Kentucky Senator Rand Paul took the media on a literal ‘hunt’ for the legislation that is set to replace the Obamacare bill, and was refused access to a ‘secret’ room in which Paul claims the legislation is being held.
“I have been told that the House Obamacare bill is under lock & key, in a secure location, & not available for me or the public to view,” Paul tweeted earlier in the day, adding “This is unacceptable. This is the biggest issue before Congress and the American people right now.”
I have been told that the House Obamacare bill is under lock & key, in a secure location, & not available for me or the public to view.
— Senator Rand Paul (@RandPaul) March 2, 2017
According to reports, the bill is locked away in a “dedicated reading room,” where members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee are able to read it.
The document is being treated a bit like a top-secret surveillance intercept. It is expected to be available to members and staffers on the House Energy and Commerce panel starting Thursday, but only in a dedicated reading room, one Republican lawmaker and a committee aide said. Nobody will be given copies to take with them.
The move is said to be an effort to prevent leaks, however, Paul and others have claimed that it is really part of a ploy to prevent access to those who may disagree with significant portions of its content.
Taking to Twitter again, Paul claimed that the House leadership is attempting to cover up the fact that the bill is merely a watered down version of the original ObamaCare legislation, and does not constitute a full repeal:
@RandPaul What is the House leadership trying to hide? My guess is, they are trying to hide their "Obamacare Lite" approach.
— Senator Rand Paul (@RandPaul) March 2, 2017
@RandPaul Renaming and keeping parts of Obamacare, new entitlements and extending medicaid expansion are not the #FullRepeal we promised
— Senator Rand Paul (@RandPaul) March 2, 2017
@RandPaul I demand the House release the text of the bill. Every elected official & every American deserve to know what they're trying to do
— Senator Rand Paul (@RandPaul) March 2, 2017
“I think that’s why it’s top secret,” he said. “Why don’t they want us to see it? The only copy we’ve seen is from the media — does that sound to you backwards?” Paul asked reporters.
“We saw a leaked copy that the media was given that we weren’t given,” he continued. “Now we’re told that it’s being classified, that the hearing is like a security clearance hearing, you have to have a clearance and permission.” Paul urged.
“This should be an open and transparent process,’ Paul added, saying “This is being presented as if it were a national secret, as if this was a plot to invade another country, as if this were national security. That’s wrong.”
@RandPaul And I call on them to make this process transparent and to let the sunshine in. Today.
— Senator Rand Paul (@RandPaul) March 2, 2017
Paul was denied entry to the reading room, and a staffer told him that he could not see a copy of the new Obamacare bill.
Rand Paul speaks to press outside "secret room" with Obamacare bill pic.twitter.com/XQv8W8EBaO
— Peter Sullivan (@PeterSullivan4) March 2, 2017
Sen. Rand Paul demands a copy of the bill. This staffer says she can't give him one. pic.twitter.com/gPo5rMsUkS
— Paul McLeod (@pdmcleod) March 2, 2017
Sen Paul trying to enter room with ACA bill. Being denied entry pic.twitter.com/Vwg6vtZelc
— Sarah Kliff (@sarahkliff) March 2, 2017
Paul fears that the new bill is “too elaborate now,” and objects to entitlement programs that he says have been added in by GOP leaders.
“We can be done in a week with repeal of Obamacare, if they’ll give us the repeal we voted previously.” Paul said, warning that it was this kind of tampering that doomed Obamacare to begin with.
The Senator has touted his own replacement healthcare bill, saying it would lower costs and save Americans money.
“We do have a replacement bill, and I would put it forward on the exact same day. And this replacement bill that we have, would lower insurance cost. That’s what the president mentioned in his speech. We want less expensive insurance for everybody in the country.” Paul stated.
Party leaders are concerned that conservatives will find the new bill too unappealing because the intricacies will mean it ends up costing as much if not more than Obamacare.
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