People With Disabilities Storm House Building, Demand Boehner Leave Obamacare Alone
WASHINGTON -- At least 200 people with disabilities set up camp outside a House office building on Monday and occupied the halls inside, demanding that House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) stop trying to delay or defund Obamacare.
Armed with megaphones and banners, the protesters took over the steps of several entrances into the Longworth building and criticized Boehner for trying to attach a one-year delay of the Affordable Care Act to a bill to keep the government funded past Monday. Specifically, they argued that without the health care law in effect, they would lose the Community First Option, a program that provides matching federal funds to states to help people with disabilities use home-based care instead of institutionalized care or nursing homes.
"Who do we want? Boehner! When do we want him? Now!" they chanted outside the building.
"We're not animals," one woman using a wheelchair muttered.
Inside, dozen of others in the group went directly to Boehner's office and tried to enter in order to talk to his staff, to no avail. After being outside his office for about an hour, they began taking laps around the hallways, singing about "taking back my dignity" and "taking back my humanity." Many held signs with Boehner's face next to images of people in wheelchairs breaking free of chains on their wrists.
The protest, organized by a group called ADAPT, comes as the clock ticks down for House Republican leaders deciding whether to keep fighting to include a one-year delay of Obamacare in the government-funding bill -- and effectively force a government shutdown -- or allow a clean bill to pass in the House to keep the government open. The Senate has already said it will only support a clean bill, as has President Barack Obama.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/30/boehner-obamacare-protest_n_4017367.html?utm_hp_ref=tw
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