GOP Senator Holds Bernie Sanders Accountable for U.S. Health Care Crisis in Heated Exchange
During a Senate hearing on Wednesday, a heated exchange erupted between Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) regarding the Affordable Care Act (ACA) as they discussed President Trump’s nominee for surgeon general, Casey Means.
“When we start talking about health care not being affordable, the ranking member and I actually agree on that,” Mullin stated, directing his comments at Sanders, who chairs the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee. “The problem is you supported the same tools that got us to where health care is unaffordable because ACA affordable health care, which is completely unaffordable, has risen three times faster than inflation itself — yet, we still support it. Not ‘we,’ you ...”
“I support a national health care program which can cut the cost —” Sanders interjected, but Mullin insisted on continuing his point, prompting Sanders to retort, “But you’re attacking me.”
Mullin pressed on, attributing the current state of the health care system to Sanders and labeling it “100% not affordable.” He criticized Sanders for failing to acknowledge that the ACA “doesn’t work” and for “chastising” lawmakers who attempt to propose changes.
“God forbid we change and go after and try to fix our broken system,” Mullin remarked, before acknowledging he had “ranted too long.”
“Yes, you did,” Sanders shot back, which only fueled Mullin’s lengthy response.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t ask your opinion on that. And if I cared about your opinion, I would ask you, but I don’t care about your opinion,” Mullin asserted, claiming Sanders is “part of the system” and “part of the problem.”
“You’ve been sitting here longer than I’ve even been alive,” Mullin continued. “This is your problem. You should have fixed this a long time ago ... What have you been doing?”
“I decided not to run for surgeon general,” Sanders replied, gesturing toward Means. “You’re the nominee. I’ve decided not to accept that nominee.”
“That is definitely something we would never accept,” Mullin responded, referring to Sanders’ comment about not running for surgeon general.
The two senators have a history of conflict; last year, they clashed on the Senate floor when Sanders blocked a bipartisan bill aimed at funding kids’ cancer research. Sanders sought to amend the legislation to include funding for community health centers.
Mullin accused Sanders of “literally killing kids in front of us because of his political movement,” highlighting the ongoing tensions between their differing approaches to health care reform.
