Washington, D.C. –Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) today issued the following joint statement on the Supreme Court hearing of the Trump-Republican backed lawsuit to strip away health care protections from millions of Americans during a global pandemic:
“Today, the Trump-Republican plan to repeal the Affordable Care Act and strip health care away from millions of Americans during a global pandemic was on full display as the California v. Texas lawsuit was heard by the Supreme Court. Republicans have tried and failed to repeal the ACA at least 70 times in Congress and twice through the courts, but as was heard in today’s oral arguments, the Supreme Court must be deferential to Congress’s intent and uphold the law. With their legal argument detached from reality, Senate Republicans rushed through the nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court just days before the election, in an obvious attempt to make good on President Trump’s promise to only appoint judges who would ‘terminate’ the ACA.
“With support for the ACA at an all-time high, Republicans are still waging a decade-long war against Americans’ health care protections. If the Trump-GOP lawsuit is successful, more than 20 million Americans could lose their health care coverage, 130 million Americans with pre-existing conditions could lose protections, and drug costs could skyrocket for seniors. Republicans voted just weeks ago to greenlight this lawsuit but still falsely try to claim they will protect Americans with preexisting conditions. It is clear that striking down the ACA is what Republicans want.
“Democrats believe this lawsuit has no merit, and we will continue to fight to make coverage more affordable and accessible for all Americans."
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