As the Senate convened for a rare session on Sunday to possibly vote in favor of a potential “short term funding measure,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune shut down a Nov. 8 proposal from Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer that would have provided new subsidies for Obamacare.
“The Democrat leader’s proposal is a non-starter for the Republican majority,” Thune stated in a speech from the Senate floor. “The Democrat leader wants to believe that this is a, ‘Simple proposal, that it is some sort of compromise.’ But it is not. He’s talking about throwing tens of billions more taxpayer dollars at a program that even Democrats admit has failed to lower healthcare costs.”
Thune added that Americans “are tired of Washington taking their hard-earned money,” emphasizing the broken system behind the Obamacare. He pointed out how, since 2010, the legislation has failed to deliver all the promises made by Democrats.
“‘If you like your health insurance, you can keep it.’ Not true. ‘If you like your doctor, you can keep him or her.’ Not true. ‘Premium costs will go down.’ Not true. And actually the opposite is true. They keep going up. Obamacare drove premium prices higher,” Thune continued.
Thune also took the time to explain that Democrats selected the “expiration date” for the Obamacare subsidies, despite them trying to “blame Republicans for their mess.”
“Republicans are not about to further burden taxpayers by blindly extending a flawed program. The Democrat’s proposal is just more of the same: masking rising premiums and padding insurance companies’ profits with more taxpayer dollars.”
The Senate is scheduled to vote later this afternoon on a new resolution bill. If approved, it will then proceed to the House for another vote. Thune is optimistic that Republicans will be able to reopen the government today, as at least 10 Senate Democrats are expected to support this small spending package, according to Axios.
Thune’s words and efforts reflect President Donald Trump‘s frustration. Trump stated on Truth Social that “NO MORE MONEY, HUNDREDS OF BILLIONS OF DOLLARS” should go to funding the “REALLY BAD OBAMACARE.THE MONEY MUST NOW GO DIRECTLY TO THE PEOPLE, TAKING THE ‘FAT CAT’ INSURANCE COMPANIES OUT OF THE CORRUPT SYSTEM OF HEALTHCARE. THE PEOPLE CAN BUY THEIR OWN, MUCH BETTER POLICY, FOR MUCH LESS MONEY, SAVING, FOR THEMSELVES, AN ABSOLUTE FORTUNE!!!”
