Thanks to millions of calls and hundreds of SEIU members and allies, health care repeal failed because people stood up and demanded their members of Congress vote against repeal – people turned out to town halls, called their members and made sure that their voices were heard. A bipartisan majority of Senators rejected efforts to repeal health care and refused to rip away health care from tens of millions – choosing to stand up for what is right and protect our care. In the end, facts and substance mattered – millions of people are benefiting from the Affordable Care Act and they refused to have their care taken away.
We say that unity works. Last night proved that again. All 48 Democrats and 3 Republicans voted “No” and defeated the desperate attempt to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA)–what was known as the “skinny repeal”. This means that tens of millions Americans will keep their healthcare and tens of thousands of Americans will not die every year–that’s how serious the stakes were in this struggle.
This spectacular victory for working people was only made possible by YOU. During these last six months I cannot tell you how proud I have been as hundreds and hundreds of our members have called members of Congress, attended rallies and town halls, and talked to their co-workers and family members about this critical issue. YOU made this happen. The power of the people united CAN defeat the billionaires and their checkbooks–let us never forget that.Thank you all for everything you did. Millions of people–including 600,000 of our friends and neighbors here in Colorado–thank you too! Have a wonderful weekend.~Ron Ruggiero, President of SEIU Local 105
There is no way to fix repeal – it’s time to move on. Every nonpartisan analysis has shown that all of the Republicans’ health care repeal bills ripped insurance away from millions, forced costs to skyrocket and gutted critical protections. Americans want the Trump Administration and Congress to work across party lines to keep what works and fix what doesn’t in the Affordable Care Act. The latest Kaiser tracking poll showed that seven in ten Americans (71 percent) want Republicans in Congress to work with Democrats to make improvements to the ACA not repeal the law.
