Mitch Perry
Since the American Health Care Act was pulled last Friday, most members of Congress did not have to vote on the controversial bill.
Nevertheless, the legislation did quickly pass through three separate committees on its way to a potential floor vote.
And that hasn’t stopped the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) from criticizing Republicans for their support of the AHCA in the committee process.
Seizing the universal disdain for the aborted bill, the DCCC is now going after two Miami Republican who voted for the AHCA in committee — Carlos Curbelo, who voted for it in the House Ways and Means Committee, and Mario Diaz-Balart, who supported it in the Budget Committee.
The DCCC is beginning a five-figure digital ad buy beginning Monday. The spots will be on YouTube, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram in Florida’s 25th Congressional District (Diaz-Balart) and District 26 (Curbelo). They’re targeted to swing voters 35 years and older, grassroots activists, and those that have engaged with the topic of “health care” on social media.
All told, the DCCC is attacking 15 House Republicans in swing districts who supported the AHCA in committee. However, they’re going all out against Curbelo, saying the ad buy in CD 26 will be more than six times larger than in the other 14 districts.
“This targeted ad campaign makes clear that Representatives Curbelo and Diaz-Balart’s vote for this devastating Republican repeal bill will not be forgotten, said DCCC Chairman Ben Ray Luján. “Curbelo and Diaz-Balart knowingly voted for a bill to raise premiums and deductibles, slap an age tax on older folks, and rip insurance away from 24 million hardworking Americans. It’s critical that voters in South Florida know where Curbelo and Diaz-Balart stood on this harmful legislation.”
Although Curbelo did vote for the bill in committee, it was altered significantly to get more buy-in from conservative members of the House before last week’s vote. A spokesperson for Curbelo tells the Tampa Bay Times that the Miami Republican was undecided on the how he would have voted last week.
A spokeswoman for the National Republican Congress Committee (NRCC) responded late in the afternoon.
“Congressman Curbelo and Congressman Diaz-Balart promised to reform health care, and were committed to moving proposals forward to continue the debate,” said spokeswoman Maddie Anderson. “For his part, Curbelo never came out in support of the bill because he was working to secure changes would be made to in the Senate to protect his most vulnerable constituents, and that the Administration would rectify Obama’s disastrous funding cuts to Florida’s Low Income Pool.”
