A group of Republican Senators operated in secrecy on the Senate's version of a "healthcare" bill to take away said healthcare from nearly 10% of the country and cut taxes on the wealthiest. Last Thursday, they unveiled a plan to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act with no healthcare for millions of individuals. They expect to rush to a vote on it this week.
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) has been the target of Republican leaders and their base since its passage. With full control Congress and the White House, they now hold the power to make changes. They are certain of their desire to remove the funding mechanism for ACA -- a tax on the wealthiest citizens -- everything else be damed including millions of citizens who will not be able to obtain or afford coverage.
One of Trump's repeated promises (lies) during the campaign was to go after pharmaceutical companies and take action to lower prescription drug prices. Why would a White House owned by corporate interests do such a thing to help the American people? Turns out they won't, bowing to powerful industry as usual over the interests of the people they were elected to represent.
On May 4th, the House GOP voted to take healthcare away from at least 23 million Americans according to the Congressional Budget Office report, which came after the vote was rushed through. Refresh yourself on the details here if needed.
Congressional Republicans are planning to go after more than a half dozen additional regulations in an attempt to significantly limit the ability of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to protect workers. Since 2015, federal contractors have had very significant violations of wage and hour laws and safety incidents over the past few years, and the regulations currently under attack were intended to curb these offenses and address health concerns causes by exposure to specific chemicals.
As expected, the White House reinstated the “Mexico City policy” which blocks federal funding for charities that provide abortion services. But Trump was not satisfied with just following in the footsteps of President Reagan, who first imposed this policy, or Presidents George H.W. Bush and Georgia W. Bush, who also enforced it during their time in office. Instead he made it even worse:
In Smart Dissent's Budget Cuts Series, we are examining the White House proposed budget cuts to learn what's hidden beneath the surface and later update based on Congressional budget proposals and actions. This post focuses on proposed significant cuts to medical research and healthcare that we must Be Smart about and Actively Dissent.
Anti-poverty advocates have vowed to fight the proposed budget plan for good reason. It's devastating blow to millions of low income people throughout the country. It's a shockingly transparent effort to pay for tax cuts for the wealthy and increase defense spending. Most importantly, we all must engage in Smart Dissent because budgets are drafted and approved by Congress, not the President. It's crucial to be aware of what the White House is proposing and let Congress know it is not acceptable.
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) has been the target of Republican leaders and their base since its passage. With full control Congress and the White House, they now hold the power to make changes. They are certain of their desire to remove the funding mechanism for ACA -- a tax on the wealthiest citizens -- everything else be damed including millions of citizens who will not be able to obtain or afford coverage.
The Budget Cuts Series has a lot to share because the details of the White House proposed budget cuts are coming into light and they are ugly. We will update continually based on Congressional budget proposals and actions.