Wyden Statement on Parliamentarian Reconciliation Decisions
Washington, D.C. — Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today issued the following statement after the Senate Parliamentarian advised that Finance provisions of the Republican reconciliation bill violate the Senate’s Byrd Rule and would be subject to a 60-vote threshold if included in the bill. These include provider tax changes and the ban on gender-affirming care.
“The Parliamentarian has made clear that reconciliation can not be used to manipulate state provider tax policies, which would have resulted in massive Medicaid cuts that hurt kids, seniors, Americans with disabilities and working families.
“Republicans are hellbent on using the reconciliation process to capture ideological trophies that will leave Americans worse off and fly in the face of their self-proclaimed commitment to states’ rights. The Parliamentarian has rightly pointed out that many of those policies do not belong in reconciliation.
“This bill is chock full of red tape that makes it harder for eligible Americans to get the health care they need. The approach concocted by Republicans is designed top to bottom to be a barrier between Americans and their health care, and I’m disappointed these policies will remain in the bill.
“With more decisions to come, this guidance results in more than $250 billion in health care cuts removed from the Republicans’ big bad bill. Democrats fought and won, striking health care cuts from this bill that would hurt Americans’ walking on an economic tightrope. This bill is rotten to its core, and I’ll keep fighting the cuts in this morally bankrupt bill until the end.”
More information from the Senate Budget Committee Democrats can be found here.
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