BURLINGTON, Vt., March 24 – U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) released the following statement Friday after House Republican leaders pulled legislation to repeal the Affordable Care Act from consideration on the House floor:

“The defeat of the disastrous Trump-Ryan health care bill is a major victory for the working families of this country and for the hundreds of thousands who attended rallies and town hall meetings in opposition to this bill. What the defeat of this bill shows is that the American people will not accept legislation that provides huge tax breaks to billionaires while 24 million people are kicked off their health insurance, massive cuts are made to Medicaid and Planned Parenthood and premiums for senior citizens are dramatically increased. Our job is to improve the Affordable Care Act, not repeal it. Our job is to guarantee health care to all people as a right, not a privilege.”