NEWS FROM cONGRESSMAN eLIOT ENGEL

Engel on Senate GOP's Version of Trumpcare

  Congressman Eliot L. Engel, a top member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, released the following statement regarding Senate Republicans’ version of the American Health Care Act, or “Trumpcare”:

“For weeks, Senate Republicans have been careful not to let a single detail of their health care bill see the light of day. There have been zero hearings, zero committee reviews, and they’ve shown zero willingness to explain their plan, which will intimately affect millions of Americans and upset one-sixth of the nation’s economy.

“There is one thing, though, that Senate Republicans have claimed: their version of Trumpcare will be better for Americans than the House version that President Trump called ‘mean.’

“They’re not fooling anyone.

“Just like the House bill, the Senate’s Trumpcare still makes harsh cuts to Medicaid, still abolishes the Medicaid expansion that’s brought health care to millions, and still lets states gut the protections Americans rely on for quality coverage. It still lavishes tax cuts on corporations and the very rich, paid for on the backs of hardworking families. And it will still force Americans to pay more and get less.

“If Republicans want to lie to themselves about what they’re doing, that’s fine. But they need to stop lying to the American people.

“Just yesterday, the President promised that the Senate’s Trumpcare would be ‘a plan with heart.’ If this is ‘a plan with heart,’ I’d hate to see what Republicans think is a plan without it.”

Engel Cosponsors Voting Rights Advancement Act

Congressman Eliot L. Engel, a leading member on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, has cosponsored H.R. 2978, the Voting Rights Advancement Act (VRAA), legislation that would fully restore key aspects of the Voting Rights Act that were struck down by the Supreme Court in 2013.

In Shelby County v. Holder the Supreme Court struck down key provisions of the landmark 1965 law, including section 5, which required jurisdictions with a history of discrimination to seek pre-approval of changes in voting rules that could affect minorities. The Voting Rights Advancement Act would restore full protections to the Voting Rights Act and create a new coverage formula that would apply to states with repeated voting rights violations in the last 25 years.

“The Supreme Court got it wrong in 2013 when they struck down key elements of the Voting Rights Act. Its time Congress took action to correct that mistake,” Congressman Engel said. “In the last four years we have seen some states, emboldened by the Shelby decision, enact laws that are designed specifically to suppress minority voting populations. This cannot stand. Congress must act to ensure every American’s right to vote is fully protected under law, and that is why we must pass the Voting Rights Advancement Act immediately.”

In addition, Engel has introduced a Constitutional Amendment, HJ Res. 28, that deals with several election law issues including voting rights, gerrymandering, and the abolishment of the Electoral College.