Dear friends,
We already knew our right to access health care would come under attack — but we didn’t realize just how soon. At 1:30 AM last night, the Senate approved a budget resolution that lawmakers have dubbed the Obamacare “repeal resolution.”
Budget resolutions tell specific committees to write legislation that would decrease spending and increase revenue. Using the budget process is a way of limiting how much debate the bill can have. It can’t be filibustered, and rather than needing 60 votes to pass, it only requires a simple majority of 51 votes. Many lawmakers have mentioned a repeal-and-replace strategy — but the budget process can only be used to repeal. That would mean taking away health care from millions of Americans without a plan to replace it.
We won’t give up our health care that easily. Here’s what you can do:
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Find out if either of your state Senators is on the Senate HELP Committee or the Finance Committee. Click here to see the members of the HELP Committee, and click here to see the members of the Finance Committee.
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If you have a Senator on one or both committees, they should be the primary target of your calls. Senators care a lot about hearing from the people from the state they represent. Find the number for your Senators’ offices here.
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If neither of your Senators is on either committee, you can call the office of the Chair and Ranking Member of each committee:
HELP Committee
Chair: Lamar Alexander – (202) 224-4944
Ranking Member: Patty Murray – (202) 224-2621
Finance Committee
Chair: Orrin Hatch – (202) 224-5251
Ranking Member: Ron Wyden – (202) 224-5244
Here’s a script you can use:
Hi, my name is [Your Name] and I’m a constituent of Senator [Name]. I’m calling to ask Senator [Name] to preserve the Affordable Care Act during the budget reconciliation process. Specifically, I’m urging the Senator to defend Medicaid expansion and the premium tax credit. I’m also asking the Senator to take the words of [his/her] colleagues in the Senate to heart and figure out how to replace the ACA before starting to repeal it. Thanks for your time.
If you can’t use the phone, you can ask someone to call on your behalf. They can say, “I’m calling on behalf of [NAME,] who is a constituent of the Senator’s. [NAME] has a disability and isn’t able to make phone calls, but they want to ask the Senator to to preserve the Affordable Care Act during the budget reconciliation process. Specifically, they’re urging the Senator to defend Medicaid expansion and the premium tax credit. They’re also asking the Senator to take the words of [his/her] colleagues in the Senate to heart and figure out how to replace the ACA before starting to repeal it. Thanks for your time.