IMAGE: CNS photo/Joshua Roberts, Reuters
By Carol Zimmermann
WASHINGTON (CNS) — After the Senate voted
July 25 to proceed with the health care debate, Bishop Frank J. Dewane of
Venice, Florida, urged senators of both parties to “work together to
advance changes that serve the common good.”
The
statement from Bishop Dewane, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic
Bishops’ Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development, said the health
care reform proposals currently under consideration would “harm millions
of struggling Americans by leaving too many at risk of losing adequate health
coverage and continue to exclude too many people, including immigrants.”
“We
are grateful for the efforts to include protections for the unborn, however,
any final bill must include full Hyde Amendment provisions and add much-needed
conscience protections. The current
proposals are simply unacceptable as written, and any attempts to repeal the
ACA (Affordable Care Act) without a concurrent replacement is also unacceptable,” he said in a
July 25 statement.
During
the procedural vote on the Senate floor, 50 Republicans voted yes and two GOP
senators — Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska — voted no, along with the Senate’s 48 Democrats. The
tiebreaking vote was necessary from Vice President Mike Pence, as president of the Senate.
The
vote to debate health care legislation took place after months of ongoing discussion and
leaves Senate Republicans with a few options, including completely replacing the
health care law, or voting for what has been described as a “skinny”
repeal that would remove parts of the Affordable Care Act. They also could pass a measure that would repeal the current law without implementing a
replacement.
As
votes were being cast, all eyes were on Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, who
returned to the Senate floor just days after being diagnosed with brain cancer,
and Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wisconsin, who had not assured the Senate of his vote
prior to the tally.
Just
prior to the procedural vote, Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, majority leader, urged
fellow senators not to let this moment slip by.
“All
we have to do today is to have the courage to begin the debate,” he added as
protesters yelled in the background: “Kill the bill, don’t kill us.” “Shame.”
“Will
we begin the debate on one of the most important issues confronting America
today?” he asked before answering: “It is my hope that the answer
will be yes.”
Democratic Sen.
Charles Schumer of New York, minority leader, stressed that Democrats had been “locked
out” of the recent health care debate and he warned that the Republican
plan will “certainly mean drastic cuts” in Medicaid and would cause
many to lose health care insurance.
McCain
urged his colleagues to “trust each other” and “return to
order” after casting his vote to move the debate forward.
In
his July 25 statement, Bishop Dewane said, “There is much work to be done
to remedy the ACA’s shortcomings” and he called on the Senate to make the
necessary changes.
He
also stressed that “current and impending barriers to access and
affordability under the ACA must be removed, particularly for those most in
need. Such changes can be made with narrower reforms that do not jeopardize the
access to health care that millions currently receive,” he added.
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Carolyn
Mackenzie contributed to this report. Follow Zimmermann on Twitter: @carolmaczim.
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