US rep, a Marine veteran, defends his vocal slam of Republican health care bill
“Where’s the score?”
I shouted the question to House Speaker Paul Ryan during debate on the Republican health care bill and – not for the first time – earned myself a reprimand. But the real transgression against the best traditions of the House wasn’t my boisterous inquiry. Instead, it was the Republican leadership’s insistence on forcing a vote on a bill that will transform one-sixth of the American economy without meaningful hearings and without an estimate, or "score," of its impact by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.
As we all know, haste makes waste. And it has already become painfully clear that in their rush to pass this disastrous legislation, Republicans committed an error in judgement that could have a grave implications for our nation’s veterans.
My occasional lack of decorum might have something to do with the fact that I used to be a grunt in the Marine Corps. I served in the Iraq War and like millions of other former service members, I’m eligible for care through the Veterans Affairs Department. Luckily, as a Member of Congress, I don’t need to worry about my health insurance, but under the flawed Republican health care bill, many of my fellow veterans may not be so lucky.
The problem is that the legislation explicitly denies tax credits intended to help Americans pay for insurance in the individual market to people who are already eligible for other low-cost federal health care programs. While this provision justifiably encompasses Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries, it would also inadvertently block as many as 7 million veterans who qualify for care through the VA from receiving this assistance, potentially denying them the option of carrying private health care coverage.
http://www.militarytimes.com/articles/us-rep-a-marine-veteran-defends-his-vocal-slam-of-republican-health-care-bill
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