Boyle In Ways & Means Markup: You Won’t Be Able to Spin The 13.7M Americans Who Lose Their Health Care

WASHINGTON, DC - In today's Ways and Means Committee markup, Congressman Brendan F. Boyle (PA-02), Ranking Member of the House Budget Committee, slammed the Republican plan to cut taxes for billionaires while throwing 13.7 million Americans off their health insurance, as confirmed by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.

Remarks as delivered and video are below:

 

(Click for video of remarks as delivered) 

Congressman Boyle's full opening remarks as delivered:

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Well, here we are, the president's big, beautiful bill for billionaires: tax cuts, almost all of which go to the top 1 percent paid for by the biggest cut to health care in American history.

Don't take my word for it. Just days ago, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office confirmed that at least 13.7 million Americans will lose their health care because of this bill. That's historic.

I went back and checked. No other previous bill, no other previous law, no other previous event caused so many millions of Americans to lose their health care. Not even the Great Depression.

So, congratulations. This is one hell of an achievement. And why? All to pay for tax cuts for the richest people in America, the top 1 percent. Now you can understand why many of us on the Democratic side are attacking this awful proposal, but it's not just us.

Just yesterday, conservative Republican from Missouri, Senator Josh Hawley called cutting Medicaid and the other health programs "morally wrong." He's right, but that's not all.

It turns out after cutting Medicaid and cutting the Affordable Care Act and cutting nutrition assistance and cutting education programs and on and on and on, even after all of that, all of those cuts as large as they are only pay for about 25 percent of the tax cuts for the rich.

So how does this legislation pay for the rest of it? More added to the national credit card. Our national debt will explode as a result of this, to the tune of almost $4 trillion more added to the national debt.

I never want to hear ever again anyone on the other side lecture us about deficit and debt.  No single piece of legislation in my time here in Congress will do more to add to the national debt than this one.

The American people get it. They were asked a few weeks ago in one opinion poll, do you support cutting Medicaid to pay for tax cuts? 81 percent of the American people said no, and that was before the Congressional Budget Office confirmed that over 13 million Americans will lose their health coverage.

Now sure, you can spin numbers, you can spin statistics. It's the reason why Mark Twain once said there are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics.

You won't be able to spin the thirteen and a half million Americans who lose their health care as a result of this bill. No amount of spinning will convince them to believe something contrary to what they actually are about to live.

I say to all of my colleagues here, we can do better. We can ensure that we have tax relief for almost every American, and we can do it in a way that doesn't rip away health coverage from more than 13 million Americans.

I urge all of my colleagues to reject this big, beautiful bill for billionaires. I yield back.

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