Ryan on Republicans not reading the bill: 'Bogus attack' from the left

Ryan on Republicans not reading the bill: 'Bogus attack' from the left
By Rebecca Savransky - 05-07-17 09:33 AM EDT

House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) on Sunday dismissed "bogus" criticism that Republicans in the House rushed their healthcare bill to a vote before some of them read the bill.

"I think this is kind of a bogus attack from the left," Ryan said during an interview on ABC's "This Week." He was asked about concessions from other members of the House who admitted they didn't read the bill, as well as the fact that there wasn't a hearing or committee markup on the finalized bill.

"The bill has been online for two months," he said. "The final version was an amendment that was three pages long. It takes you 30 seconds to read."

The GOP is now facing criticism similar to their own over ObamaCare in 2009.

"Before members even had time to read the 1,000-page bill, it already has cleared two major House committees," Ryan wrote in a 2009 op-ed in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "Those members of Congress who voted for this bill already in their committees did so without knowing what the legislation costs."

But on Sunday, Ryan said the ObamaCare legislation was more than 2,000 pages long, compared to the GOP's replacement bill, which was under 200 pages long.

Ryan also said the GOP healthcare bill had received two scores from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) and the final amendment wasn't going to "dramatically alter" that score.

The House last week narrowly passed legislation aimed at repealing and replacing ObamaCare, sending the bill to the Senate.

No House Democrats supported the bill, and many publicly slammed it as "abominable" and a "tax cut for millionaires."

Rep. Chris Collins (R-N.Y.), a top ally of President Trump, admitted last week that he did not read the entire text of the GOP's healthcare bill. But he said his staff did.

"I will fully admit, Wolf, I did not, but I can also assure you my staff did," Collins said during an interview with Wolf Blitzer on CNN. "You know, I have to rely on my staff, and I can probably tell you that I read every word and I wouldn't be telling you the truth, nor would any other member."