WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV), a member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP), joined her Democratic colleagues in demanding that Congress defend the Affordable Care Act and all of its health care patient protections. During the press conference, Senator Rosen held up a picture of Elsie Hamer, an 8-year-old from Nevada diagnosed with cystic fibrosis, who would be at risk of losing coverage should the ACA be struck down by the Fifth Circuit in the Texas v. United States case.
“Millions of people live with a pre-existing condition like Elsie and are at risk of losing access to affordable, quality care if the ACA is struck down. No child, and no adult for that matter, should be deprived of the basic health coverage they depend on to stay alive,” said Senator Rosen. “We must keep fighting for the 20 million people at risk of losing coverage if the ACA is struck down. Millions of people are depending on us and sent us here to protect their health care. That’s exactly why I’m fighting and why I’ll continue to fight.”
BACKGROUND: As one of her first actions in the Senate, Senator Rosen joined Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) in introducing a resolution that would authorize Senate Legal Counsel to intervene in Texas v. United States – a pending lawsuit in federal court, on behalf of the U.S. Senate, in order to defend the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act and its coverage protections for people with pre-existing conditions. Earlier this year, the Trump Administration filed a brief in this case calling for the courts to strike down the ACA in its entirety.
Last Congress, then-Congresswoman Rosen introduced the same resolution in the House. Rosen’s House resolution was co-sponsored by the Ranking Members of all House committees of jurisdiction in addition to Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi and Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer. The resolution had nearly 190 co-sponsors by the end of the 115th Congress.
In March, Senator Rosen also helped introduce a resolution that would provide the sense of the Senate that the Justice Department should reverse its policy of refusing to defend the constitutionality of the ACA, including the law’s coverage protections for those with pre-existing conditions, in Texas v. United States.
Watch video of Senator Rosen’s remarks here
