September 25, 2017

Protesters in Wheelchairs Tried to Shut Down an Obamacare Repeal Hearing. Cops Just Arrested Them.

“No cuts to Medicaid, save our liberty.”

Shaylin Sluzalis, sits with her sister Brittani Sluzalis, a Medicaid recipient, as they and others from ADAPT, rally prior to a hearing by the Senate Finance Committee on the Graham-Cassidy health care repeal.Susan Walsh/AP

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At a hearing on the Graham-Cassidy health care bill, Capitol Police removed a number of people in wheelchairs who were protesting proposed cuts to Medicaid funding. “No cuts to Medicaid, save our liberty,” the protesters chanted. The protests, arranged by disability-rights group ADAPT, began as soon as Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) gaveled in the hearing.

After returning the hearing to order, Hatch told protesters: “If you can’t be in order, then get the heck out of here.” Hatch called the demonstrations “good fodder for Twitter,” before adding that the committee is usually above such “shenanigans.”

The latest GOP bill to repeal Obamacare would impose a per capita cap on how much money the federal government offers states for Medicaid, which would decrease spending on the program by hundred of billions of dollars. According to the left-leaning Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, this part of the bill would cut Medicaid spending by $175 billion between 2020 and 2026.

Below is a live stream of the hearing. 

Below are videos of protestors being removed.

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“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things they don’t like—which is most things that are true.

No one gets to tell Mother Jones what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

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