Issued January 18, 2017
WASHINGTON – SEIU International President Mary Kay Henry issued the following statement on the Senate Health Employment Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee’s hearing on the nomination of Rep. Tom Price (R-Ga.) to be Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS).
“Working people have made it crystal clear they will not stand for a system rigged to allow corporations to take advantage of working people. If Rep. Price is confirmed, one in four Americans will lose their healthcare. Trump-Price is not the answer working families need or want.
“By confirming Rep. Price, the Senate would confirm an end to Medicaid coverage for working Americans, seniors and children, causing a healthcare and economic crisis for already struggling families who would see their care cut or their taxes raised. He has fueled extremist efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act with no plan to replace it, which would cause 30 million people to lose their healthcare, and increase healthcare costs and taxes on working families.
“A Trump-Price prescription is lethal to the health and financial well-being of hardworking families. We cannot afford to go backward to the days when our families’ health and livelihood were at the mercy of insurance companies that prioritize profits over people.
“This past weekend, tens of thousands of working families and our communities nationwide came together to fight back against the Trump administration and Congress’ extremist vision for an America ruled of the corporations, by the corporations and for the corporations instead of the people. Together we will stay in the streets and keep raising our voices until the president-elect and Congress stop playing games with our lives and ensure care Americans can count on.”
SEIU also released a video outlining the top three reasons the Senate should reject Rep. Price’s nomination.