“Democracy worked – slowly, painfully, with not a vote to spare”

Washington, D.C.— Today, U.S. Congressman Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas), Ranking Democrat on the House Ways and Means Tax Policy Subcommittee, issued the following statement after Senate Republicans failed to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Rep. Doggett said:

"Democracy worked – slowly, painfully, with not a vote to spare. Our responsibility is to keep it working by telling the stories of how much harm this ‘mean' effort would cause our neighbors. Though we have delayed the Republican assault, health care coverage for millions continues to hang by a thread. The real ‘skinny,' the truth, about the ‘skinny bill' strategy is that House Republicans had already prepared a ‘martial law' resolution to immediately jam this sorry bill through the House this very weekend and send on immediately for President Trump's signature with no public evaluation."

The Republicans' final bill attempt would have left 16 million more Americans uninsured and caused premiums to rise by 20 percent.