U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D. CA) wasn’t the only Democratic Senator to expose what’s going on in the Trump Administration:
It’s no secret that President Donald Trump has been trying to dismantle the Affordable Care Act, but it took a dogged Democrat to pry the written plan from the administration and expose it.
That Democrat is Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey, who obtained it from the administration after blocking three of the president’s health nominees to get it.
The White House initially shared the plan with members of the conservative Freedom Caucus in March in an attempt to get them to vote for a partial Obamacare repeal. Several Freedom Caucus members were concerned that the repeal bill didn’t go far enough.
The administration was “pushing very, very hard and they were essentially buying votes” for the March repeal vote promising to sabotage other parts of the health care system, Mr. Casey said.
He learned about the document in a March 26 story in Politico, and had been trying to get his hands on it ever since, but the administration resisted until the senator blocked confirmation of three Health and Human Services nominees using a “hold,” a procedural maneuver that allows any senator to unilaterally stop a vote.
A hold is an extreme measure that Mr. Casey can’t remember using before.
He told the Department of Health and Human Services in October that he would release his holds if they turned over the document. Six weeks later the administration released it, and Mr. Casey went public with it Wednesday as part of a written report.
“It shouldn’t have required all that. This is a piece of paper, but they knew it wouldn’t read well,” Mr. Casey said. “It wasn’t for public consumption but purely to get the votes of members of Congress whose views are a lot more extreme than even a lot of Trump voters.”
Here’s a little more info:
That one-page document lists a series of executive actions the administration planned to take to “improve the individual and small group markets most harmed by Obamacare.”
Those included cutting the sign-up period, limiting who can sign up outside the open-enrollment period, and allowing states to choose which benefits must be covered by insurers instead of standardizing coverage nationally. The administration has since enacted several of the actions.
Casey says the memo illustrates efforts by the Trump administration to “sabotage” the health care law and bolster its argument that the law should be reversed.
“From day one, the Trump administration has had a maniacal obsession to try to decimate the Affordable Care Act,” Casey said in a statement. “It’s horrific that government officials are taking steps to erect barriers to prevent people from getting coverage.”
Casey repeatedly requested the memo from the Department of Health and Human Services, and obtained it after threatening to block several of the administration’s health nominees. He shared it with Politico before releasing it publicly.
The memo was part of a March 23 meeting in House Speaker Paul Ryan’s office between Trump administration officials, including budget director Mick Mulvaney and then-HHS Secretary Tom Price, and members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, according to Politico.
That meeting came as conservatives were rejecting a House GOP-drafted plan to repeal Obamacare, saying that effort didn’t go far enough.
HHS officials did not respond to a request for comment on the memo and Casey’s characterization of it, which he detailed in a report released by his office Thursday.
Senator Casey continues to be a tireless public servant fighting not just Trump but also other scumbags like Wells Fargo CEO Tim Sloan for shipping jobs overseas:
U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, a Pennsylvania Democrat, released a copy of a letter Friday sent to Sloan asking the CEO to provide information about what Wells Fargo is doing to assist workers. He also wrote that he is concerned about “Wells Fargo outsourcing call-center jobs” and wants Sloan to give details about its growth across its operations in the Philippines.
“As Wells Fargo call center jobs seem to have been outsourced to a foreign country, I hope you will commit to ensuring those workers laid off in Bethlehem received Trade Adjustment Assistance benefits,” Casey wrote.
Meanwhile, local workers received information about available assistance through Pennsylvania CareerLink Lehigh Valley, according to Nancy Dischinat, executive director of the Lehigh Valley Workforce Board.
The petition under Trade Adjustment Assistance, if approved by the Labor Department, would provide workers with long-term job training, with the potential for additional income and relocation allowances — resources beyond conventional unemployment compensation, according to Dischinat.
And he’s doing more than Trump to make sure we’re using American made Steel:
U.S. Sen. Bob Casey is asking Amtrak to investigate an allegation it is illegally using imported steel, rather than American-made steel, for a project in Lancaster County.
In a letter to Amtrak CEO Richard Anderson, Casey said projects using federal financial assistance under certain programs require the maximum use of products made in the United States, including steel.
Amtrak is required to adhere to these “Buy America” provisions, Casey said, and would otherwise need to acquire a waiver.
In response to a request for comment from LNP, Amtrak spokeswoman Christina Leeds said the "materials referenced (by Casey) were delivered in error."
"Amtrak wants to reiterate that we do not circumvent and have no interest in circumventing current Buy America provisions," she added.
Casey said he was made aware of the potential violation by members of the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees.
“Steel made in the United States is under assault by illegal subsidized exports from countries like China,” Casey wrote. “And ensuring our laws are followed requires vigilance, as does holding those accountable when they violate the law and harm US industries.”
And even though he’s expecting a tough re-election race, he’s still focused on some big deadlines in Congress:
As for the next deadlines facing Congress, Casey said he hopes lawmakers will act quickly to renew funding for the children’s health insurance program, or CHIP, as well as to address the legal status of the “Dreamers” and the immigration program known as DACA.
Congress extended funding for CHIP through March, but Casey and other proponents hope it can be renewed for several years in a bill that needs to be passed by Jan. 19 to keep the federal government funded. If it is not, “that’s a total failure of the Republican Party,” Casey said.
He also reiterated his call for Congress to pass legislation to provide legal certainty for more than 800,000 individuals who were brought to the country illegally when they were children and later received protection from deportation under DACA, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.
That legal fix should not be dependent on funding for a wall along the U.S.-Mexican border, as the president has sought, Casey added.
Casey’s opponent and Trump’s Political Godfather, Rep. Lou Barletta (R. PA-11), has been pushing pro-coal fake promises and spewing his hardline anti-immigration rhetoric for Breitbart to promote. While he’s busy doing that, let’s make sure Casey is ready to defeat Barletta next year so he continues to lead the Resistance against Trump. Click here to donate and get involved with Casey’s re-election campaign.