In a video released on social media Sunday, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) spoke about the Trump administration’s current stance on cutting Medicaid.
00:00Number two, they love to talk about waste, fraud and abuse, but if that were true, the cuts to waste, any waste, fraud and abuse that they identify should be reinvested into more efficient delivery of these programs.
00:17If you find that, oh, wait, you know, we have found that we could make this process more efficient, then make it more efficient and expand the amount of health care provisions that are available to people.
00:33But that's an aside. The answer is not in cutting veterans care as they've been doing.
00:38The answer is not in defunding the PACT Act as they've been doing, because I'll tell you, our service members go abroad and they breathe in air from burn pits and they get exposed to toxic inhalations.
00:55Their health care should be covered and you shouldn't be making a buck off of the misery and off of defunding health care for service members.
01:04Anyways, I'll I will continue. We have an opportunity to stop this and we have an opportunity to act right now.
01:13So my first ask is to go to that link in my bio and see if one of your members is represented on the Energy and Commerce Committee.
01:25And if you type in your zip code, it will tell you that. Sorry, I got a lot. I've got a computer in front of me for light.
01:31But if you type in your zip code, it will tell you if you are represented.
01:37And if you are, then then it'll it will give you the call script.
01:43It'll tell you everything that you need to do. And yes, you can make pressure calls on Republicans.
01:47But it is also important. Some it is also important to give positive calls to Democrats who are standing up and doing the right thing.
01:56All too often in politics, people engage in all sticks and no carrots.
02:02And I do think that it's important. You have to show two things at once, both that one, if an elected official is doing something that you oppose, that you will also oppose them.
02:15But two, that if a politician is standing up and does do the right thing, that there is actually a constituency for doing the right thing and that people are willing to take action to support that.
02:31So positive things are important to, are just as important to, sorry, positive things are just as important to do as tough love.
02:40I don't, it said that it was like pausing it. Anyways.
02:43So that's first and foremost that I want to talk to you all about. Save Medicaid.
02:51And by the way, I want to get a little bit more granular as well.
02:54There are members on the Energy and Commerce Committee from states all across the country, from Michigan.
03:00You've got Gabe Evans in Colorado. I visited. We did one of our rallies in Greeley in his district.
03:07We've done rallies in other Republican districts as well.
03:11These are very, very close, tight and competitive seats.
03:15And if we are able, if they are able to hear from their constituents and if they're able to respect their constituents' desires,
03:25which is possible in these kinds of close seats, then we may be able to slow down this bill or stop it altogether.
03:35And if we are able to stop it altogether, then we are also able to save Medicaid.
03:38And I want to tell you, again, do not give up on this because the pressure is starting to work.
03:48Donald Trump and Steve Bannon, one of his top political strategists,
03:53are realizing how many people in this country are on Medicaid
03:57and how many Republicans are actually on Medicaid.
04:01There are lots of Republicans who receive government programs and government benefits
04:09who, you know, in order for them to sustain this,
04:15they convince everybody that somehow, like, a bunch of undocumented people are taking all the Medicaid in this country,
04:23which is not true.
04:27They want to lie and say that all, like, their new thing is able-bodied men,
04:35as though there's, like, millions and millions and millions of, like, 20-year-old guys
