Hundreds of Activists Occupy the Capitol to Protest Trumpcare
Scores of people are arrested in what organizers describe as the largest demonstration against the GOP bill so far.
Activists demonstrate outside the Washington office of Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, on Wednesday. (CPD Action / Twitter)
By Ilana Novick / AlterNet
Activists demonstrate outside the Washington office of Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, on Wednesday. (CPD Action / Twitter)
Hundreds of activists from around the country descended on Capitol Hill Wednesday to protest the GOP’s latest assault on health care and the Affordable Care Act. As Donald Trump and Mitch McConnell spent hours twisting senators’ arms over lunch and secret meetings trying to whip up votes, nearly 300 Americans, including doctors, nurses, home health aides, and people with chronic conditions, occupied Republican senators’ officers, demanding that their elected officials kill the Better Care Reconciliation Act and support a single-payer, Medicare-for-all health care system.
The actions were led by a coalition of organizations including the Center for Popular Democracy, Housing Works, GMHC, National Nurses United, Rise and Resist, Positive Women’s Network USA, and Health Care for America Now. Participants stressed that the health care vote is a life-or-death decision.
“I’ve been living with HIV for 26 years and I am alive because of my medication,” said Barb Cardell of Boulder, Colorado, who was arrested on July 10, and according to a statement from organizers, planned to risk arrest again Wednesday. “Without my medications, I would die, and without my health insurance, I can’t afford my meds, which cost $10,000 per month. I remember the early days of HIV when people got sick and just died. I have tried to speak with Senator [Cory] Gardner about this many times and wasn’t able to reach him in Colorado, so I’ve come back today to try to find him myself.”
As Jennifer Flynn, director of health care justice at the Center for Popular Democracy, said in a statement, “By repealing the ACA, Republican senators are doing the bidding of their billionaire donors, not the lives of the people who they represent. Republicans are so obsessed with repealing the ACA that they’re willing to leave millions without healthcare and let people suffer preventable deaths.”
Charles King, the founder and CEO of Housing Works, emphasized that as long as the Senate keeps reviving this bill, activists will be showing up at their offices to fight it.
“We’ve had some victories these past days in pushing back the various nefarious versions of the Senate bill and repeal-only attempts. We’re here in D.C. because we know the fight is not yet over,” he said, adding, “We are here to reiterate to every Republican senator that they cannot repeal ACA and gut Medicaid. They need to shore up failing markets and put money into lowering premiums for middle-class, working people. They need to encourage all states to expand Medicaid, and they should extend Medicare to cover everyone 55 years old and over. Then we can fight for the single-payer health care system all Americans deserve.”
As of early Wednesday evening, nearly 100 people participating in the protests were arrested. See pictures and video from the protest below.
“Healthcare is a right,” veteran activist, @gmhc policy director, @ericsawyer getting arrested at McConnell’s Sen office. @CPDAction pic.twitter.com/ZbrOkYM7NT
— Samy Nemir Olivares (@Samynemir) July 19, 2017
Fifteen #KillTheBill activists occupying @PatToomey office in Russell Senate Office Building pic.twitter.com/wKWHel2M9l
— Michael Kink (@mkink) July 19, 2017
Fifteen #KillTheBill activists occupying @PatToomey office in Russell Senate Office Building pic.twitter.com/wKWHel2M9l
— Michael Kink (@mkink) July 19, 2017
Your support matters…Women of all ages, races and states getting arrested at GOP Senate offices fighting for healthcare & asking to stop ACA repeal. @popdemoc pic.twitter.com/JTeBVO1U5r
— Samy Nemir Olivares (@Samynemir) July 19, 2017
Independent journalism is under threat and overshadowed by heavily funded mainstream media.
You can help level the playing field. Become a member.
Your tax-deductible contribution keeps us digging beneath the headlines to give you thought-provoking, investigative reporting and analysis that unearths what's really happening- without compromise.
Give today to support our courageous, independent journalists.
Health & Wellness
Eighteen million Americans could soon lose access to Medicaid.
The people of Mumbra fear that the government is threatening their independence and their identity.
Its decision on an appeal of a lower-court ruling declaring part of the statute unconstitutional is unlikely to come before the election.
Despite campaign promises to replace the Affordable Care Act with something better, the uninsured rate has risen on the president's watch.
The program's complexity was always a problem, and many low-income people still don't understand they can get financial help with premiums.
Once again, Republicans are caught without an alternative to their nemesis, Obamacare. After the Trump administration supported a legal fight to get rid of the Affordable Care Act, President Trump began to wage a campaign to make Republicans the “party of health care.” Trump assured the nation that Republicans were sooooo close to the most incredible, […]
You need to be a supporter to comment.
There are currently no responses to this article.
Be the first to respond.