After last week’s roller coaster of surprises, confusion, and urgent negotiations in the Senate, lawmakers left D.C. with their plans for health care reform . As they return this week, much remains uncertain — including what exactly the Senate will vote on and whether it will have the votes to pass. Despite this lack of transparency, we’ve heard that a vote may come as soon as Tuesday. What we do know is that any version of health care repeal would be a disaster, and our resolve to kill it is unwavering.
If you weren’t following every twist and turn last week, here’s what you missed. On Monday evening, it became clear that the inaptly named Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA) — legislation that would gut Medicaid and endanger the lives of people with disabilities, shut down Planned Parenthood health centers, and repeal the Affordable Care Act — was doomed. Fifty senators are necessary to move the bill to the Senate floor for debate, and four of the 52 members of the Republican conference their opposition, meaning the bill could not proceed.
Then came Plan B. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced that he would drop the BCRA and bring a different bill up for a vote: the Obamacare Repeal Reconciliation Act (ORRA), a.k.a. “repeal and delay.” Like the bill in December 2015 and vetoed by President Obama, this legislation repeals the ACA but delays implementation for two years. The ORRA guts key parts of Medicaid, cuts off patient access to Planned Parenthood, restricts access to abortion, and kicks . And many agree that it would wreak havoc on the health insurance markets.
of McConnell’s statement, said “repeal and delay” was the wrong approach, and they would not support the motion to proceed on this bill either, leaving ORRA effectively dead. Adding even more confusion, the that numerous provisions of BCRA, including the one that would block access to Planned Parenthood and restrict abortion coverage, , and it’s unknown whether those provisions — in some form — will remain in the version of the bill that receives a vote.
But it’s not over.
Senators continue to . They’re contemplating changes to the BCRA, including adding billions of dollars for Medicaid, in an attempt to gain support from key senators. McConnell has said that he will hold a vote this week— perhaps tomorrow — on a motion to proceed (i.e. a request to formally begin debate on the bills) even though it’s not clear that there are 50 votes to pass the motion, or which bill (or bills) will be debated and get a vote, or whether any of the bills have the 50 Senate votes needed to actually pass, with Vice President Pence providing the tiebreaking vote.
Despite all these unanswered questions, we do know this: These deeply flawed and harmful health care repeal bills are in trouble because the people made their voices heard. Every phone call, every rally, every meeting, every email, every tweet, every town hall, every sit-in or die-in, every heart-felt story made a difference. The opposition could not be ignored.
And this week, that fight must continue. The bills being considered endanger the lives of millions of people with disabilities who rely on Medicaid for services and supports that allow them to live independently and with dignity in their homes and communities. The bills still harm women and families and may deny reproductive health care to millions who depend on Planned Parenthood health centers. The bills still leave millions more uninsured.
While Trumpcare supporters don’t yet have the votes they need, we know that any senator’s mind could change and arms are being twisted. In fact, it has been reported that key senators who said they were voting “no” are now wavering. So it’s absolutely critical that public pressure be kept up over the next few days. We can kill the repeal effort before it gets any further by urging senators to vote no on the motion to proceed. If that motion fails, there’s no floor debate, no amendments, no more back room shenanigans. The bill dies for the foreseeable future.
Everyone should be in contact with their senators today and tomorrow. If you live in key states like West Virginia, Alaska, Kansas, Ohio, or Nevada, you should be using every means of communication at your disposal. Tell your senators to safeguard the lives of millions of people and vote no on the motion to proceed, vote no on repeal and delay, and vote no on any version of the Better Care Reconciliation Act.
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News & CommentaryDec 2024
Civil Liberties
We Need to Know More About State Supreme Court CasesWe Need to Know More About State Supreme Court Cases
State Supreme Courts interpret laws that impact some of the most intimate parts of our lives. Communities have a right to know what’s on the docket. -
Press ReleaseDec 2024
Civil Liberties
New ACLU Report Reveals Most State Supreme Courts Fail to Meet Key Transparency MeasuresNew ACLU Report Reveals Most State Supreme Courts Fail to Meet Key Transparency Measures
NEW YORK — Nearly half of all state supreme courts across the country fail to regularly post new cases they are considering, with only six meeting four key transparency measures already implemented by the U.S. Supreme Court, according to a new report published today by the American Civil Liberties Union. The report identifies significant steps that state supreme courts should take to inform the public about their cases, which have only grown in importance as the federal judiciary has become more hostile to protecting core rights and advocates have turned to state protections and state court litigation in response. Based on an analysis of the practices and policies of the highest courts in each state, including D.C., the report “Scorecard for State Supreme Court Transparency: How Does Your State Stack Up?” ranks each state supreme court in five tiers based on compliance with four key transparency measures. These measures include posting new cases online in a timely manner, providing timely information about legal issues presented by cases, making dockets accessible and free for the public, and making merits briefing accessible and free for the public. “State courts regularly hear — and are the final word on — cases affecting abortion rights, voting rights, criminal justice reform, and more. Yet, in many instances, the highest state courts do not provide meaningful public access to information about cases affecting the rights and liberties of millions of people. We urge state supreme courts to bring more transparency to the critical work they do,” said Julie Murray, co-director of the ACLU’s State Supreme Court Initiative. “In the face of a federal judiciary increasingly unwilling to protect core rights and an incoming administration that threatens to exacerbate that problem, state courts are an important defense for our liberty. They should be leaders in transparency, too,” said Bridget Lavender, Skadden Fellow with the Initiative. The report emphasizes that state courts “play an outsized role” in many parts of the law, but their ability to “guard our liberties depends in significant part on whether those courts adopt transparent processes.” It further highlights that state supreme courts have led the way on enormously consequential decisions in recent years. In particular, some state supreme courts have recognized the right of same sex couples to marry, and did so long before federal courts. They have also declared the death penalty unconstitutional under state law despite contrary federal law, protected access to reproductive health care as a right even as that right was being stripped away at the federal level, and provided more robust protection to people subject to unreasonable searches and seizures. The report urges state supreme courts to take action to improve their transparency practices, taking notes from the courts that have already implemented these measures. It notes that regularly posting new cases and the issues they represent, and providing timely access to dockets and merits briefing allows the public, the press, and the legal community to track cases as they unfold, identify cases with statewide consequences, and understand what’s at stake. -
Press ReleaseNov 2024
National Security
+2 Issues
ACLU Urges House to Kill Bill that Could Give Trump Admin Power to Crush Dissent and Go After Political EnemiesACLU Urges House to Kill Bill that Could Give Trump Admin Power to Crush Dissent and Go After Political Enemies
WASHINGTON — The American Civil Liberties Union strongly urges the House of Representatives to vote NO on H.R. 9495, the Stop Terror-Financing and Tax Penalties on American Hostages Act, which would grant Donald Trump and his handpicked secretary of the Treasury power to investigate and effectively shut down any tax-exempt organization — including news outlets, universities, and civil society groups — by stripping them of tax-exempt status based on an unilateral accusation of wrongdoing. “Passing this bill would hand the incoming Trump administration a dangerous new tool it could use to stifle free speech, target political opponents, and punish disfavored groups,” said Kia Hamadanchy, senior policy counsel at ACLU. “The freedom to dissent without fear of government retribution is a vital part of any well-functioning democracy, which is why Congress must block H.R. 9495 before it’s too late.” While there is a 90-day “cure” period in which a designated nonprofit can mount a defense, it is a mere illusion of due process. The government may deny organizations its reasons and evidence against them, leaving the nonprofit unable to rebut allegations. This means that a nonprofit could be left entirely in the dark about what conduct the government believes qualifies as "support," making it virtually impossible to clear its name. Last month, the ACLU and a diverse array of over 130 other tax-exempt organizations — including human rights, reproductive health, and immigrants’ rights groups — wrote to Congress urging them to vote no. The letter also explains that the groups do not oppose the provisions in H.R. 9495 that relate to preventing the IRS from imposing fines and penalties on hostages while they are held abroad. Indeed, these provisions have already passed the Senate on their own, and if the House of Representatives were to pass a version of this bill that did not include the text of H.R. 6408, it could be sent immediately to President Biden for his signature. -
News & CommentaryNov 2024
Civil Liberties
Donald Trump Will Return to the White House in January. The ACLU is Ready.Donald Trump Will Return to the White House in January. The ACLU is Ready.
Starting in 2016, the ACLU filed more than 400 legal actions against Trump and his administration. As Trump returns to the White House, we’re ready to return to the courts and Congress to fight for our civil liberties.