From: Scalise, Steve
Date: Sunday, March 19, 2017 at 9:24 PM
Subject: We ran for Congress to do big things
Dear Whip Team Colleagues,
These next few days could define us for years to come. We ran for Congress to do big
things and save our country from leftist progressivism. We ran for Congress to seize the
opportunity and achieve the promise that the American people have bestowed upon us.
We took on the responsibility of serving on the Whip team to help lead and guide our
Conference to achieve great things. I have told the President and the Speaker that the
Whip team is all in.
The American Health Care Act needs to pass the House of Representatives so the
American people can be rescued from Obamacare. America deserves a government that
puts broken promises and failed policies in the past. America wants a Better Way, and the
American Health Care Act delivers. After over a year of work from our Conference, led
by Chairmen Brady, Walden, Fox, and Black, we have united with President Trump
behind legislation that:
Guts Obamacare
Eliminates the individual and employer mandate penalties
Lowers insurance premiums for families by double digits once implemented
Provides more than $880 billion in tax cuts for working families
Defunds organizations that provide abortion
Includes the largest reform of the Medicaid program in the 52-year history of the program
Expands Health Savings Accounts
Includes tax credits to provide more equity between individual and employer-provided
health insurance
Reduces the deficit
Every Member of our Conference can and should be proud to support this legislation.
Is it perfect? Of course not, for two main reasons that will always exist:
The rules of Budget Reconciliation do not allow us to include everything we want in this
phase of our plan. But Budget Reconciliation does allow us to do a great deal and gives
us the opportunity to get the bill to the President’s desk with only 51 votes in the Senate.
There’s no such thing as “perfect.” Each of us has our own ideal plan, but if we want to
advance our principles and fulfill our promises, this bold approach achieves our
objectives.
As you whip this bill and speak to our colleagues, remind Members that attacks from the
Left are nothing new, and rarely accurate. Democrats and the media will distort, distract
from, and deceive about any health care plan that seeks to relieve the American people
from the crushing burden of Obamacare. We have heard it all before from the Left. This
is what Democrats said on the House floor back in 1996 during the debate over welfare
reform:
 “mean-spirited”
 “downright low down”
 “They are coming for the children, they are coming for the poor, they are coming for the
sick, the elderly and disabled -- that is the Contract with America.”
 “This bill takes heat from the homes of the poor, dollars out of the pockets of the poor and
takes food out of the mouths of children.”
But Republicans remained united in the face of these outrageous attacks. As a result,
welfare reform is now regarded as one of the most successful and important conservative
reforms of the past thirty years that lifted millions out of poverty. Caseloads dropped by
approximately 50%, employment of never-married mothers increased by 50%. And,
employment of single mothers with less than a high-school education increased by twothirds.
We can achieve an even bigger success with the American Health Care Act. This is the
largest reform of the Medicaid program in its 52-year history. This bill guts Obamacare
and replaces the failed law with patient centered reforms. I believe twenty years from
now the American Health Care Act will be viewed as an even bigger success then welfare
reform. Why? Because not only do we get the substance right, but equally important,
enacting this legislation shatters the Washington establishment’s belief that you can never
end an entitlement. Success on this bill opens new opportunities for major reforms for
years to come.
This is our moment to make history.
Despite the noise, we can take comfort in the lessons and history of the legislative fight
over welfare reform. In the heat of the debate as the bill worked its way to the floor,
the Los Angeles Times wrote that House Republicans were “laboring to cobble together a
coalition of GOP moderates and hard-liners who can find consensus on a bill …” Sound
familiar? But Republicans did come together and prevailed because:
We stayed united – never losing more than 4 Republican votes
Disagreements were heard amongst ourselves, not aired in the press
We laid out our priorities & principles
We legislated
As a member of the Whip team, I ask that you embrace these reforms and take on a
leadership role. My office has been sending extensive daily information about this
legislation. But please bring us any other questions you have. Take time to learn the
substance so you can help educate our colleagues. Provide Patrick and me with real-time
feedback from the questions and comments you receive. And keep the conversation going
with your colleagues. We did not seek simple solutions, but instead the right solutions.
We benefit from a detailed discussion on the substance.
Thank you in advance for the extraordinary work I know I can count on from the best
Whip team in congressional history.
Sincerely,
Steve