pleased yield to our distinguished Democratic Whip, Mr. Hoyer."
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Q: A quick question about your Caucus. Will they all be voting today and can you talk a bit about how you will be following the bill today and what else are you going to be doing throughout the day?
Leader Pelosi. The first point, I want to yield to the distinguished Whip, who has the report for us —
Whip Hoyer. All of our Members who are here will be no. They think this is a bad bill, bad for the American people.
Q: How many will not be here?
Whip Hoyer. All of our Members who are here will vote no.
Leader Pelosi. One Member, our distinguished colleague, Bobby Rush, his wife passed away and her funeral is tomorrow and she was very active in the civil rights movement, affordable care is very important to her, so we will be remembering her today, and Bobby. But all of the Members, who are here, which is everyone else, as the distinguished Whip said, he speaks with great authority on the subject.
Whip Hoyer. Republicans are going to figure out on their own how many votes they need.
Leader Pelosi. We're keeping them in doubt as to how many people will be here. [Laughter]
In any event, this isn't about taking attendance. It's about the values but all of us share, that unify our caucus, and [we] would not think of not being here, except for a death in the family which is what one family member has. We will be on the floor [and we've] encouraged Members to be on the floor as much as possible. They have other responsibilities, but this is again, a value to us and when our distinguished Leader, Mr. Clyburn, talks about junk policy, that's what this is.
They have a skinny budget. They will have skinny policies and people are going find out they don't have much coverage. It's not just about the people being pushed off of care and some voluntarily just don't want have it, that's a small percentage, but nonetheless a percentage, but this now affects 155 million people who will pay more for less with an age tax, veterans tax, hurting Medicare and Medicaid and again, central package is so essential and that they are taking it away just says who really rules and the Republican caucus.
Whip Hoyer. Let me say something that I think needs to be said. From start to finish, which is about two weeks on probably the most important bill we will vote on in this Congress, two weeks, and in the dead of night it's been changed regularly and the American people have been shut out of the process, have not been admitted for the purposes of getting us their opinion.
They have been polled and they know enough to know by an overwhelming 56 to 17, 26% who are not sure they have enough information saying this is a bad bill, please, vote against it. Then again, last night the essential benefits that they said, "oh they're in there" were taken out effectively. So in terms of process, this has been a bad process, but we were not going to have bad process from our side today. We will debate this bill on its demerits.
We hope the American public will urge their Member today, call them, tweet them, get on Facebook. However you communicate, tell your Member this is a bad bill for me and my family and my country. Reject it.
Chair Crowley. Process thinks, the policy is worse.
Q: Madam Leader, a question for you. Who owns this package, Madam Leader? Is it Mr. Ryan's bill if it fails today or Mr. Trump? And what are the political costs?
Leader Pelosi. It is TrumpCare, that's what it is, but it is a product of the House Republicans. I think they all have their fingerprints on its. It is something initiated by the Republicans in the Congress and their leadership, Mr. Ryan, so some people call it RyanCare, more specifically it's TrumpCare because he's determined to have it passed, but it's clearly dominated as Mr. Jeffries said in his questioning by the Freedom Caucus. This essential package is really – eliminating the essential packages is really their doing. They want to do away with the pre-existing conditions provision that is so important to America's families.
Whip Hoyer: Can I add to that? The answer to that question is, every person who votes for this bill owns it, and may own the adverse consequences. They own the loss of 24 million from insurance, they own the fact people will pay more and get less and they on the fact that essential benefits are being limited. Every person who votes for this – now, we saw that Trump ordered us to have this vote today, so he certainly owns it, as was said by Mr. Jeffries.
Q: How tempting as it to derive a sense of glee out of this?
Leader Pelosi. You know, I've had that question from the press and I said – absolutely positively not. They have their point of view and we have our point of view. There was a way for them to advance their legislation in a way that was professional, worthy of the House of Representatives, respectful of the people who were watching because it affects them very personally, so this is nothing gleeful about this for us. Again, we have our differences. I grant people their position on issues.
This could have been done in a much better way that would have brought – even if you disagree with where they were going, but acknowledge that they have the votes, they go forward in a way that it, instead of this wheeling and dealing and late night and in the dark of night and all of it at the expense of America's working families and to the advantage of the wealthiest people in our country. No, it isn't any cause for glee.
Assistant Leader Clyburn: I'll say something about that. I spoke with my caucus several days ago [about] what I consider to be the most emotional meeting I've ever had in my district office. And it was with families who brought to my office their children and grandchildren who were born with diabetes. To see a two, three-month old child struggling as a result of being born with diabetes, to see a two-year old running around the room with his pump on – you can't be gleeful about the fact that this bill will give insurance companies the ability to say to that family, ‘That child of yours born with diabetes cannot be brought under your insurance policy.' Nobody can be gleeful about that.
Chairman Crowley: We think about joy, yesterday, celebrating the seventh anniversary of the enactment of the Affordable Care Act. That was a happy moment, when we the Democratic Caucus actually developed something and gave something to the American people they were desperate for. Nothing gleeful about today. Their attempt now to rip away – they want to take away something that was given to the American people seven years ago. Today is the first step to taking that away.
Q: Madam leader, you spoke the other day about Speaker Ryan making, sort of, a rookie mistake with the timing on this, but with climate change, I think that vote was scheduled for Friday, a long time ago, but you didn't completely have the votes at the beginning of the week. But [in] the rhythm of it and the momentum of it, you got them by the end of the week. What was different about the way that very difficult to pass bill was, where you succeeded…
Leader Pelosi: Well it's interesting that you have a cursory knowledge of what happened there, but I knew the votes that I had that week. You don't necessarily go out and advertise – especially when I had a chunk of Republican votes as well that people who are not aware of, so I don't think there is anything similar to it.
But I do want to say that what's happening today is a lose-lose situation for the Republicans. It's a ‘lose' for the American people, that's for sure. But the people who vote for this will have this vote tattooed to their foreheads as they go forward. They have to answer for the vote. They can't say, ‘President Trump made me do it' or ‘the Speaker made me do it.' It's their vote, their boss. Their bosses are their constituents. Their constituents will be very affected by this.
And so, this affords us the opportunity – let's assume for a moment that it passes. I don't have any idea about their vote, but assume for a moment that it passes, but when it does, it opens, clearly pulls back any cover to how different we are in terms of what we believe in and how respectful we are for the needs of the American people and not giving a tax break to the wealthy at the expense of America's working families. So, again, if it passes, they have to answer for it. If it does not pass, they have to answer for that, as well.
But, we will continue the fight to make health care more affordable with more benefits, with more clarity to keep America not only with good health care, but to keep America healthier.
Chairman Crowley: Just the adage, ‘damned if you do, damned if you don't.' They may feel damned if they don't, but we believe they may be even more damned if they do. Thank you all very much.