Earlier this week, after Senator John McCain said he’d prefer that a healthcare bill be subject to hearings before coming up for a vote, the Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, Orrin Hatch of Utah, obliged by scheduling a last minute hearing this coming Monday, September 25. It’s clear that Hatch intends the hearing to be mostly for show. The ranking Democratic Senator on the committee, Ron Wyden of Oregon, called the hearing “an abomination on the history of this storied committee” and criticized Republicans for moving forward with the bill before it has been analyzed by the Congressional Budget Office.
We have an opportunity to turn this hearing into something more.
Advocates, activists, and anyone who might be affected by this bill (which is pretty much everyone) can go on record for the hearing. Earlier today, Andy Slavitt, former Acting Administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (and Twitter hero) retweeted instructions for entering a statement into the record for the hearing, saying “Everybody with a story or a statement on Graham Cassidy repeal, this is a great chance. I strongly encourage.”
Send your stories of what Graham-Cassidy would mean for you to GCHcomments@finance.senate.gov. Let the Senate hear from and about the real people who will be affected if this bill becomes law. Make sure they understand the devastation that will result if Graham-Cassidy passes. Put it on the record.
Please share this post with everyone in your network.
And if you do share your story for the hearing, I hope you’ll let us know in the comments below, or on Facebook or Twitter. Plus, feel free to tell us any other strategies you might have for opposing this monstrosity of a bill.
This is real, let’s hit ’em with everything we’ve got!