Cruel' health care bill will bring 'death, pain and suffering' says Cory Booker

Senator Cory Booker (D-N.J.) gave an impassioned speech on MSNBC Wednesday decrying a "cruel" and "craven" Republican health care bill. He was speaking to Chris L. Hayes about the "American Health Care Act" that is scheduled for a House vote on Thursday.

"Just for the moral urgency of this moment," he told Hayes, "the craven bill that I see coming to vote tomorrow is just cruel and just wrong."

"To tens of millions of Americans," he continued, "Republicans, Democrats and Independents, people who deserve more from a nation this wealthy, this rich, they deserve better."

"So screw the politics," Booker said.

"This is about people, this is about what's morally right," he added. "This is about what we stand for. And this is a president who has lied to people, folks in red states, red counties, who who passionately want to keep their health care. Who were promised better health care, more access, something better than the Affordable Care Act."

"Well this is clearly not just worse, it's a death knell," Booker continued. "I don't mean to be melodramatic about this, but I've seen this when people have to wait to get their health care until the emergency room."

"This will cost American lives if it ever becomes law," he claimed. "This will mean death, pain, and suffering to people's families. So I'm not interested in the politics, this is something that my colleagues, people I respect across the aisle, they just can't support, for God's sake, for the sake of our country and what we stand for, they cannot pass this piece of legislation."

.@CoryBooker on the GOP health care plan: "Screw the politics...this is about what's morally right" #inners https://t.co/BjuGbKb04g

— All In w/Chris Hayes (@allinwithchris) May 4, 2017

The Republicans' Obamacare replacement plan has been defeated twice already when they failed to get the necessary votes and went back to the drawing board, but they appeared to be confident Wednesday when they scheduled the vote for Thursday.

President Trump has cited the implosion of Obamacare as the urgent reason why a replacement bill is needed, while Democrats are accusing Republicans of sabotaging former President Obama's signature bill.