Fire from Elizabeth Warren on Medicaid cuts: “These cuts are blood money. People will die.” (via @MSNBC) pic.twitter.com/PizKRMNvCY
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) June 22, 2017
The ink is still drying on the Senate’s Better Care Reconciliation Act and, to put it mildly, it’s not a popular piece of legislation. Among the bill’s highlights is ending penalties on being uninsured, giving tax cuts to the wealthy, and slashing Medicaid. In a fiery speech on the floor of the Senate, Massachusetts senator wasn’t having it, calling the cuts “blood money.”
Referring to the cuts to Medicaid that will take place that will end up as tax cuts, Warren did not mince words. “These cuts are blood money,” she said. “People will die. Let’s be clear: Senate Republicans are paying for tax cuts for the wealthy with American lives.”
Warren goes on to attack the Senate bill for being more severe than the House version with regard to cuts to Medicaid and the essential services to the poor and disabled that will be lost:
The Republican bill claims to protect kids with disabilities by leaving them out of the calculations that decide how big the Medicaid cuts will be in each state. Now, I don’t know if the Republicans were expecting a round of applause for pitting kids with breathing tubes against vulnerable seniors or someone needing treatment for addiction. But I do know this so-called exemption won’t do a thing to help these kids. The Republican cuts still slash hundreds of billions of dollars for Medicaid, leaving states with no choice — no choice — but to cut services that kids with disabilities desperately need.
Warren ends her speech with a call to action, saying Republicans’ values are on full display with this bill and that they had better prepare for a fight.
Watch the full video below.
(Via MSNBC & Washington Free Beacon)