Last night, I stood on the floor of the Senate with my colleagues to speak out against a bill that is a disaster for the health care of millions of Americans. We took a stand together, and we took it well into the night, because this is too important.
We stood for Medicaid patients. For families with people in nursing homes. For people who struggle with opioid addictions. For women who rely on Planned Parenthood.
For the American people, who have been left in the dark since the very beginning.
Here's the order of people who get to see the health care bill: 13 dudes in secret. Then, some lobbyists. Then, the Congressional Budget Office. Then, maybe, you and me.
There are no markups. No hearings. No public discussions. There's just that back room, and the 13 people in it -- hiding their bill because they know exactly what's in it.
There's only one way to make good legislation: to let the light shine in.
That means hearings -- something every legislative body in America, from the school board to the county council, has regularly. Yet Senate leaders can't find the time to have a single one on a bill that impacts one-sixth of our country's economy.
Health care is complicated. We need expert testimony. We need input. We need time to talk to the people we represent. That's how you get a good product.
What we've been given instead is shameful. When they're done, this bill will be fruit from the poisonous tree. It can't be good -- because the process that produced it is so flawed.
I won't stand for anything that's forced on the American people. I hope you won't, either. Sign on with OFA to say so:
https://my.ofa.us/Raise-Your-
Thank you,
Senator Brian Schatz
