Senate Democrats on Monday started their night-long protest over Republican plans to dismantle Obamacare by imploring people to reach out to Senate leadership.
“The way we are going to win this fight is if millions of people become engaged,” said Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., on Facebook Live. “The Republican plan defies very strongly what the American people want. The American people have said yes, we want changes in the Affordable Care Act. But you are not going to throw 20 million people off health insurance.”
Recommended Stories
Sanders and several Democratic senators blasted Republicans for aiming to repeal the healthcare law without a replacement ready to go.
“This is a fight and now it is time to step up and use our voices,” said Sen. Catherine Cortez-Masto, D-Nev. “It is time to have a call to action and fight for what we believe in.”
The marathon of speeches on Facebook Live and on the Senate floor comes as the Senate continues debating a budget resolution that will start the repeal process.
Democrats are hoping to create enough pressure to get a few GOP defections and doom Obamacare repeal. The GOP has a 52 to 48 majority in the chamber, and can only afford two senators to defect. Vice President-elect Mike Pence would be able to break any 50-50 tie.
The Senate will continue voting on amendments on Tuesday and will hold a final vote on the nonbinding resolution later this week. The resolution sets spending levels for the next decade.
Several Republicans are worried about repealing the healthcare law without a replacement. A quartet of Republican senators introduced an amendment Monday night to extend the deadline for when Senate and House committees need to develop repeal legislation.
The budget resolution gives committees until Jan. 27 to figure out a plan, but the amendment stretches that deadline back to March 3. The idea is to give Congress more time to get details around a replacement plan.
Senate Republican leadership has pushed back that repealing the law without an immediate replacement will cause people to lose their insurance.
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, the second-ranking member in GOP leadership, told reporters Monday that the incoming Trump administration can help insurers who may bolt the individual marketplaces due to uncertainty.
Senate Democrats were joined Monday by a collection of about 50 medical students from around the country as part of the group Protect our Patients.
Maria Phillis, a medical student at Johns Hopkins, told the Washington Examiner that she is worried that any Republican replacement could spell doom for people with pre-existing conditions. A popular part of the healthcare law ensures that people who seek coverage on the individual market, which is for people who don’t get insurance through their work, cannot be denied coverage due to a pre-existing condition.
“We don’t support repeal,” Phillis said.
