FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 6, 2020 

Statement by Vice President Joe Biden on the Filing of the Opening Briefs in California v. Texas

Today in our country, more than 1.2 million people have been infected with COVID-19. More than 71,000 lives have been lost to this pandemic. And millions more are facing enormous economic instability due to lost jobs, cut hours, reduced wages, and the ever-present fear of what they will do if they or their loved ones fall ill and need expensive medical treatment.

Against this backdrop of national crisis and human tragedy, today marks the beginning of the process of parties filing briefings with the U.S. Supreme Court in the Trump-backed lawsuit to strip away health care protections for the millions of Americans who depend on the Affordable Care Act (ACA). By siding with the Republican Attorneys-General who are seeking to invalidate the ACA in the U.S. Supreme Court, Trump has made clear where his priorities lie. Not with protecting the millions of people who depend on the exchanges for their health coverage. Not with ensuring that more than 100 million people with pre-existing conditions won’t be denied coverage or charged more by their insurers. Not with the thousands of Americans who may develop new “pre-existing conditions” due to their battle with COVID-19. Not with the young people who can now stay on their parents insurance until 26. Not with women, who will no longer be protected against being charged more for their insurance.
 
No — Trump has decided he’d rather destroy President Obama’s legacy than protect the health care of millions upon millions of Americans. He’d rather look after the profits of the insurance industry than make sure people can access healthcare in their hour of need. It’s despicable.
 
The number one job of any president is to keep the American people safe. Trump’s failures to heed the warnings that he was given to prepare for and protect against the worst impacts of the coronavirus are already nothing less than a dereliction of duty. Today’s efforts to destroy every aspect of the ACA are yet another horrifying example of Trump’s callous disregard for the struggles of everyday people all across the country. If Trump and the Republicans get their way, it will mean devastation for our health care system that will cause untold pain and suffering. We must not allow that to happen. 

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