Work to improve health care

In her April 29 column, Sue Lani Madsen asserted that “… Nancy Pelosi pushed the original ACA through on the last day of a lame duck session.” The calendar and the ACA’s legislative history would disagree: following the November 2008 election and a lame duck congressional session, Obama took office in January 2009; the House passed its bill in November; and ACA enactment occurred after House and Senate agreement in March 2010. The next lame duck session wasn’t until after the November 2010 elections.

Madsen also asserted that “… at least House Speaker Paul Ryan had the guts to pull a bad [repeal] bill.” That seems a bit generous - legislative leaders push their preferred bills when they have the votes and don’t when they don’t. Both can take guts; recall that Pelosi rallied a House majority but lost 34 Democratic votes along the way.

Rather than another seven years of fruitless “repeal” efforts, we all should be working to improve the ACA and health care for the good of the American people, just as past generations of leaders did on bills and programs of major consequence to their constituents and the country.

Rich Umbdenstock

Spokane

(Editor’s note: A correction was published regarding the lame-duck session.)