Democrats and the advocacy group Protect Our Care launched a national campaign titled “Sick of It, Fix Healthcare Now,” criticizing President Donald Trump and Republicans over recent healthcare legislation. Speakers argued the law makes significant cuts to Medicaid and Affordable Care Act funding while reducing healthcare tax credits, claiming the changes primarily benefit wealthy individuals and large corporations. The campaign plans nationwide events beginning in August, including town halls, policy discussions in September, and a multi-stop bus tour in October ahead of the November midterm elections. Republicans have defended their healthcare policies, while Democrats say healthcare will remain a central campaign issue.
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NewsTranscript
00:00Thank you, Brad. Thanks to everyone at Protect Our Care for being here because we truly are
00:07sick of it. And here's what the Republican Party is about to find out. That when you
00:13screw with people's health care, when you go after their families, when you mess with
00:18their kids, there will be a price to pay. Republicans chose to make this the centerpiece
00:26of their agenda. They chose to cut Medicare, Medicaid, and the ACA. They chose to cut taxes
00:36for the billionaire class by taking health insurance away from millions of Americans,
00:45including their own voters. And in most cases, especially their own voters, because this isn't
00:53just about blue states. In my district, 23,000 people are losing their insurance under the
01:01big, ugly law. But in Mike Johnson's district, it's nearly 40,000. And we are going to make
01:09sure that each and every one of those voters knows exactly who to blame. For every hospital
01:16closure we're seeing across this country, for every illness that is going untreated, for
01:23every prescription that is going unfilled. And we're going to make people sure, make sure
01:29people know it's because Republicans saw fit to spend their money on tax cuts for the Epstein
01:37class, instead of making sure that kids can go see a pediatrician, instead of making sure that cancer
01:46patients get the treatment they deserve. So thanks again to Brad Woodhouse to protect our care, to all
01:55our partners who are here, and especially my colleagues. We're going to make sure this attack on health care
02:03for working families does not go unpunished, because the American people are sick of it. Thank you.
02:14Whip Clark! Whip Clark!
02:15Now I'm going to introduce House Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar.
02:19Thank you so much, Brad. Thank you to the Protect Our Care campaign, and we are truly sick of it.
02:24I want to thank the DPCC and the
02:27storytellers and patient advocates who continue to shine a light on this urgent issue.
02:32In this last election, Americans entrusted Republicans with their votes because they believed that they
02:38would lower their costs. But for the last 18 months, we have seen that Republicans consistently
02:45put billionaires' interests over the needs of hardworking Americans. Nowhere was that more evident than in their
02:54signature bill, the Big Ugly Law. The GOP handed tax breaks to the ultra-wealthy while whipping away benefits,
03:02health care, and food assistance to the people that need it most. This is not what the American people voted
03:08for.
03:08And now, one year later, families are experiencing that fallout. Working families can't afford to see a doctor
03:16when they're sick, or to feed their kids when they're hungry. Hospitals, nursing homes, and clinics are
03:21closing their doors, and eight million people have lost health care. Republicans used all the power that
03:27they had to reward the billionaires while their constituents went broke. House Republicans are so corrupt and so
03:35beholden to Trump and the elites that they've ignored every chance to undo this damage. Instead of restoring
03:41health care, they've given a blank check to ICE to terrorize our communities. And instead of lowering costs,
03:48they've made life harder and more expensive for everyone. Meanwhile, House Democrats have worked to ensure
03:54that families have the tools and the resources they need to succeed. The affordable health care
04:00crisis is upon us, and Democrats will do everything we can to make delivering on health care the heart
04:07of our mission. We're going to keep fighting to lower costs, fix the health care crisis, and stop Trump
04:13and Republicans from wasting tax dollars. Thank you so much, Brad.
04:18All right, thank you. And now, DPCC co-chair Lauren Underwood.
04:25Well, thank you, Brad, and everyone at Protect Our Care for bringing us together today, and for their
04:30incredible, unrelenting advocacy for our health care. As a registered nurse, and one of just a small group
04:37of health care professionals serving here in the United States Congress, it has been horrifying to watch this
04:44Republican health care crisis unfold. I have dedicated my whole life and my career to expanding
04:50and protecting families' access to affordable health care. So when I tell you that Donald Trump
04:56and the Republicans in this building behind us do not care about health care for working people,
05:01I mean it. And I say it with the weight of that experience. I know what happens in a community
05:08when the only clinic in a hundred miles is forced to close their doors. I know how health outcomes
05:15deteriorate when a patient is forced to put off their preventive care or ration their medicine
05:19because they cannot justify the cost. I know how our entire health care system suffers when you fire tens
05:27of thousands of dedicated health care professionals or when you price those professionals out of being able
05:35to further their expertise and their education. Donald Trump and the Republicans in Congress
05:41have created this health care crisis, and American families are suffering because of it.
05:46One year ago, they ripped a trillion dollars of federal funding out of our health care system
05:53to line the pockets of all those people who were at the front row of Donald Trump's inauguration.
05:59It was the biggest cut to health care in American history. And when you combine those cuts with the impacts
06:06of Republicans' refusal to extend the extremely popular tax credits from my Health Care Affordability Act
06:13at the end of last year, it really is no wonder why we have this disaster that we see today.
06:20It is completely unacceptable. But it doesn't have to be this way. It really doesn't.
06:26So, August recess begins at the end of next week. And I'm here to tell you that this will be
06:32anything but a break for House Democrats.
06:34In town halls and meetings all across the summer, in our communities, we are going to be making sure that
06:41our neighbors
06:41and the American people know that we have not and we will not be giving up on this fight.
06:47Because whether you live in urban America or rural America, in a Midwestern community like mine, or one of our
06:54great coastal cities,
06:56every single American family should have high-quality, affordable health care.
07:02Our health care is a patriotic issue. And we're going to keep fighting.
07:05So, thank you so much for being here today. And I'm delighted to turn it back over to Brad.
07:11All right. Thank you. And now, DPCC Co-Chair Lori Trahan.
07:17Great. Thank you. Thank you, Brad. Thank you to protect our care and to all of our storytellers here today.
07:23You are the reason why we fight. It's no secret that under the leadership of Donald Trump and Republicans in
07:30Congress,
07:30hardworking families across our country are paying thousands of dollars more for basic necessities.
07:36Groceries, gas, utilities, health care. We are sick of it.
07:41In Massachusetts, families are paying an average of $4,100 more this year alone.
07:46And instead of standing up to a president who is personally pocketing billions of dollars from his time in office,
07:52Republicans doubled down. They passed the single largest cut to Americans' health care in our nation's history.
07:59They took away food from hungry children, all to pay for a tax cut for their billionaire friends.
08:04And the result? More than 8 million Americans have lost their coverage.
08:09Millions more have watched their premiums skyrocket.
08:12Growing up in Lowell, Massachusetts, my family didn't have much.
08:15I know what it means to be one medical bill away from a crisis.
08:19When a mom skips her prescription so her kids can eat.
08:23When the community hospital that delivered your children starts cutting services.
08:28Here's the truth. The money is there.
08:31Republicans found $200 billion for ICE.
08:35They found $70 billion for a war in Iran.
08:39That money could have extended the ACA tax credits and cut premiums in half for 20 million Americans.
08:45It's a question of priorities. And House Democrats' priority is you.
08:50We're going to fight for Americans' health care.
08:53And if you raise price on families, we're going to hold you accountable.
08:58Every family in America should be able to see a doctor.
09:02And we won't stop working until we get there. Thank you.
09:05Great. Thank you.
09:06And now, House Energy and Commerce Ranking Member, Frank Balloon.
09:11Thank you, Brad.
09:12Thank you, Brad.
09:13And thank you to Protect Our Care for being out here today.
09:16And for all the things you do to basically educate the public about what's going on in the grassroots that
09:22you do.
09:23I just want to be clear about one thing.
09:25We're in a crisis, and we all know that, right?
09:28We're sick of it.
09:29But at the same time, this was not an accident.
09:32This was a crisis or is a crisis of choice perpetrated by Donald Trump and the Republicans in Congress.
09:39And a lot of discussion about the bill, the big ugly bill, as I call it.
09:44But they marked it up in the cover of night in the Energy and Commerce Committee, and they rushed it
09:49to the House floor.
09:50And that bill ripped more than a trillion dollars out of Americans' health care and let the Affordable Care Act
09:57tax credits expire.
09:59So now, one year later, we predicted that this crisis was going to occur because of the big ugly bill.
10:05And it's actually happened.
10:06We know millions of people have now lost their health coverage.
10:10Premiums are skyrocketing, and deductibles are doubling.
10:14And over a thousand hospitals.
10:16You know, in my home state of New Jersey, I was shocked because I always assumed that if you had
10:21a hospital license in New Jersey, that you had to have a maternity ward.
10:26And a lot of the hospitals now in New Jersey are closing their maternity ward in a pediatric children's hospital
10:32section
10:32because it's not required with a hospital license, and they simply can't afford to maintain it anymore.
10:38So you can say, oh, I have a hospital, and many of them actually are closing down completely.
10:43But you have a hospital that doesn't have maternity care, doesn't have pediatric care.
10:49Really? That's a hospital? Not in my opinion.
10:51And that's what's happening.
10:53We're seeing these services cut all over the country, even if the hospital stays open.
10:58But the worst part of this is, and my colleagues have mentioned it, is that the Republicans did all this
11:03to pay for tax cuts for large corporations and for billionaires.
11:08And ultimately now we see Trump coming back and asking Congress for even more money and possibly for the Iran
11:16war, right?
11:17So all the money that we saw that cut the health care, created this crisis, and now in the middle
11:23of this he's coming back and asking for more money for the Iran war.
11:27If you look at the money that's been spent on the Iran war, you can see that after a few
11:33days or a few weeks, the amount of money that's being spent actually could pay not only for the Affordable
11:39Care Act's premium tax credit, but pay for it twice.
11:45So we're literally saying we're going to give these tax cuts to millionaires, we're going to give money to the
11:50war, and at the same time we're going to really hurt the average American in terms of the health care.
11:55That's the choice that the Republicans are making over and over again now.
12:00And I'm frankly sick of it, I know everyone is sick of it, and House Democrats are going to do
12:05whatever we can to address this crisis.
12:09We're going to fight, we're going to keep fighting in committee, on the House floor, as mentioned in every district
12:15in the country over the summer, to reverse these cuts and ultimately fix the health care system.
12:20Because that's what Americans want, and they should have. So thank you. Thank you Brad.
12:25Let's hear it for Frank Pallone.
12:27Pass more health care legislation than anybody in the history of America.
12:30I want to thank our members who have been here, and you're excused, you can take a cold shower.
12:35We're going to hear now from people who are on the front lines of this fight.
12:39I want to bring up Elena Hung with Little Lobbyists.
12:43Hello. Thank you Brad. Thank you Protector Care. Thank you everyone joining us.
12:47I'm here joining these amazing voices and being in solidarity with those fighting for health care.
12:53We are fighting for our lives and we are sick of it.
12:58I am Elena. I'm Zirmar's mom. I am here on behalf of Little Lobbyists families like mine, raising amazing disabled
13:05children.
13:06So let's be clear about one thing. Kids like mine are alive today because of the Affordable Care Act.
13:13And because of Medicaid. And we're here speaking out today because that is all under threat.
13:21Republicans have taken away ACA tax credits that help millions afford health care.
13:26They have cut nearly a trillion dollars to Medicaid, the largest cut in history.
13:31And we are sick of it.
13:34No family should be forced to choose between paying for rent or paying for life saving medication.
13:40We're sick of it.
13:41We're sick of it.
13:42No family should be forced to choose to pay between paying for food and paying for a doctor's appointment.
13:49And we're sick of it.
13:50We're sick of it.
13:51Health care costs are pushing families like mine to make impossible choices.
13:55And that is a policy failure, not a personal one.
13:59And we are sick of it.
14:01All right.
14:03Now I want to call on Nora Walsh-DeVries with Planned Parenthood Action Fund.
14:10Good morning.
14:10If it's still morning, I'm Nora Walsh-DeVries, Vice President of Political and Legislative Affairs at the Planned Parenthood Action
14:15Fund.
14:16And more importantly, I'm here today because I, like you, am sick of it.
14:19And I'm sick of the Trump administration and its anti-abortion backers in Congress who are playing politics with our
14:25health care and making it more expensive and harder to get.
14:27Nearly 30 health centers have been forced to close across the country since President Trump and his backers in Congress
14:33defunded Planned Parenthood.
14:35These closures have hit every part of the country.
14:37But the hardest hit areas were concentrated in communities where people already struggled to get basic care.
14:42Two thirds of health centers shut down in rural areas, medically underserved areas or areas where lacking primary care professionals.
14:50Planned Parenthood organizations did everything possible to shield patients from the harmful effects of defunding.
14:55But the data from the past year shows that people are people simply could not get essential care.
15:00Stark drops in patient visits mean patients were cut off from the affordable sexual and reproductive services they need at
15:06Planned Parenthood health centers.
15:07Medicaid visits dropped by about 25 percent or 250,000 visits compared to the same period during the same year.
15:14The bottom line in the year since Planned Parenthood was defunded, patients faced more barriers, got less care that will
15:20mean greater health risks in the future.
15:22But even with the evidence laid out for them, these same lawmakers still want to defund Planned Parenthood permanently and
15:27make it harder for everyone everywhere to get the care they need.
15:30As House Republicans push forward another party line bill that fails to address the health care crisis they created, people
15:36need to know who is to blame for the harm our communities are experiencing.
15:41Planned Parenthood Action Fund is proud to join Protect Our Care and all of these leaders today proclaim that we
15:46are sick of it and it's time to fix our health care now.
15:48All right.
15:49All right.
15:50Now, Jamie Worker, Caring Across Generations.
15:54Good morning, everyone.
15:56My name is Jamie Worker and I'm with Caring Across Generations.
16:00We are proud to stand with Protect Our Care, our champions in Congress and partners across the country to launch
16:08SIGAVIT Fix Healthcare Now.
16:12At Caring Across Generations, we work with family caregivers, care workers, aging and disabled people every day.
16:20And I can tell you, we are all sick of it.
16:24We're sick of watching the majority in Congress pass the largest Medicaid cut in history, not to fix anything, but
16:32to fund tax breaks for billionaires and big corporations.
16:37Medicaid is the backbone of care in this country, the only meaningful insurance that covers long term care.
16:45It is how more than eight million people get care at home and in their communities.
16:52It's how an older adult comes home after a stroke instead of into a facility.
16:57It's how a child with complex medical needs grows up at home with her parents instead of an institution.
17:05It's how 130 million family caregivers, 40% of adults in this country, get any backup at all.
17:14And it's how nearly five million direct care workers earn a living doing the work that makes all other work
17:21possible.
17:22These cuts land in a multitude of ways.
17:26When someone loses Medicaid, they lose the home care that keeps them out of an institution.
17:32Providers already operating at thin margins close.
17:36And the worker providing care loses their job and often their own health care with it.
17:43This is not a personal failure.
17:46It is a policy choice.
17:47And what was chosen can be reversed.
17:52Reversing these cuts is the floor, not the ceiling.
17:56People want our lawmakers to strengthen Medicaid.
18:00They want the choice to age at home without waiting lists.
18:03And they want long term care to be something that we can all count on without draining savings.
18:10That's what investing in care looks like.
18:13We will not be ignored.
18:15We're sick of it.
18:16And we're going to fix it.
18:19All right.
18:20Athena Jones, SEIU.
18:24All right.
18:27Good afternoon.
18:28Good evening.
18:28We are in the midst of a revolution and I'm glad you are here for the beginning.
18:33My name is Athena Jones and for more than 13 years I've been a home care worker.
18:37I am proud to be the chapter chair of SEIU Virginia 512.
18:41Home care is not just my job.
18:44It is a calling.
18:45Every day caregivers become someone's hands as they allow them to wake up.
18:50We become their voices when they are no longer able to speak.
18:53We become the opportunity for them to be able to live an existence that creates equity amongst a congregation of
18:59people that often are overlooked.
19:02Care is possible because of Medicaid.
19:04Yet today that promise is under attack.
19:07Congress has approved more than $1 trillion in cuts to Medicaid and Affordable Care Act.
19:14Putting healthcare risk at 16 million Americans.
19:18How can we stand and say that we are great if we are allowing the most vulnerable to stand in
19:24the midst of these atrocities?
19:26But let me tell you, what is fraud?
19:29Fraud is telling families they can age in place but take away the workforce.
19:34Fraud is calling care and expense while the priceless value of independence and dignity is taken away.
19:42We march, we will fight, we will organize.
19:47Why?
19:48Because a nation where home care workers earn a living wage benefits all work.
19:53Where every person who lives with dignity is in place because they choose to live at home.
19:59Let history record that we choose courage over comfort.
20:04That we choose people over politics.
20:08That we choose care over cuts.
20:11This is why we are here.
20:12This is why we fight.
20:14And this is why we are not finished yet.
20:16Because no law can silence compassion.
20:19No budget can erase dignity.
20:22And no vote can stop a movement whose time has come.
20:26And that time is now.
20:31Shana Goodman, Community Catalyst.
20:36Thank you Brad.
20:37Thank you Protect Our Care.
20:38My name is Shana Goodman.
20:39I'm the Vice President of Policy and Government Affairs at Community Catalyst.
20:42We are a national health justice advocacy organization working with state and community groups around the country
20:48to create a healthcare system that is affordable, accessible, and accountable to all people.
20:53Our work in communities nationwide has surfaced the voices and stories of people who depend on Medicaid and the ACA
21:00to get healthy and stay healthy.
21:02Programs now facing billions in cuts and burdensome new bureaucratic red tape.
21:07There are people like Amy in Pennsylvania, a 60-year-old full-time worker living paycheck to paycheck
21:12who just saw her monthly premium go from $92 a month to $370 a month.
21:18Or Susan in Illinois who told us about being a young single mother
21:22who because of the support of Medicaid and SNAP was able to finish her education, find a career, and purchase
21:28a home.
21:29Or Mona in Kansas who is currently recovering from a broken hip and would have lost her home without Medicaid.
21:35These are just a sliver of the countless stories we've heard from real people across the nation.
21:40People who depend on health insurance programs that are getting more expensive or simply out of reach by the day.
21:46They are the people that we and our network of partners here work tirelessly on behalf of every day.
21:52And we're honored to bring their voices to Washington and lend their power to this vital campaign.
21:57We know people out in communities are sick of the status quo.
22:00And we're counting on all of you to keep up the fight, not just to reverse the harms of recent
22:06policy changes,
22:07but to move us closer to the health care system that we need and deserve.
22:11All right. Thank you.
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