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Mr. REID. Mr. President, later today the Senate will vote on one or more motions to overturn rulings of the Chair brought by disgruntled Republican Senators. At another time, Republican Senators would have called this a number of things, not the least of which is the nuclear option.
Republicans have controlled the Senate for about 7 months now. It has become increasingly clear that what is wrong with the Senate today is the same thing that has troubled the Senate before Republicans took control--dysfunction in the Republican caucus.
Republicans probably will not succeed in overturning the rules of the Senate today, but an honest observer of the Senate will recognize that the day is coming when they will, unless the Republicans become the party of Eisenhower, Dodd, Dirksen, and even President Reagan.
I was amused to hear the Republican leader say he looks forward to amendments. Many Senators on our side look forward to being able to offer amendments; for example, to improve work safety provisions in the bill, but the amendment tree is filled. They are not going to have that opportunity unless something untoward happens.
Today, the Senate will vote on two amendments. How Senators vote on these amendments will demonstrate their priorities--who is for American families and who is doing the bidding of special interests. Consider today's vote on yet another Republican attempt to repeal the Affordable Care Act--ObamaCare.
By all accounts, it is working and working well. Is it perfect? Of course not. That is why we have invited the Republicans for years now to join with us in having a better health care delivery system, but ObamaCare is helping families all across this great Nation. There are many facts.
Insurance companies can no longer discriminate against people with preexisting conditions. They can't discriminate against anyone as they did when they discriminated, basically, against everyone. Twelve million more people now have coverage through Medicaid programs and CHIP programs. Health care costs are growing but very slowly--the slowest rate of growth in a long time. Perhaps, most importantly, the share of Americans who lack health insurance coverage has dramatically declined.
After the latest Supreme Court victory less than a month ago, I urged, at that time, my Republican friends to stop banging their heads against the wall because obviously it doesn't feel good. Why do they continually try to repeal the Affordable Care Act? Apparently, two Supreme Court wins and more than 50 votes by congressional Republicans to repeal or undermine the Affordable Care Act are not enough for the Republican leader and his friends. They are insisting on yet another partisan attempt to strip health insurance coverage from more than 19 million Americans--coverage that a recent Commonwealth Fund survey found that more than 80 percent of Americans are satisfied with this program.
Republicans claim this ObamaCare repeal is part of their crusade to reduce the deficit, but the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office recently estimated that repealing the Affordable Care Act will increase the Federal budget by more than $350 billion.
So today's vote isn't going to be about reducing the deficit. This is about caving to special interests. This is about the Republicans and their leader desperately trying to appease their base.
I am appalled and, more than that, disappointed by these continued partisan attempts to strip away insurance coverage for almost 20 million Americans. Congress passed the Affordable Care Act. The President signed it into law, and the Supreme Court has put a stamp of approval on it, not once but twice.
It is time for Republicans to move on and not take another politically motivated vote that is going nowhere.
Finally, on another subject, the Export-Import Bank. After the ObamaCare vote, we will then consider the reauthorization of the Export-Import Bank--in fact, their charter. Once again, how Senators vote on the Export-Import Bank will reveal their loyalties.
Companies like Boeing, Caterpillar, General Electric, Honeywell, along with dozens of companies in sparsely populated Nevada, along with thousands of small businesses across this country, use this Bank to find a market for billions of dollars of their exports. It is not only for Boeing, Caterpillar, and these big companies; it is for thousands and thousands of small businesses.
Most of the jobs in America are created not by the great big companies but by small businesses, and they need this. They want this. That is why even the U.S. Chamber of Commerce must have been desperate.
Finally, siding with us on something, they support the Ex-Im Bank. This year alone, the Export-Import Bank supported 165,000 jobs in America.
A vote for the Export-Import Bank is a vote for jobs, a healthy economy, and the prosperity of American families. Conversely, a vote against reauthorization is nothing more than a shameless attempt to garner the affection of the Koch brothers. After all, opposition to the Export-Import Bank is a prerequisite to having their support. All candidates running for President stumble over themselves to say: What do the brothers want today? What they want today is a vote against this Bank, contrary to the needs of the American people. The Koch brothers distributed a survey to the Republican Presidential hopefuls that essentially obligates those candidates to oppose the Ex-Im Bank.
I ask my colleagues today: Are you working for the American people or are you doing the dirty work for a couple of billionaire oil barons? A vote for the Export-Import Bank is a vote for American families. A vote against the repeal of ObamaCare is a vote for American families. Today, the Senate Democrats will vote for American families.
I was hoping to say a word about Senator Inhofe while he was on the floor, and unfortunately he is not here now. The senior Senator from Oklahoma is a very conservative Republican Senator. He and I disagree on a lot of things, but I have great respect for his courage on this legislation. I think this legislation, which we are moving forward on, is far from perfect, but I listened to Senator Jim Inhofe yesterday when he was answering the President. A Republican always follows the President. I think Senator Inhofe did a fine job of explaining how important it is that we have a transportation bill. We have said a lot of nice things about Senator Boxer, but it is time we said some nice things about Jim Inhofe because this bill would not be where it is without his efforts.
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