The Progressive

NewsWire

A project of Common Dreams

For Immediate Release
Contact:

Sasha Grodsky
sasha@patrioticmillionaires.org

202-559-1999

Patriotic Millionaires on Senate Healthcare Bill: No Better Than the First Time Around

"The Republican health care bills are very clear. The winners are the wealthiest Americans who are already doing quite well in today’s economy. The losers are middle class and lower-income Americans." 

WASHINGTON

Washington, DC - This afternoon, following the Senate's release of its revised healthcare bill, the Patriotic Millionaires are disheartened by the continued cruelty of this barely amended bill. In Washington, DC and around the country the Patriotic Millionaires are speaking out against this inhumane bill. In their own words:

"Everyone in America agrees that our health care system is inefficient and too costly. So why skimp on the care of the vulnerable and the poor to correct these inefficiencies? It's not THEIR fault! This Senate bill, just as the one before it, only squeezes the defenseless, not those who can afford to lobby for the freedom to charge whatever they want in a market that does not behave like one and never will," said John Hooker, Patriotic Millionaire.

"Most of the time it is difficult to determine the winners and losers in a particular piece of legislation. Not this time. The Republican healthcare bills are very clear. The winners are the wealthiest Americans, who are already doing quite well in today's economy. The losers are middle class and lower-income Americans, urban and rural, who now will have to struggle even more to meet their basic needs," said Frank Patitucci, Patriotic Millionaire.

"This bill is the perfect poster child for the entire economic philosophy of the Republican Party, which can be nicely summarized in three words: Soak The Poor," said David Goldschmidt, Patriotic Millionaire.

The Patriotic Millionaires have aggressively lobbied for months against this disingenuous "healthcare reform," which strips the most sick and vulnerable Americans of care in order to pay for a tax cut for those who need it least. This updated version of the BCRA continues to demonstrate a disastrously misplaced set of priorities in Congress. As wealthy Americans who would prefer living in a healthy society over yet another tax cut for millionaires, the Patriotic Millionaires have spoken out time and time again to say they neither need nor want another tax cut, especially one that comes at the expense of American lives. Their voices have been featured in outlets such as the Wisconsin Gazette, Forbes, The Tennessean, The Hill, the Lebanon Democrat, and Politicus USA.

To schedule an interview or for further comment, please contact Sasha Grodsky at sasha@patrioticmillionaires.org.

The Patriotic Millionaires is a group of high-net worth Americans who share a profound concern about the destabilizing level of inequality in America. Our work centers on the two things that matter most in a capitalist democracy: power and money. Our goal is to ensure that the country's political economy is structured to meet the needs of regular Americans, rather than just millionaires. We focus on three "first" principles: a highly progressive tax system, a livable minimum wage, and equal political representation for all citizens.

(202) 446-0489