Skip to main content

Rep. Meeks Leads Letter to Sen. McConnell Urging No Vote on Graham-Cassidy without CBO Score

September 22, 2017

"To proceed to vote on legislation without ample consideration would be to deny the American people the transparency and responsiveness they deserve from their Congress."

Rep. Meeks Leads Letter to Sen. McConnell Urging No Vote on Graham-Cassidy without CBO Score

Washington, D.C.—Congressman Meeks led a letter (below) with 57 House Democrats to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, urging him and Senate Republicans to wait to vote on the Graham-Cassidy-Heller-Johnson bill until the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has analyzed its full impact and cost. Regarding the letter, Congressman Meeks released the following statement:

"Of all public policy, healthcare is one of the most intimate and likely to profoundly affect a person's life. Accordingly, whenever the U.S. Congress makes significant changes to millions of Americans' healthcare, it must be done carefully, responsibly, and transparently. However, that is a far cry from how Senate Republicans have moved this bill. The fifty-eight Members of Congress who signed this letter are urging Senator McConnell to see the error in his ways and heed the calls from Democrats, the members of his own party who have spoken out against this process and the bill itself, and most importantly, the American people.

"Just months after Republicans tried and failed to pass a bill in the dead of night, they are yet again trying to rush through another heartless bill, which would kick millions off healthcare, raise premiums by 20%, and reinstate coverage limitations for those with preexisting conditions.

"To proceed without a complete score from the non-partisan and well-respected CBO is irresponsible. Major healthcare legislation is much too important to zip through Congress and I urge my colleagues in the Senate to return to regular order, restore the democratic process, and work with Democrats to fix—not upend—healthcare for millions of Americans."

The following 57 Democratic Members of Congress also signed on to this letter:

Reps. Sewell, Khanna, Plaskett, Raskin, Soto, Torres, Bordallo, Fudge, Payne, Clay, Cooper, Meng, Evans, Conyers, Espaillat, Hank Johnson, Correa, Gonzalez, Jackson Lee, Hastings, Beyer, Nadler, David Scott, Larsen, Foster, Takano, Holmes Norton, Pocan, Butterfield, Moore, Serrano, Blunt Rochester, Carbajal, Grijalva, Napolitano, Hanabusa, Jayapal, Delaney, Heck, Peters, Schneider, Engel, McGovern, O'Halleran, Carson, McEachin, Richmond, Eddie Bernice Johnson, Velázquez, Watson Coleman, Kuster, Slaughter, Garamendi, Rush, Connolly, Cicilline, Cohen

September 20, 2017

 

Majority Leader Mitch McConnell

U.S. Senator for Kentucky

317 Russell Senate Office Building

Washington, DC 20510

 

Dear Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell,

We write to you with concern regarding reports that Senate Republicans, under your leadership, are planning to move forward on significant healthcare legislation without a complete score from the non-partisan and credible Congressional Budget Office (CBO). Any legislation, particularly the new healthcare bill introduced by Senators Lindsey Graham, Bill Cassidy, Dean Heller, and Ron Johnson, which affects hundreds of millions of Americans and over one-sixth of our nation's economy, should have its full impact evaluated and its cost analyzed. To proceed to vote on legislation without ample consideration would be to deny the American people the transparency and responsiveness they deserve from their Congress.

As you know, following a dispute between President Nixon and Congress over spending authority, Congress passed the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974, which created the Congressional Budget Office. Since February 1975, Congress, the press, and the citizenry have relied on the non-partisan CBO to produce formal cost estimates for nearly every bill approved by a full committee in either chamber of Congress.

Hence, it is worrisome that Senate Republican leadership would prevent the CBO from conducting a thorough and reliable analysis of major legislation regarding healthcare in this country. Consequentially, we strongly urge you to allow the Congressional Budget Office to conduct a comprehensive and complete analysis of the Graham-Cassidy-Heller-Johnson healthcare bill and any major legislation that would have significant repercussions for millions of Americans' healthcare. Finally, we also implore you to move this and any other significant healthcare legislation through the Senate in accordance with regular order to provide transparency and allow all Senators the opportunity to weigh in on behalf of their constituents, the American people.

 

Sincerely,

Gregory W. Meeks

Member of Congress