JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Protesters who planned to stage a sit-in at U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio's Jacksonville office Thursday afternoon to demand that he vote against the new Senate health care bill were warned by police not to enter the building.
About a dozen people were holding signs outside the U.S. District Courthouse downtown. Rubio's office is on the eighth-floor of the heavily secured building.
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None of the protesters entered the courthouse because they were told if they did they would be arrested, and it would be a federal offense.
One woman who was among those who wanted to speak with Rubio said each of the protesters has their own story of why they are so passionate about keeping the Affordable Care Act.
"Twenty-two million people will lose their health care if they repeal ACA and replace it with health care that's being presented right now," Lisa Peth said. "A lot of people have personal stories like myself, my grandmother would lose her health care. It would go up to a premium that she couldn't afford. The increases are actually going to be for our older population, who is already struggling to get by and live month-to-month on Social Security and their 401(k)."
The group sent a release saying that people in 21 states planned to hold acts of civil disobedience to oppose the Republican plan, which is universally opposed by Democrats and even struggling to secure enough support from within the GOP to pass.
Rubio was not in his Jacksonville office Thursday. He accompanied Vice President Mike Pence on a tour of Kennedy Space Center about an hour before the Jacksonville protest started.
Olivia Perez-Cubas, a spokeswoman for Rubio, sent News4Jax the following statement on the health care protest:
“We respect these activists’ right to protest, however it should not interfere with the ability of Senator Rubio and his staff to serve the people of Florida, nor should it disrupt the private businesses located near our offices. These liberal activists have one goal: a single-payer, government-run healthcare system that would cost the American people more than $30 trillion in new taxes. A Bernie Sanders type health care plan for all would be a disaster that Senator Rubio will never support.”
The Senate bill would effectively repeal what became known as Obamacare and dramatically restructure federal funding for Medicaid. The Congressional Budget Office said bill would cause 22 million Americans to loose their health insurance by 2026.
Ten Senate Republicans, some worried about blowback from potential cuts to popular programs and others arguing the bill doesn't go far enough, have said they will not back the legislation in its current form. Rubio is not among those Republicans who have announced their opposition to the bill.
Our Revolution, the political organization spun out of Sen. Bernie Sanders' 2016 Democratic primary campaign, has been promoting the protests in emails to supporters and on its website, where it provides a list of times and locations. Democracy Spring, CREDO, #AllofUs, Democratic Socialists of America, Progressive Democrats of America, and the Working Families Party are among the other groups helping organize the demonstrations.