Congresswoman Sylvia Garcia Marks 10th Anniversary of the Affordable Care Act, Demands Trump Administration to End ACA Lawsuit

HOUSTON, TX – On the 10th anniversary of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), Congresswoman Sylvia Garcia (TX-29) joined Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky (IL-09) and 125 of her House Democratic colleagues in a letter demanding for the Trump Administration to end its Texas v. U.S. lawsuit, which would strike down the entirety of the ACA as well as pre-existing condition protections for 130 million Americans, including nearly 4.8 million Texans, amid the coronavirus pandemic.

"For a decade, Democrats have stood strong against the GOP's continued attempts to take away the health and financial security of hard-working families," said Congresswoman Garcia. "As we face the unprecedented impacts of coronavirus on our economy and working families, Republican efforts to eliminate the lifesaving protections of the ACA poses a dangerous threat to the people of Houston and all Americans. At this time in our country's history, every American in every community must be certain that they will receive the critical medical care that they and their families need to stay healthy and safe."

Since becoming law in 2010, the ACA has made a difference in the lives of millions of Americans, including children, seniors, and veterans all across the country. It has protected nearly 4.8 million Texans with pre-existing conditions, lowered premiums by nearly 11.1 percent, and reduced the Texas uninsured population by 25.3 percent. If the Trump Administration's outrageous lawsuit is successful in gutting the ACA, [STATE] families would face staggering consequences:

• Uninsured Rate will Increase: Texas residents will lose expanded health insurance coverage through the ACA, leading to 4.8 million more Texas residents becoming uninsured – a 37 percent increase in the state uninsured rate.
• Federal Health Care Funding will Decrease: Texas will lose $6.5 billion in critical federal funding that pays for Medicaid/CHIP care and Marketplace subsidies, harming millions of Texans.
• Pre-Existing Conditions will be Gutted: About 4.8 million, or 37 percent of Texas residents will face increased costs or be denied coverage for their pre-existing conditions.
• Prescription Drug Costs For Seniors will Increase: Prescription drug costs will increase for the 12 million Medicare beneficiaries nationwide who have saved on prescription drugs due to the ACA's closure of Medicare Part D donut hole.

"On day one of this Congress, House Democrats voted to throw the full legal weight of the House of Representatives into the fight against this lawsuit, and to protect and expand access to healthcare for all Americans," continued Congresswoman Garcia. "Now more than ever, during the coronavirus pandemic, Democrats are using every tool and resources to ensure that we safeguard the ACA's vital protections that put Families First. Today, and every day, Democrats will uphold our values, making it clear that health care is not a privilege for the few, but rather a right for all."

The 126 Members that called on the administration to drop the ACA lawsuit are: Schakowsky (letter lead),Adams, Allred, Barragán, Bass, Beatty, Blumenauer, Blunt Rochester, Brown, Brownley, Bustos, Butterfield, Cárdenas, Carson, Cartwright, Casten, Castor, Castro, Chu, Cicilline, Cisneros, Clark, Clarke, Clay, Cleaver, S. Cohen, Connolly, Courtney, Cox, Craig, Crist, Davids, D. Davis, DeFazio, DeLauro, Deutch, Dingell, Doyle, Engel, Escobar, Espaillat, Evans, Fletcher, Foster, Fudge, C. Garcia, S. Garcia, Gomez, Grijalva, Haaland, Hastings, Hayes, Heck, Higgins, Himes, Huffman, Jeffries, H.C. Johnson, Kaptur, Keating, Kennedy, Khanna, Kildee, Kilmer, Kirkpatrick, Kuster, Larson, Lawrence, B. Lee, A. Levin, M. Levin, Lieu, Lipinski, Loebsack, Lowenthal, S. Lynch, C. Maloney, Matsui, McCollum, McEachin, McGovern, Meeks, Meng, Mucarsel-Powell, S. Murphy, Nadler, Napolitano, Neguse, Norton, Ocasio-Cortez, O'Halleran, Omar, Panetta, Pappas, Pascrell, Payne, Phillips, Pingree, Pocan, Porter, Pressley, Quigley, Raskin, Richmond, Rouda, T. Ryan, Rush, Sanchez, Schneider, Sewell, Shalala, Soto, Speier, Takano, Titus, Tlaib, Tonko, Torres, Underwood, Vargas, Veasey, Velázquez, Wasserman Schultz, Welch, Wexton, Wild, and Yarmuth.

Vice President Mike Pence, White House Coronavirus Task Force Lead; Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar; Secretary of Labor Eugene Scalia; Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin; and Attorney General William Barr were copied on the letter. A signed copy of the letter is available HERE.

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Congresswoman Sylvia R. Garcia was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in November 2018, becoming the first Latina ever to represent the Texas 29th Congressional District. She serves on the House Judiciary and Financial Services Committees.