Dems call for action against Cassidy-Graham ObamaCare repeal

Democratic senators are reigniting their calls to fight against another Republican health-care push that aims to repeal and replace ObamaCare after reports surfaced that President Trump and GOP leaders are working to garner support for legislation introduced by Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.).

Prominent upper-chamber lawmakers like Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) are taking to Twitter to make impassioned calls for voters to speak up and demonstrate their opposition to the bill. 

“Drop what you are doing to start calling, start showing up, start descending on DC,” Murphy tweeted Sunday.

This is happening. Drop what you are doing to start calling, start showing up, start descending on DC. Game on. https://t.co/WrNVAhXTcJ

— Chris Murphy (@ChrisMurphyCT) September 17, 2017

{mosads}”I’m alarmed,” Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) tweeted, while linking to a Politico report that describes the GOP leadership’s back-door push to find support for the legislation. 

This is real now. I’m alarmed. https://t.co/gMLfrFOCO4

— Brian Schatz (@brianschatz) September 17, 2017

 Many Democratic senators have called for the bill’s defeat.

The Graham-Cassidy “health care” bill is just more of the same disastrous policy we’ve seen from Republicans. We must beat this thing.

— Kamala Harris (@SenKamalaHarris) September 17, 2017

The Graham-Cassidy “health care” bill hits states that expanded Medicaid especially hard. That means California. We MUST defeat this bill!

— Sen Dianne Feinstein (@SenFeinstein) September 17, 2017

We must take #GrahamCassidy health care repeal bill seriously and speak out NOW. We cannot let this pass https://t.co/JSXaysMpdn

— Sen. Maggie Hassan (@SenatorHassan) September 17, 2017  

The fight to save heath care isn’t over. Sound the alarm. We need you to fight today & every day until this @SenateGOP bill is dead.

— Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) September 17, 2017

The measure, put forward by Republican Sens. Bill Cassidy (La.), Dean Heller (Nev.), Ron Johnson (Wis.) and Lindsey Graham (S.C.), aims to give more power to states by converting ObamaCare funding for subsidies — which help people afford health-care coverage and pay for Medicaid expansion — into a block grant to states.

While Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has withheld full-throttled support by telling Cassidy and Graham to find the necessary 51 votes on their own, Cassidy says leadership is asking the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) to prioritize its analysis of the measure in an effort to get it to the floor. 

“We’re told that CBO was told by our leadership to make this a priority above all other priorities,” Cassidy said Friday, while predicting that he can get enough votes. “Mitch has always said, ‘Show me you can get 50 votes.’ ”