Obamacare is still a law, and if Democrats win the House majority in 2018, they'll fight to improve it and make it better, Democratic House Caucus Chairman Joe Crowley said Friday.
"We'll bolster it," the New York Democrat told MSNBC's "Morning Joe" program. "We will nurture it. We will improve it and make it better."
On Thursday, the Trump administration said it will slash spending on encouraging people to sign up for Obamacare, making good on President Donald Trump's threat that he'll allow the law to die after Senate Republicans failed to repeal the measure this summer.
Health and Human Services plans to cut the program's sign-up ad budget to $10 million for 2018 coverage, bringing it down from the $100 million for this year, the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said in a statement.
The move is the latest in Trump's actions to undercut the health law, but Crowley said Democrats plan to do everything they can to reverse his actions.
"The president is only going to spend one tenth of what [President Barack] Obama spent to promote it," Crowley said. "The American people are onto what he's doing. You can't fool all the people all the time, Mr. President. We're onto you. We're going to hold you and your party accountable in 2018 for diminishing the opportunity to have healthcare in the United States."
As Democrats fight to regain control in Washington, the message will be that Americans were "sold a raw deal" with Trump, Crowley said.
"The president promised job creation and growth," the lawmaker said. "He promised action in Congress, and we haven't seen any of that. We're talking about better jobs, better pay, and a better future."
Part of that strategy would include using the first 100 days in control of Congress to pass infrastructure bills, and showing Americans that Democrats are "serious about putting people back to work."
"[We will] deal with the rising costs of college education," Crowley said. "Tackle the issues facing us on healthcare. They have done nothing in the first 200 days. We're in the third phase now, the next 300 days, they have done absolutely nothing."
But Democrats, when holding control, "you can't say we didn't do anything," Crowley said. "We're going to do things when we get back in control of the House of Representatives."
Democrats, though, have been losing legislative seats since at least 2010, and Crowley said he blames that on "lack of participation and lack of a plan."
"I know President Obama is in charge in terms of focusing the efforts in state legislative house races so we can get back into the game in state legislatures around the country," Crowley said.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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