WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) today made these statements on health care reform.

ON OBAMACARE "SKINNY REPEAL"

“I voted yes on the Obamacare ‘skinny repeal’ amendment this morning.  I want to be clear, this was not a great piece of legislation – far from it.  It was bare-bones legislation which did not meet my goals of repealing and replacing Obamacare.

“I made it clear before the vote that it should never become law.  But this morning, after speaking with everyone from President Donald Trump to Vice President Mike Pence to Speaker Paul Ryan to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, I was assured it would not become law, but rather serve as another step in the legislative process.

“The Obamacare ‘skinny repeal’ would have given us an opportunity for the House of Representatives and Senate to go to conference to work together on a better piece of legislation to repeal and replace Obamacare. 

“Unfortunately, we were one vote short of moving forward and continuing that process.”

ON THE PATH FORWARD

“Today I went to the White House and met with President Trump on a proposal I introduced – along with Senator Bill Cassidy (R- Louisiana) and Senator Dean Heller (R-Nevada) – that returns money to the states and allows states to tailor health care plans that meet the needs of their own citizens.

“I had a great meeting with the President and know he remains fully committed to repealing and replacing Obamacare.  President Trump was optimistic about the Graham-Cassidy-Heller proposal.  I will continue to work with President Trump and his team to move the idea forward. 

“The legislation was also drafted hand-in-hand with our governors who would be responsible for implementing solutions in their individual states – and who know their citizens better than the bureaucrats in Washington.

“Instead of having a one-size-fits-all solution from Washington, the Graham-Cassidy-Heller proposal says we should return dollars back to the states to address each individual state’s health care needs.

“Just like no two patients are the same, no two states’ health care needs are the same.

“One of the biggest benefits of this approach is it will end the drive toward a national single payer health care system by taking money and power out of Washington and returning it to the people. 

FINAL THOUGHTS

“Through this debate, I’ve cast votes to repeal Obamacare, limit President Obama’s Medicaid expansion from going even further, and remove harmful Obamacare mandates. I’m disappointed that we weren’t able to pass any of these initiatives at this time.

“With this morning’s vote, Obamacare will now recede from the front pages of our websites, newspapers, and television sets, but Obamacare will continue to unravel.

“Over the coming days and weeks I will continue to seek ways to remove the burdens of Obamacare from South Carolinians who are suffering under its weight. You deserve better.”

#####