Rep. Joe Kennedy: ACA Repeal Bill An 'Act of Malice'

WASHINGTON, DC – House Republicans revealed their long-anticipated bill to replace Obamacare this week, a necessary part of the party's plan to repeal the Affordable Care Act and update the nation's health insurance system.

Already, the bill is facing pushback from both sides of the aisle. House Speaker Paul Ryan defended it on Tuesday, calling it an "act of mercy" and arguing that the bill would ultimately "collapse on itself" if nothing was done.

But Rep. Joe Kennedy III, a Democrat from Massachusetts' 4th District, flipped Ryan's comment on its head, instead referring to Republicans' bill as an "act of malice."

"With all due respect to our speaker, he and I must have read different scripture," Kennedy said in an address to the Ways and Means Committee. "The one that I read calls on us to feed the hungry, to clothe the naked, to shelter the homeless, and to comfort the sick. It reminds us that we are judged not by how we treat the powerful but by how we care for the least among us."

Kennedy went on to cite examples of people whom the country would "turn its back on" under the bill – the elderly, the poor, the sick and the suffering – repeating the refrain, "there is no mercy."

"This is not an act of mercy, it's an act of malice," Kennedy concluded.

At one point during the all-night session, GOP lawmakers acknowledged that the bill would stop the requirement that insurers cover mental health care.

Despite intense debate and opposition, the Ways and Means Committee approved the bill early Thursday morning.

Watch Kennedy's full comments below:

Image via Joe Kennedy III Twitter