July 4th, 2017
Mike DeWald
(San Francisco, CA) — The mission was clear: “What message would you like me to take back to DC?”. US Senator Kamala Harris spent much of her holiday weekend criss crossing California to both speak out, and listen, on the current health care bill in the Senate. The trip began in Southern California Monday afternoon with an address to the Rally for Health Care at the UCLA Medical Center in Torrance, later in the day she traveled up to San Francisco to attend a roundtable discussion on the impacts of the GOP health care proposal with patients and caregivers at the Institute on Aging. The Junior Senator from California began by touring the Bay Area nonprofits facilities before concluding with the roundtable. The participants ran the spectrum of older Californians, including those most greatly impacted by the plan. Harris listened intently as patients and caregivers from a variety of backgrounds told their stories of how passage of the Republican health care plan would adversely impact their level of care.
“This proposal is indefensible, frankly, and is going to harm so many people in California.” Harris said of the GOP plan, which was held back for votes beyond it’s original target of July 4th. Harris says she believes that the public reaction is having an impact on the process of getting the bill passed, saying the missed deadline will have a major impact when Senators return home to their districts, saying firmly that “The American public knows this bill is not in their best interests”. When asked whether President Trump’s tweeting habits were influencing or distracting from the process, Harris joked “I’ve met a bunch of incredible psychologists here, and I’m going to leave it up to them to figure out.” Senator Harris’ trip continues Wednesday with a visit to Fresno and Chowchilla.
