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Malloy, Murphy Slam Trump's Nomination Of Price For Health & Human Services

FAIRFIELD COUNTY, Conn. — President-elect Donald Trump's nomination of Tom Price as Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services drew criticism and condemnation from Connecticut's top Democrats on Tuesday. 

Congressman Tom Price, a Georgia Republican, has been nominated by President-elect Donald Trump to be Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Congressman Tom Price, a Georgia Republican, has been nominated by President-elect Donald Trump to be Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

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U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy, a member of the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, said he will not support the nomination of Price, a congressman from Georgia who is a doctor.  

“Tom Price was the face and voice of the Republicans' effort to privatize Medicare and repeal health coverage for 20 million Americans," Murphy said in a statement. "I will not be any part of the Republicans' plan to drastically cut benefits to seniors by turning their Medicare benefit into a voucher. And I will not support a nominee who has made it clear he wants to repeal the Affordable Care Act and replace it with absolutely nothing."

Secretary of Health and Human Services is in charge of the federal agency charged with overseeing Medicare, Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act, and working to improve our nation’s public health. 

The nomination vote will be "the first test of whether Congress is prepared to stand up to the Republicans' clear desire to end Medicare as we know it ... This will be one of the biggest fights that Congress will have with the new administration, and it starts with this nomination.”

U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal also said he would oppose the nomination, citing Price's "agenda to prevent millions of American women from accessing safe, affordable and basic health care services." 

"Representative Price has championed the anti-choice movement, leading the charge to defund Planned Parenthood and disregarding the women who would be ruthlessly and recklessly deprived of basic health care screenings, family planning and contraception," Blumenthal said. 

He called Price’s positions "extremist" and "out of touch with the vast majority of American women and their families. He even voted against reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act in 2013. I am deeply concerned about his fitness to lead one of our most crucial domestic federal agencies.”

Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy called the selection of Price"extremely troubling, to say the least." 

"President-Elect Trump claims that he intends to preserve the cornerstones of the Affordable Care Act, however, the nomination of Rep. Price – who has been one of the staunchest adversaries since its passage – suggests otherwise," Malloy said. 

"Rep. Price’s record demonstrates a clear intention to dismantle the very healthcare reform law that has benefitted hundreds of thousands of people in Connecticut and millions across the nation."

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