Statements on Introduced Bills and Joint Resolutions

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. SCHATZ. Madam President, earlier this week, some Republicans--I think the Republican Study Committee, 170 House Members--released their plans for governing next year. Here are some of the things on their healthcare wish list: ending Medicare as we know it, which would drive up costs and threaten care for seniors; trying again--I think we are now on 50 attempts--to gut the Affordable Care Act, leaving tens of millions of Americans without coverage overnight and punishing people with preexisting conditions; and banning abortions, IVF, and contraception in every single State through bills ``designed to advance the cause of life.''

If budgets are statements of a party's value, then Republicans are making no secret of theirs: less access to quality healthcare and less control over their personal health.

And there is no reason not to take them at their word, other than that, if we take them at their word, you sort of sound like you are exaggerating. That is the problem. It is that what they are proposing is so outlandish, that it sounds like, you know, a Democrat and someone who wants my point of view to win the day. It sounds like I am exaggerating their point of view.

I actually had to read this stuff from the Republican study group, and they are way out of the mainstream--way out of the mainstream. Again, there is no reason not to take them at their word because, in Congress and in Statehouses across the country, Republicans say what they want to do, and then they do it. It doesn't matter how cruel these policies are, how unpopular their positions are. They have not been able to show any restraint whatsoever when it comes to enacting this extreme agenda.

And it is extreme. Millions of Americans are left to endure the disastrous consequences of this crusade every day. If Republicans have their way, millions of people will lose their healthcare. Seniors and people with preexisting conditions will be forced to pay outrageous out-of-pocket costs, just to get lifesaving procedures and medications. And young people will be kicked off of their parents' plan immediately. And women across the country will be forced to carry doomed pregnancies to term. Families trying to start a family will have one less option, at least, with IVF not even available to them.

This is not what we should be fighting for. We have to work to get more people covered, because high-quality, low-cost healthcare should not be a luxury available to some, and, frankly--and I believe this-- there is going to be a point where we don't fight about healthcare anymore. There is going to be a point at which Republicans realize that taking away people's healthcare, taking away people's autonomy as it relates to their own bodies, is just an electoral loser.

We are getting there on Obamacare. I thought we had kind of gotten there after multiple attempts to repeal it, but here they are again, trying to start that effort again.

Democrats are focusing on lowering premium and drug prescription costs so getting healthcare doesn't bankrupt people. And even the Republicans in Washington and across the country, as they try to control women by dismantling reproductive freedoms, Democrats are fighting to codify Roe into Federal law.

Democrats have done more than just give speeches about healthcare. We have actually delivered. It was 14 years ago that we passed the Affordable Care Act, which has since helped more than 40 million Americans get their coverage and has improved health outcomes for so many people: women, children, seniors, people with disabilities, people in rural communities.

And so it is no wonder that, more than a decade later, the ACA continues to grow in popularity and is setting new records every year for enrollment. Why? Because people actually like having healthcare. Republicans, Democrats, Independents, voters, not voters--everybody basically thinks that we should have a system that treats you humanely if you are sick.

But it hasn't stopped Republicans from trying again and again to repeal it, through Supreme Court cases, Executive orders, and legislation. They have failed every time.

Meanwhile, Democrats continue to build on the ACA's progress, including recently with the Inflation Reduction Act and the American Rescue Plan, because there are now tax credits and other measures in those bills that enable millions of Americans to save, on average, $800 a year on premiums. And the number of uninsured is at an alltime low. The number of uninsured is at an alltime low, and the reason for that is legislation that fortunately passed. But we, unfortunately, did not have a single Republican vote for the Affordable Care Act, for the American Rescue Plan, or for the Inflation Reduction Act.

For the first time ever, people with Medicare are paying less for insulin, which is now capped at $35, and saving money on a whole range of other prescription drugs. This is what progress looks like.

But there are still millions of Americans, especially in the middle class, who don't get coverage through work but make too much to qualify for subsidies, and they deserve coverage too. The State Public Option Act, which I am reintroducing today with colleagues in the Senate and House, would help to bridge that gap. It helps to provide a public option to anyone who wants health insurance by allowing States to create a Medicaid buy-in program that is not based on income.

State public-option programs have shown to lower costs, increase consumers' choice in plans, and improve equity in coverage. Several States--including Maine, Minnesota, and New Mexico--are already exploring creating exactly this kind of buy-in approach. The State Public Option Act would help other States to follow suit.

The bottom line is this: Healthcare is a necessity and not a luxury, and it shouldn't be something the political parties argue about. In the richest country in human history, having it should not depend on your job or your economic status. It ought to be available, accessible, and affordable to everybody. The vast majority of Americans agree, but there is only one party today fighting to make it a reality. ______

By Mr. PADILLA (for himself and Mr. Booker):

S. 4065. A bill to prohibit discrimination in health care and require the provision of equitable health care, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source