Hurd: “Um, there’s some piece of legislation, and we can point you to it. Thanks, my man.”
In January, Congressman Will Hurd voted to back a lawsuit that would repeal the Affordable Care Act and gut health care protections for Texans, including 302,500 residents of the 23rd District with pre-existing conditions. As the Trump Administration continues to double down on Washington Republicans’ efforts to dismantle our entire health care system, the Huffington Post yesterday exposed just how disastrously out of touch Hurd is on the issue.
According to the Huffington Post:
And vulnerable Rep. Will Hurd (R-Texas) claimed, “Republicans and Democrats agree that we should protect pre-existing conditions.”
But when challenged that the AHCA would have undermined those protections and that the GOP-backed lawsuit to strike down Obamacare would gut them, he said that that implied those were the only two ways to address health care.
And when HuffPost noted that there wasn’t an alternative GOP plan, Hurd responded, “Um, there’s some piece of legislation, and we can point you to it. Thanks, my man.”
It’s no surprise that Hurd is desperately trying to dodge questions about his support for Washington Republican’s approach to health care – it’s a plan that would eliminate protections for 130 million Americans with pre-existing conditions, explode the cost of insurance premiums and out of pocket costs, and charge older Americans an “age tax” for their care. And, as House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy has noted, it’s an approach that risks further political disaster for Republicans after losing dozens of seats last November.
“Congressman Hurd has had several opportunities to vote to protect the health care of those with pre-existing conditions and stand up for Texans. Instead, he’s repeatedly chosen to side with his special interest backers over his constituents,” said DCCC Spokesperson Brooke Goren. “Hurd’s double-speak on health care isn’t surprising, but it’s also not going to fool hardworking Texas families who deserve better.”
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