Hirono: Graham-Cassidy Bill “Fundamentally Wrong,” Reflects “Neither Care Nor Compassion”

WASHINGTON, D.C.- Senator Mazie K. Hirono today testified against the latest iteration of Trumpcare at a Senate Finance Committee hearing. In the first and only hearing Republicans would allow on the proposal, Senator Hirono called on her colleagues to show compassion to the millions of Americans who would be hurt by the Graham-Cassidy bill.

Senator Hirono was the only Democratic Senator to testify against the bill.

From Senator Hirono’s remarks:

“Every day, people come up to me at airports, grocery stores, and restaurants to tell me that they too are cancer survivors. It is never a good time to have cancer, but what I am experiencing through my cancer is the care and concern expressed by total strangers. This is compassion.

“What we do as leaders affecting everyone’s lives should reflect compassion. That is not in this bill. In the greatest, richest country in the world, compassion for our fellow men and women should not be so elusive or indeed missing.

“After all the care and compassion I received from my colleagues after I disclosed my diagnosis, the Graham-Cassidy proposal reflects neither care nor compassion for millions across the country. Health care is a right, not a privilege, but Graham-Cassidy treats health care like a commodity that can be bought and sold.”

If passed, the Graham-Cassidy bill threatens to punish states like Hawaii that expanded Medicaid by cutting federal funding and redistributing it to other states that did not expand the program. Under the proposed bill, according to independent analysts, Hawaii could face $4 billion in cuts and 91,000 Hawaii residents could lose access to health care.  

Click here to watch Senator Hirono’s full testimony online. 

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