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“We know we have deep feelings about these issues, and we may not all agree with everything,” said Guthrie, a Republican who holds his first term as chairman of the House Energy Commerce Committee.
That wasn't the case.
A few minutes later, a group of protesters behind Capitol Hill's hearing room began screaming at lawmakers to “steer your greedy hands away from our Medicaid.”
They owned a call for the chairman's order, and Capitol police officers eventually took five people (three people in wheelchairs) away as dozens of lawmakers on the panel saw. (Capitol police later said officers arrested 26 people for illegally protesting inside the Congress building.)
The confusion was a raucous kickoff to a meeting that went on all night and was expected to last until Wednesday. A member of the committee estimated it would take up to 28 hours as Republicans and Democrats were on the plan.
It was unfolded as the Tax Writing House Methods and Means Committee met to consider a $2.5 trillion tax proposal to extend Trump's tax cuts in 2017. He temporarily meets his campaign. Roll back clean energy subsidies. Create a new type of tax investment account for children.
Democrats on the Ways and Means committee have tried to extend the tax credits that will help people buy insurance in the Obamacare market. The grants are scheduled to expire at the end of the year, and the Congressional Budget Office estimates that more than 4 million people will lose coverage as a result.
Nevada Democrats leader Stephen Horseford proposed an amendment that would make additional funds permanent. He argued that Republicans used unconventional forms of accounting in their efforts to make other tax cuts permanent, so they should use the same approach to keep premiums affordable.
“Breathing in one go is not enough to say it's okay to provide tax cuts to billionaires. It's free and doesn't provide tax relief to families who work for God,” he said.
The third panel, the House Agriculture Committee, also met Tuesday night and began to consider some of the bills that cut nutrition support to raise funds for the plan.
However, the majority of Tuesday's drama was on the Energy and Commercial Committee. In the first hour alone, the Republicans who made the opening statement were repeatedly suspended by protesters who accused them of stripping health care from vulnerable people. GOP lawmakers accused Democrats of misrepresenting Medicaid cuts, which they proposed to score political points.
At one point, Guthrie worked to manage the lawsuit, whether members of his panel were allowed to use the word “lie” in their statements. (Republicans were allowed to say Democrats were lying about the scope of Medicaid cuts, but Democrats weren't saying Trump was lying about his desire to protect the program.
Even some democratic senators have come to embrace the sights. Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey, Brian Schatz of Hawaii, and Tina Smith of Minnesota.
It was all before lawmakers discussed a single provision of measures. Eight hours after the hearing, the committee had not yet discussed Medicaid cuts, instead focusing on other changes in environmental and energy policy.
The bill's proposed Medicaid compensation cuts and expansion under the Affordable Care Act have become a flash point for Democrats and a field of concern for vulnerable Republicans wary of the political consequences of helping cuts to insurance programs that have become popular with Americans.
House Republicans have been moving away from the vast structural overhaul of Medicaid, but their proposals have reduced federal spending by an estimated $912 billion, with 8.6 million people uninsured, according to a partial analysis of the Congressional Budget Office, distributed by committee Democrats. Changes to Medicaid and Affordable Care Act will result in approximately $700 billion in savings.
Republicans argued that the proposed cuts would help control rising Medicaid costs by targeting “waste, fraud and abuse” and ensuring long-term health of the program.
“Medicaid was created to protect health care for Americans who would otherwise have been unable to support themselves, but Democrats expanded the program far beyond this core mission,” Guthrie said.
Their proposal calls for stricter documentation requirements throughout the program, making changes that affect federal funding to the state, and adding work requirements to Medicaid, where poor, childless adults need to prove they work 80 hours a month.
The provision covering the expansion of Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act will not begin until January 2029 after the next presidential election.
During their opening remarks, Democrats on the committee lifted a poster that matched a photograph of the constituents they deemed as “the face of Medicaid.” Lawmakers told their stories as a way to humanize those who rely on the program.
Michigan president Debbie Dingel spoke directly to a family member who traveled to Washington during the hearing. Texas president Mark Vissy held his phone to the microphone and invited constituents to talk about how Medicaid had influenced her. Guthrie ruled it broke down.
Some of the people highlighted were at no risk of losing coverage based on Republican proposals. And Democrats frequently argued that the Republican plan would make 13.7 million Americans uninsured and inflated the bill's impact on coverage for around 5 million people.
Pointing out these contradictions, Republican lawmakers accused Democrats of rigging politics.
“One person on these posters will not be affected,” said Florida president Cat Cammack.
“It's a shame people are so mad at the misinformation,” Alabama Republican Gary Palmer said.
As the hearing began, the corridors outside were packed with protesters. Many of them wore shirts and bearing signs that read “Medicaid in hand.” Others wore shirts that read “Fight for a Plan.” The organization is targeting provisions in the bill that would prevent Medicaid from funding healthcare providers who also provide abortion services.
“Hopefully everyone understands these demonstrations – people feel very strongly,” said Frank Palone Jr., the top Democrat on the committee. “Because they know they're losing their health care.”
Catie Edmondson Reports of contributions.
