As lawmakers and the public awaited the Congressional Budget Office’s score on the GOP’s “horrific” Trumpcare bill, Congressional Democrats on Tuesday doubled-down on their call for a Medicare-for-All system to provide universal healthcare to all Americans.

At a morning press conference outside the U.S. Capitol, Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.) was joined by fellow lawmakers and healthcare advocates in promoting HR 676, the Expanded and Improved Medicare-for-All Act. As Common Dreams previously reported, the legislation has more Democratic support than it ever has before; as of Tuesday, there are 111 co-sponsors including the chairman of the House Democratic caucus, Rep. Joseph Crowley (D-N.Y.), who signed on last week. 

“I’ve never seen more energy behind this issue of Medicare for All,” Conyers said at Wednesday’s event, which can be watched in full below: 

The GOP’s cruel American Healthcare Act (AHCA) has galvanized much of that energy, he said, but the shortcomings of the status quo have also played a role. It’s time for something new, Conyers declared—for something visionary. 

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“People know what we are against, but we want to promote more what we are for,” Conyers said. “As a Democrat I believe that healthcare of course is a right, not a privilege. I believe [in] universal healthcare, for every American—not just a plan or a contract, but the ability to see a doctor and get treatment whenever they need it. We will never get universal care building on a foundation of private, for-profit insurance.” 

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