Dem Lawmaker Calls GOP Health Care Repeal Bill An Act Of 'Malice,' Not 'Mercy'

House Republicans ’ current efforts to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act are more malicious than merciful, says one Democratic lawmaker. 

Rep. Joe Kennedy (D-Mass.) issued a harsh rebuke of the GOP-led effort on Wednesday during his opening statements at the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s hearing on legislation to repeal and replace the ACA. 

Kennedy singled out a comment House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) made a day earlier, in which he called the GOP’s repeal effort “an act of mercy.”

“There is no mercy in a system that makes health care a luxury ... This is not an act of mercy; this is an act of malice,” Kennedy said Wednesday.

Kennedy, who, like Ryan, comes from a strong Catholic background, quipped that he and the speaker “must have read different Scripture.”

“Mercy,” Kennedy said, “defined in purely secular terms: compassionate treatment for those in distress.”

The GOP bill, known as the American Health Care Act, is being criticized by Democrats , some Republicans, health care  industry groups and the AARP seniors group . Top points of contention include proposals to roll back the ACA’s Medicaid expansion and to raise premiums for older people while simultaneously granting generous tax cuts to the wealthy.