Blog: Keith's statement on the passage of the Republican No Care/No Jobs bill (HR 2)

Statement

Protecting every American's right to quality health care and a living wage job must be priority number one for this Congress. Sadly, today, the new Republican House of Representatives passed its first significant piece of legislation. It was not a bill designed to deal with the wave of home foreclosures devastating our communities or to put the millions of unemployed Americans back to work. Instead, the first priority of the new Republican majority was to take health care away from millions of Americans.

Obviously, Congressional Republicans have a different agenda. Repealing the health reform law and enacting the Republican "No Care/No Jobs" bill means dumping 32 million Americans from health coverage - including almost 12,000 young adults in Minnesota. Additionally, this "No Care/No Jobs" bill adds another $230 billion to our federal budget deficit.

Rather than combating near 10 percent unemployment nationwide, the top Republican priority is to deny millions of Americans health care and to side with health insurance companies over working Americans.

Denying health care to millions of Americans doesn't create jobs. The American people deserve better from their elected leaders.

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