Several members of Massachusetts’ congressional delegation spoke out Tuesday against the Trump administration’s push to strike down the Affordable Care Act in a new court filing, arguing that millions of Americans benefit from the controversial health care law.
The Democrats, who have opposed GOP-led efforts to dismantle the ACA, criticized the Justice Department for stating in a Monday legal brief that it will not challenge any parts of the ruling in Texas v. United States, which found the law unconstitutional.
U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a Massachusetts Democrat and 2020 presidential candidate, stressed that lawmakers “will not let the Trump administration rip health care away from millions of Americans.”
“Not now. Not ever,” she said, calling health care “a basic human right.”
Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley, D-Boston, agreed.
“Not on my watch,” she tweeted in response to reports of the administration’s court filing.
Congressman Jim McGovern, D-Worcester, contended that the contrast between the Trump administration and Democrats -- who unveiled legislation which they said will protect individuals with pre-existing conditions and lower health premiums -- “has never been more clear.”
“Democrats are doing what the American people elected us to do – stand up for them. Meanwhile, Republicans are putting profits before people and rolling back the health insurance protections that Americans want and deserve,”he said in a statement. "We will not stop fighting until every person in this country has high-quality, universal coverage. Period.”
U.S. Rep. Katherine Clark, D-Melrose, offered that while President Donald Trump campaigned ahead of the 2018 midterms on protecting coverage for individuals with pre-existing conditions, the DOJ letter “declares war on the health care law these Americans rely on.”
“When will the GOP stop treating health care like it’s a privilege for the healthy and the wealthy” she tweeted. “Signs point to never. So, we’ll stand up against these attacks like we did in 2017 and 2018, and we’ll win.”
Congressman Joe Kennedy III, D-Newtown, meanwhile, took to Twitter to highlight how several Americans could be impacted if the Trump administration succeeds in “gutting” protections for pre-existing conditions.
Democrats on the House Ways and Means Committee, which is led by U.S. Rep. Richard Neal, D-Springfield, also raised concerns about the DOJ filing and pledged to fight to protect Americans with pre-existing health conditions.