Payne Statement on House GOP’s 37th Vote to Repeal the Affordable Care Act

Washington, D.C. – For the 37th time, House Republicans voted to repeal the Affordable Care Act today, wasting more than 52.4 million taxpayer dollars in an effort to eliminate access to affordable, quality health care for every American. In voting to repeal Obamacare, House GOP voted to take away patient rights and benefits that millions of Americans are already enjoying, including 17 million children with pre-existing conditions that can no longer be denied coverage, 105 million Americans who now receive free preventative services, and 6.6 million young adults who can stay on their parents’ insurance. In response to today’s vote, Congressman Donald M. Payne, Jr. released the following:

“I staunchly oppose any attempt to repeal Obamacare. The Affordable Care Act is essential to eliminating the health disparities in New Jersey, it ensures that women are no longer discriminated against and charged more simply because of their gender, and it provides critical access to preventative care like life-saving cancer screenings. Millions of children, seniors, and families are already enjoying the benefits of ACA, and now House Republicans want to strip people of these lifesaving resources.

“The vote today was a game of party politics at its worst. It’s a bill to nowhere, a distraction, and a waste of time and valuable resources that should be spent working on legislation that will create good jobs for workers and their families and creating a budget that will reduce the debt in a balanced way. This vote today demonstrates that House GOP leadership is completely out of touch with what Americans needs are right now. They need to get off their grandstands and start focusing on rebuilding the economy, not their own political egos.”

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