The House came together on Friday to debate and vote on the GOP's American Health Care Act as a replacement for the Affordable Care Act. Michigan State Rep. Debbie Dingell (D) presented a scathing attack of the Republican healthcare bill, noting it "will take us back in our nation's history."
"It took a long time to achieve the progress we've made today," Dingell said, listing the strides that have been made with Social Security, Medicare, and the Children's Health Insurance Program, explaining how these services have "helped every single one of our communities across this country."
She reminded the House of the work that went into crafting and passing the Affordable Care Act. "Coverage was expanded, costs were lowered, certainty was brought to uncertainty," Dingell argued. "Let me remind you that before the Affordable Care Act, many had to decide between bankruptcy and death."
"Children hit lifetime caps. Cancer and being a woman were pre-existing conditions," she asserted. "Millions now have coverage that didn't [before] ... And today we're talking about taking it back by eliminating essential services."
"Please vote no for America's heart and soul!" Dingell implored the House.
Watch her powerful speech below.
