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May 12, 2017

Dear Friend,

Last week, the House voted to repeal the Affordable Care Act in a last-ditch effort to score political points, at the expense of millions of Americans. Over the last two months, I watched my colleagues rush a bill to a vote, enact last minute changes, hide the content from Americans, and deny other Members of Congress the opportunity to engage in a debate that would actually improve our health care system. 

I want you to know I fought for San Diegans along the way:

I was there for the 27 hour meeting in the Energy and Commerce Committee after the first version of the health care bill was released and recklessly pushed through in only a few days. 

We still didn't know how much the bill cost or how many stood to lose coverage, so I urged my colleagues to allow experts and interest groups to weigh in before we voted.

I sat down with CNN's Wolf Blitzer after the first vote was cancelled and recapped the meeting in the Energy and Commerce Committee. I shared my frustrations over the lack of bipartisanship that left us with a bill opposed by doctors, nurses, hospitals, and just about everyone because it would make the problems in our healthcare system worse, not better.

The next week, the Congressional Budget Office released a report that found 24 million Americans would lose coverage under the health care bill and that out-of-pocket costs would rise, especially for San Diego seniors.  

Rep. Peters led 95 Members of Congress on a letter urging Speaker Ryan to allow CBO to report on the bill before a vote.

Rep. Peters urged his colleagues to oppose the bill, and instead, work together on real health care reforms. 

When it finally came to a vote last week, I took part in the debate to oppose dismantling the protections of the Affordable Care Act; gutting funding for Medicaid and Planned Parenthood; raising out-of-pocket costs for seniors and working families; and ripping health insurance from 24 million Americans.

Click here or the image above to watch Rep. Peters speak in opposition to the bill. 

There are real steps we can take to fix what's not working in our health care system. Unfortunately, the bill passed last week does not do that. 

But this is not over. I will keep fighting to keep this awful bill from becoming law and get to work on real reforms that will make health care more accessible and affordable for American families. 

Sincerely,