What's in this “new” TrumpCare
bill?
After weeks of total secrecy,
this morning Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell released the Senate
TrumpCare bill. And what a cruel, ugly bill it is. It guts Medicaid, it
increases health costs for the middle-class, it cuts coverage for pre-existing
conditions, it eliminates funding for Planned Parenthood...and it does this all
in order to greenlight a massive tax cut for millionaires and billionaires.
But this isn't over yet. Senate
Republicans don’t have the votes...at least, not yet. If we peel off just 3
Senators, we win. We have time to fight back, and it doesn’t matter if you have
a Republican or Democratic Senator -- you are needed in this fight. We’ve got
three ways to fight back:
Got a Republican Senator?
Excellent. CALL THEM. Find daily scripts and material at TrumpCareTen.org.
Got a Democratic Senator?
Great. Help them filibuster-by-amendmentby
submitting your amendment to to bury this awful bill: OurAmendments.org. Also ask them to
slow down Senate business by withholding consent.
Want to join a congressional
office TrumpCare sit-in? Awesome. Here’s
a list of planned events.
How the TrumpCare fight will
play out
Senate Republicans have
promised a vote by the end of next week. But there are still several steps
between now and passage of TrumpCare. Here’s how the former congressional staff
at Indivisible think the fight will unfurl:
Tomorrow, we’ll get a
Congressional Budget Office (CBO) score, which will quantify exactly how many
millions of Americans will be screwed by this bill and in what ways
On Monday or Tuesday,
Republicans will officially announce the vote is happening by the end of the
week and start debate on “the bill,” which is a fake bill intended to make it look
like they’re being transparent but in reality is a trick to hide just how awful
their finished product will be
Over the next couple days,
Senators will submit amendments
On Thursday, the Senate will
plan to vote on the legislation, but first they will vote on all submitted
amendments (known as “vote-a-rama”)
At the last possible minute,
Senate Republicans will replace the entire bill they just got finished
“debating” with an alternative TrumpCare bill secretly crafted behind closed
doors
By end of Thursday, there will
be a final vote in the Senate
As soon as Friday, the House
may then pass the legislation and send it to Trump to sign. This could take
longer, but this is the worst case scenario and quite possible.
On Friday, one week of
congressional recess begins. They’ll either have the bill done by Friday, or
they’ll have to wait another week.
Throughout this process there
will be precisely zero public hearings in the Senate. Make no mistake, this is
a historically partisan, secretive, and undemocratic process for one of the
largest pieces of legislation of our generation. This is atrocious.
Got a Democratic Senator? Help
them Filibuster-By-Amendment or Withhold
Consent
If you’ve got a Democratic
Senator, you’ve still got work to do. As mentioned above, one of the final
stages of the TrumpCare bill is a little-known process known as “vote-a-rama”
where ANY Senator can submit as many amendments as he or she wants. And here’s
the thing: EVERY amendment takes time to be introduced and voted on. We’re
collecting THOUSANDS of amendments and submitting them directly to Senate
staff.
Please please please: submit your
amendments here, and get your friends and family members to submit amendments.
We know this is working already. Senators are reading these amendments on the
Senate floor. But we need thousands more.
Your Democratic Senator can
also slow down Senate business, in part by “withholding consent.” The rules of
the Senate are so complicated that Senators have to regularly consent to
waiving some of them so that they can actually get work done. That includes
shortening time for debates, expediting consideration of amendments, and
scheduling committees. Your Senator can slow the Senate down to a crawl and
focus attention to TrumpCare by withholding his or her consent on legislative
business.
This is about applying your
constituent power directly to the process. These tactics can delay the
bill and make it more politically painful for Republicans to move forward. It’s
not a silver bullet -- McConnell and Senate Republicans can still blow up
Senate rules and cut off the amendment process. But to do that they’ll have to
go on the record literally silencing the victims of TrumpCare in their own
states, which they really don’t want to visibly do.
Got a Republican Senator? Time
to fight like hell.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch
McConnell can only lose 2 Senate Republicans and still pass this monstrosity.
We have it on good authority that 2 are already VERY close to “no.” We are painfully
close to defeating this bill. We need one more, and that’s the ball game.
That means now—literally right
now—is the time for to amp up your pressure. All you need to pressure your
Republican Senators, including DAILY scripts and new materials, is on our TrumpCareTen.org website. It’s
critical that you’re showing up and that when you’re not showing up, you’re
calling your Senators every single day.
Want to attend a TrumpCare
sit-in?
Indivisible groups are
coordinating sit-ins in our ten Republican target states. As Senators
continue to hide from their constituents, doing fewer town halls and shunning
public appearances, these events provide a much needed opportunity to bring
constituents concerns directly to them. Providing people a venue to share
healthcare stories in the district offices of the Senators is great direct
communication, and can be great fodder for negative local press, which Senators
hate. These sit-ins also show the broad breadth of the resistance to these
bills; this isn’t just a concern in liberal enclaves, this thing is universally
reviled. There are events all over each state, so
take a look here to find one near you. The list will continue to update
through next week.
This is it.
We are under no illusions that
victory is assured here, but victory is possible. Every member of Congress
voting on this bill will eventually have to get your vote to be reelected.
That’s the source of your constituent power. That’s what makes them responsive
to pressure. Remember in March when Paul Ryan embarrassingly called off his
first TrumpCare vote? That happened because of public pressure. That happened
because of you.
We’re not going down without a
fight. Let’s stand stand indivisible again. Let’s win this.
© 2017 Indivisible Guide
Leah Greenberg is co-author of
the Indivisible Guide. Follow her on Twitter: @Leahgreenb
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