Pelosi on AHCA Fall: ‘Today Is a Great Day for Our Country’

Friday at a news conference with members of the House Democratic leadership, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) reacted to House Speaker Paul Ryan’s (R-WI) decision not to proceed with a vote on the American Health Care Act (AHCA).

The AHCA purportedly would have begun the process of repealing and replacing the 2010 Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare.

Pelosi called it a “great day for our country” and a “victory.”

Partial transcript as follows:

I am very proud of the Affordable Care Act, yesterday, as you know, was the seven year anniversary of the president signing the bill and the American people expressed their support for it.

That message became very clear to our colleagues on the Republican side of the aisle.

Today is a great day for our country, it’s a victory — what happened on the floor is a victory for the American people, for our seniors, for people with disabilities, for our children, for our veterans.

The — also, it’s not just about the 24 million people who now won’t have — be of health insurance, it’s about the 155 million people who receive their health benefits in the workplace who will not be assaulted by some of the previsions that the Republicans put in the bill, especially last night when they removed the essential benefits package.

So again, this is pretty, it’s pretty exciting for us. Yesterday our anniversary, today a victory for the Affordable Care Act, more importantly for the American people. Tomorrow is the 51st anniversary of Reverend Martin Luther king, Jr., saying in a speech, that Mr. Clyburn quotes often to us, that of all of the forms of inequality, inequality in healthcare is probably the most inhumane and can sometimes lead to death.

That was the spirit in which we came into this debate, honoring the vows of our founders of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness – a healthy life to liberty to pursue our happiness. So it’s about our country and the vision of our founders. It’s about our faith and it’s about the unity of the Democrats united by our values.

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