Paul blasts California's 'short-sighted' travel ban to Kentucky, talks health care bill

Thomas Novelly | Courier Journal

Show Caption Hide Caption Sen. Rand Paul on GOP health care plan Rand Paul was in Louisville on Monday to tour Siemens. He talked to reporters about his opposition to the GOP health plan being proposed and how he believes a market-driven plan would be better

Editor's note: This article has been updated to more specifically define what Senate Bill 17 accomplishes.

Senator Rand Paul called the California attorney general's recent decision to ban state-funded travel to the Bluegrass State "short-sighted" Monday during a short visit to Louisville.

"I thought we fought the Civil War a long time ago. We were going to be one country, not separate countries," Paul said. "Banning travel, I think, is a really really short-sighted response."

The California attorney general's ban is based on Kentucky's Senate Bill 17. The bill is designed to reinforce students’ constitutional right to express religious and political views in public schools and universities. However, the bill also says religious and political student organizations cannot be hindered or discriminated against for the way they conduct their internal affairs or how they select their leaders and members. Critics say those provisions could be used to let student groups prevent LGBTQ students from joining their ranks.

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That law, could have indirect repercussions on the LGBT community in one of the nation's more gay-friendly cities, said Chris Hartman, the director of Louisville's Fairness Campaign.

"This is a clear example of the unforeseen consequences that even a vaguely anti-LGBT bill can have," Hartman said Friday. "This is a bill that we opposed, and here we have a real-world economic consequence of passing this bill."

Louisville has been widely accepted as an LGBT-friendly city, and the ban has been questioned by the Mayor Greg Fischer's office as well as slammed by Gov. Bevin's office in response.

"It is fascinating that the very same West Coast liberals who rail against the president’s executive order, that protects our nation from foreign terrorists, have now contrived their own travel ban aimed at punishing states who don’t fall in lockstep with their far-left political ideology," the statement from Bevin's office said.

Paul, who was visiting the Siemens rail manufacturing in plant visiting with executives and meeting with employees, spoke extensively on health care on Friday. Paul said the Republican proposed model doesn't replace the more than $120 billion dollars in subsidies or the necessary mandates for people's plans.

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"I don't think the Republican plan fixes that," Paul said. "What the Republican plan does is that it acknowledges that the death spiral of Obamacare will continue."

Paul is currently in opposition to fellow Kentucky senator and Republican majority leader Mitch McConnell, who is urging the Senate to pass the new health care bill that will replace Obamacare before the July 4 recess. Paul, however, is one of the few Republicans voting no on the bill, because he believes the Senate needs more time.

"I think the bill does not look like a repeal of Obamacare now, it actually keeps all of the Obamacare subsidies," "It may actually keep more subsidies than Obamacare has."

In a phone call with President Donald Trump on Thursday night, Rand told him that he can support a bill that would look repeal, but not the current version.

"We talked about how we need to legalize the sale of inexpensive insurance. Under Obamacare it is illegal to buy inexpensive insurance," Paul said. "I told him I was open to negotiation if the leadership was open to negotiation."

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Paul said the government can't afford the $120 billion in subsidies for the new Republican health care model and said his solution would involve legalizing the ability for citizens to shop over state lines for their plans.

"You have to get the government out of the process of what needs to be in a contract," Paul said.

Reach Thomas Novelly at 502-582-4465 or by email at tnovelly@courier-journal.com. Follow him on Twitter @TomNovelly.