Washington – Connecticut Democrats on Tuesday sharply criticized President-elect Donald Trump’s selection of Rep. Tom Price, the architect of the House GOP’s repeal of the Affordable Care Act, as the next secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services.
“The selection of U.S. Representative Tom Price as the next Secretary of Health and Human Services is extremely troubling, to say the least,” said Gov. Dannel Malloy. “President-Elect Trump claims that he intends to preserve the cornerstones of the Affordable Care Act, however, the nomination of Rep. Price – who has been one of the staunchest adversaries since its passage – suggests otherwise.”
Trump called Price, an orthopedic surgeon who represents the northern suburbs of Atlanta in the U.S. House, “exceptionally qualified to shepherd our commitment to repeal and replace Obamacare and bring affordable and accessible healthcare to every American.”
But Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-3rd District, the senior Democrat on an appropriations panel that funds HHS, decried the appointment.
“President-elect Trump’s decision to nominate Congressman Price as Secretary of HHS will result in the complete undermining of our nation’s health care system,” DeLauro said.
“As a leader of the movement to repeal the Affordable Care Act and to privatize Medicare, Mr. Price will work alongside President-elect Trump to strip health care from millions of Americans.”
Malloy also slammed Price for his efforts to strip federal funds from Planned Parenthood.
“His outspoken views against reproductive justice and his efforts to block federal funds to Planned Parenthood are of great concern and threaten to turn back the clock on decades of progress in women’s healthcare – especially access to preventive care and birth control currently guaranteed under Affordable Care Act,” Malloy said.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said, “Representative Price’s extremist positions are out of touch with the vast majority of American women and their families.”
“Although Representative Price may be best known for his misguided attempts to roll back the Affordable Care Act, equally important is his agenda to prevent millions of American women from accessing safe, affordable and basic health care services,” Blumenthal said.
Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., who sits on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, which will consider the nomination, said, “I will not support Tom Price for secretary of health and human services.”
“Tom Price was the face and voice of the Republicans’ effort to privatize Medicare and repeal health coverage for twenty million Americans,” Murphy said. “I will not be any part of the Republicans’ plan to drastically cut benefits to seniors by turning their Medicare benefit into a voucher. And I will not support a nominee who has made it clear he wants to repeal the Affordable Care Act and replace it with absolutely nothing.”