Was the ACA rammed through Congress with no Republican opportunity to amend the bill? Nope. But don't take my word for it.
Here is Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) on the Senate floor, September 24, 2013.
He notes that 160 Republican amendments were accepted in the HELP committee alone.
He says the ACA fight was "one of the most hard-fought and fair, in my view, debates that has taken place on the floor of the Senate in the time I have been here."
He says he's "proud of the effort we made and, frankly, the other side of the aisle allowed that debate to take place."
Mr. McCAIN. It is a matter of record that the Senate Finance Committee considered the Affordable Care Act over several weeks and approved the bill on October 13, 2009. At that time members of the Finance Committee submitted 564 amendments, 135 amendments were considered, 79 rollcall votes were taken, and 41 amendments were adopted. Then the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee approved the Affordable Care Act by a vote of 13 to 10. After a month-long debate, 500 amendments were considered, and more than 160 Republican amendments were accepted. Then it came to the floor of the Senate.
The Affordable Care Act was on the floor for 25 straight days, including weekends, between Thanksgiving and Christmas of 2009. There were 506 amendments filed, 228 of which were Republican, 34 rollcall votes were held. Most of the rollcall votes resulted in party-line votes, including a motion which I had to commit the bill to the Finance Committee for a rewrite.
The final passage of the bill--because of our insistence in exercising every reasonable parliamentary procedure we could--took place on Christmas Eve of 2009, much to the discomfort of many of my colleagues. We fought as hard as we could in a fair and honest manner, and we lost. One of the reasons we lost was because we were in the minority. In democracies the majority almost always governs and passes legislation.
I was extremely proud of the effort that we on this side of the aisle made to attempt to defeat what we thought was a measure that was not good for America. I think it was an interesting and educational debate. I see my friend from Illinois is here. On several occasions he and I had debates on the floor of the Senate, in which, of course, I won every one.
The fact is this legislation was hard fought and went through the legislative process. I didn't like the end of it, but I am proud of the effort we made and, frankly, the other side of the aisle allowed that debate to take place. We finally finished up on December 24, 2009, at 7:05 a.m. So to somehow allege that many of us haven't fought hard enough does not comport with the actual action that took place on the floor of the Senate.
Many of those who are in opposition right now were not here at the time and did not take part in that debate, and I respect that. But I would like to remind them that the Record is very clear that this was one of the most hard-fought and fair, in my view, debates that has taken place on the floor of the Senate in the time I have been here.
Here is Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) on the Senate floor, September 24, 2013.
He notes that 160 Republican amendments were accepted in the HELP committee alone.
He says the ACA fight was "one of the most hard-fought and fair, in my view, debates that has taken place on the floor of the Senate in the time I have been here."
He says he's "proud of the effort we made and, frankly, the other side of the aisle allowed that debate to take place."
Mr. McCAIN. It is a matter of record that the Senate Finance Committee considered the Affordable Care Act over several weeks and approved the bill on October 13, 2009. At that time members of the Finance Committee submitted 564 amendments, 135 amendments were considered, 79 rollcall votes were taken, and 41 amendments were adopted. Then the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee approved the Affordable Care Act by a vote of 13 to 10. After a month-long debate, 500 amendments were considered, and more than 160 Republican amendments were accepted. Then it came to the floor of the Senate.
The Affordable Care Act was on the floor for 25 straight days, including weekends, between Thanksgiving and Christmas of 2009. There were 506 amendments filed, 228 of which were Republican, 34 rollcall votes were held. Most of the rollcall votes resulted in party-line votes, including a motion which I had to commit the bill to the Finance Committee for a rewrite.
The final passage of the bill--because of our insistence in exercising every reasonable parliamentary procedure we could--took place on Christmas Eve of 2009, much to the discomfort of many of my colleagues. We fought as hard as we could in a fair and honest manner, and we lost. One of the reasons we lost was because we were in the minority. In democracies the majority almost always governs and passes legislation.
I was extremely proud of the effort that we on this side of the aisle made to attempt to defeat what we thought was a measure that was not good for America. I think it was an interesting and educational debate. I see my friend from Illinois is here. On several occasions he and I had debates on the floor of the Senate, in which, of course, I won every one.
The fact is this legislation was hard fought and went through the legislative process. I didn't like the end of it, but I am proud of the effort we made and, frankly, the other side of the aisle allowed that debate to take place. We finally finished up on December 24, 2009, at 7:05 a.m. So to somehow allege that many of us haven't fought hard enough does not comport with the actual action that took place on the floor of the Senate.
Many of those who are in opposition right now were not here at the time and did not take part in that debate, and I respect that. But I would like to remind them that the Record is very clear that this was one of the most hard-fought and fair, in my view, debates that has taken place on the floor of the Senate in the time I have been here.
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