Press Releases

On the House floor today, Congressman Jim McGovern (D-MA) led debate for House Democrats on H.R. 3762, the latest attempt by House Republicans to defund Planned Parenthood and repeal the Affordable Care Act. Congressman McGovern called out Republicans for starting 2016 with a bill that is clearly designed to appeal to their right-wing base and would actually result in 22 million Americans losing their health coverage.

Excerpts from Congressman McGovern’s Floor Speech:

“This is yet another blatant political move by Republicans to appease their right-wing base with no thought for the millions of Americans this bill would hurt. Republican leaders have said it themselves. Senate Republican Whip John Cornyn called this ‘a political exercise,’ saying ‘we all recognize the president isn’t likely to sign this bill so it’s not going to become a law.’ Then why on Earth are we wasting the American people’s time with this terrible bill?

“We’ve heard that this month, Speaker Ryan ‘will push to turn the [House] into a platform for ambitious Republican policy ideas.’ The 62nd vote to repeal or undermine the Affordable Care Act? The 11th vote to attack women’s health? Really? That’s the platform for ambitious Republican policy ideas? I think the American people should sue Republicans for malpractice.

“When Speaker Ryan took the gavel last fall, there was so much talk about a new chapter and fresh ideas. Instead, we’re starting 2016 with more of the stale, and politically-motivated bills we’ve become accustomed to in this Republican-controlled Congress.

“I would remind my Republican friends that in 2011, you passed a bill that actually tasked you to come up with an alternative to the Affordable Care Act. You came up with nothing. Nothing. Just last year, you passed another bill to come up with an alternative and once again you came up with nothing. So now that we’re here again with a bill that repeals the Affordable Care Act and tasks Republicans to come up with an alternative. I’m curious. Where is your alternative? Maybe it’s in your notes. Is it hidden in some secret room in the Capitol? Maybe Donald Trump has it? Perhaps we should alert the Capitol Police or better yet, maybe we should call the FBI to help locate the Republican plan on healthcare.

“Not only have House Republicans done nothing to expand healthcare for the American people, they have actually consistently tried to undermine health access for millions of Americans.

“We’re starting the New Year not by working in a bipartisan way to do the people’s business. Unfortunately, we’re starting the New Year debating the same old, same old; bills that put politics ahead of people. And that’s truly sad.”

Full Text of Floor Speech Below:

“As we begin the second session of the 114^th Congress, there is a long list of important issues we could be talking about today. We could be talking about ways to support job creation, grow the economy, improve gun safety, strengthen national security, pass an immigration reform bill, and many other important priorities.

“Instead, we are talking about H.R. 3762, the latest attempt by House Republicans to defund Planned Parenthood and repeal the Affordable Care Act. As our economy continues to recover, we should be focused on expanding opportunity and helping more Americans get ahead. Instead, we are starting the New Year by debating a bill, that if it ever became law, would put the healthcare of 22 million Americans in jeopardy and further restrict women’s access to vital healthcare services.

“This is yet another blatant political move by Republicans to appease their right-wing base with no thought for the millions of Americans this bill would hurt. Republican leaders have said it themselves. Senate Republican Whip John Cornyn called this ‘a political exercise,’ saying ‘we all recognize the president isn’t likely to sign this bill so it’s not going to become a law.’ Then why on Earth are we wasting the American people’s time with this terrible bill?

“We’ve heard that this month, Speaker Ryan ‘will push to turn the [House] into a platform for ambitious Republican policy ideas.’ The 62nd vote to repeal or undermine the Affordable Care Act? The 11th vote to attack women’s health? Really? That’s the platform for ambitious Republican policy ideas? I think the American people should sue Republicans for malpractice.

“When Speaker Ryan took the gavel last fall, there was so much talk about a new chapter and fresh ideas. Instead, we’re starting 2016 with more of the stale, and politically-motivated bills we’ve become accustomed to in this Republican-controlled Congress.

“We are constantly being told by Republicans that they have better ideas and a better approach to healthcare. Really? Where is it?

“I would remind my Republican friends that in 2011, you passed a bill that actually tasked you to come up with an alternative to the Affordable Care Act. You came up with nothing. Nothing. Just last year, you passed another bill to come up with an alternative and once again you came up with nothing. So now that we’re here again with a bill that repeals the Affordable Care Act and tasks Republicans to come up with an alternative. I’m curious. Where is your alternative? Maybe it’s in your notes. Is it hidden in some secret room in the Capitol? Maybe Donald Trump have it? Perhaps we should alert the Capitol Police or better yet, maybe we should call the FBI to help locate the Republican plan on healthcare.

“I remind my friends, you’re in charge. You run this place. You can bring whatever you want to this House Floor. Maybe you should bring a bloodhound to the House Floor to try find your healthcare alternative plan. But governing is something that my friends on the Republican side are not very good at. They’re very good about saying no to everything, but they can’t say yes to anything. The Republican plan on healthcare is essentially a sound bite. Their prescription is: Take two tax breaks and call me in the morning.

“Not only have House Republicans done nothing to expand healthcare for the American people, they have actually consistently tried to undermine health access for millions of Americans. Taking healthcare away from people in this country. And if Republicans had it their way and actually repealed the Affordable Care Act, millions of young people under the age of 26 would be thrown off of their parents’ health plans, being a woman would once again be a pre-existing condition, and much more of the progress made by the ACA would be rolled back.

“Contrary to what we often hear from Republicans, the Affordable Care Act is not killing the economy. I know facts get in the way of their arguments, but the fact is that America has seen a record 69 straight months of job growth and all signs point to this historic growth continuing. In September 2012 when the unemployment rate was 8.1 percent, the Republican presidential nominee, Mitt Romney, claimed that the unemployment rate would stay at about 8 percent if President Obama were re-elected. Well, President Obama was re-elected and Mitt Romney was wrong. What actually happened? The unemployment rate has steadily dropped each year and is now at a 7-year low of 5 percent with employers adding about 210,000 jobs a month through last November as more Americans get back to work.

“One of the frequent Republican claims we’ve heard is that businesses would shift to part-time workers to avoid the Affordable Care Act’s requirement to provide health coverage to full-time employees. A new study released this week shows that the ACA resulted in little change in the number of hours worked – including the first six months of 2015, when the employer mandate first took effect for larger companies.

“As POLITICO noted, this study “pokes a major hole in a beloved conservative talking point – that Obamacare will force employers to cut employees' hours.” The truth is that researchers found no major changes in the probability of people working fewer hours in 2013, 2014 or 2015.

“We’ve also heard Republicans claim that the ACA’s expansion of Medicaid would decrease employment among low-income workers. But another study released this week showed no major changes in the way low-income workers fit into the labor market during the first 15 months of Medicaid expansion under ACA. Contrary to conservative talking points, the new coverage didn't push low-income adults to switch jobs, move from full-time to part-time work, or rush to find new jobs.

“In fact, the expansion of Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act has made a tremendous difference in increasing access to healthcare for America’s most vulnerable families. Since October 2013, more than 12.3 million Americans have been able to get covered thanks to the expansion of Medicaid. And as a result of Marketplace coverage and Medicaid expansion, hospital uncompensated care costs were reduced by an estimated $7.4 billion in 2014, resulting in huge savings for consumers across this country.

“But that’s the difference between us – Democrats believe healthcare is a right and my Republican friends believe it is a privilege.

“To make matters worse, the bill before us today would also defund Planned Parenthood – which would put millions of low-income women – and men – at risk of losing access to critical health services. The fact is that one in five women has relied on a Planned Parenthood health center for care in her lifetime and Planned Parenthood serves 2.7 million patients each year. 

“Additionally, Planned Parenthood clinics often serve as one of the few affordable health care options available for many women and men. Cutting off access to the critical health services Planned Parenthood provides to some of our most vulnerable citizens is simply wrong. It is unconscionable. And 63 percent of voters, including 72 percent of independents, agree. But this whole effort to defund Planned Parenthood fits the Republican pattern of targeting poor people. And quite frankly, it’s outrageous.      

“While our nation’s community health centers do incredible work, the Republican claim that community health centers – by themselves – could suddenly pick up all the slack if Planned Parenthood is defunded, is just not true. And my Republican friends know that. The idea that our community health centers could – overnight – suddenly step in and cover millions of new patients, is absurd. In fact, in 21 percent of the counties with a Planned Parenthood health center, Planned Parenthood is the only safety-net family planning provider.

“Finally, let me also voice my strong objection to the provision in this Rule which extends for another year the unrestricted authority for four House Committees to conduct staff depositions at any time, on any subject, for any reason. Some committees have barely used this authority in the past year, and when they have, it has often been abused, with the threat of subpoena held over people’s heads. 

 “The power to compel American citizens to provide testimony under oath should be rarely used and specifically authorized. Quite frankly, I think the American people are tired of the partisan witch hunts that we have grown accustomed to under Republican leadership in this House. 

“We’re starting the New Year not by working in a bipartisan way to do the people’s business. Unfortunately, we’re starting the New Year debating the same old, same old; bills that put politics ahead of people. And that is truly sad.”

###