Cybersecurity Act of 2012

Floor Speech

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Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, first, I wish to give two thank-yous: first, to my colleague from California for letting me go ahead of her--I have a Finance Committee meeting--and second, to both my colleague from Maryland and my colleague from California, whose voices are so clear and clarion. I love to listen to the Senator from Maryland. She speaks right to the people. She has it. She gets it. And do you know what. If we could get every American in a giant football stadium and they could listen to Senators Mikulski and Boxer on health care, 80 percent would be for it. So I want to salute them and salute particularly Senator Mikulski for putting both the event earlier today and these speeches together.

I heard the minority leader speak, and it meant two things. First, it meant the Republican party does not want to do cyber security. It means the greatest threat to our Nation--probably even greater than terrorism, if you speak to some of our intelligence and military experts--will not be dealt with because we know what he is doing. He is asking for an unreasonable demand, unrelated to cyber security, to go on the floor, knowing that will stop us from moving forward.

It is a sad day. We have some of our colleagues from the other side of the aisle talking about that we must not abandon defense. Well, one of the strongest things the defense of our Nation needs is a strong cyber security bill. Because special interests--the Chamber of Commerce and others--do not want it, even though every military and intelligence leader has said how vital it is, it seems the other party's tea leaves show that the other party is going to block us from going forward. It is unfortunate and it is sad.

Then, second, the way he chose to block cyber security could not be worse in terms of substance and in terms of timing. Today, July 31, the minority leader wants to put on the floor the repeal of so many things that are going to happen tomorrow to women and to men across America that benefit them. So his timing could not be worse. The very day before we are going to see huge benefits for the American people, he wants us to debate repeal. Why don't we let the American people see the good parts of health care before we repeal it. And we are not going to repeal it.

I want to talk about this day--or tomorrow, actually--where so many portions of the Affordable Care Act go into effect.

Three million women in my home State of New York will benefit. From
Buffalo to Montauk, in Albany and in Manhattan, 3 million women will receive free basic preventive care for themselves and their children. So many women and men do not get preventive services because it is expensive to them. These services are free. But not only will they make those people healthier--the No. 1 goal--but they will reduce the costs of health care because every expert--Democrat, Independent, Republican; moderate, liberal, conservative--says if you do more prevention, you are going to save money.
Tomorrow, so many of those preventive services go into effect. More women will go in for annual preventive care visits to screen for cervical, ovarian, and breast cancers. More women will receive preconception and prenatal services, so their children can grow up healthy, active, and strong. More women will have access to contraception and its additional health benefits, such as reduced risk of breast cancer and protection against osteoporosis.

New mothers will have access to support and supplies for breastfeeding, and more women will be screened for domestic and sexual violence, sexually transmitted infections, and HIV.

To my colleagues on the other side of the aisle: When we say there is a war against women and they get their backs up--they want to repeal this and put nothing in its place, no preventive services, no access to contraception, none of the things I have mentioned--yes, it is a war on women. Because if they cared about women and they did not like ObamaCare, they would still have a proposal on the floor to keep these fine pieces of the legislation going forward so they are not cut off tomorrow, which is what they intend to do, but, of course, thank God, will not happen.

The change we are making helps every woman--who said: I would but I cannot afford it; it is just too expensive--finally get health care.

Removing the copays is a great thing. Cutting the costs of preventive care is something we long wished to do in America and can happen tomorrow.

What about all the other benefits that affect men and women alike: 2.5 million young adults who can stay on their parents' insurance; 5.2 million seniors--men and women--in the doughnut hole who save $3.7 billion on prescription drugs?

What about the idea that when your insurance company charges you too much, the money goes to profits and salaries and trips and advertising and not enough goes to health care? Starting tomorrow, you can get a rebate. We know our colleagues on the other side of the aisle--to them that is anathema, to make insurance companies give people a rebate.

So bottom line: We want to move forward on a cyber security bill, and we regret that the leader is putting logs in its way. And even more importantly, we want benefits to millions of women and millions of men to go forward, as was intended, as was voted for, as is the law of the land, and we will not let them deter us from bringing people those benefits.

I yield the floor.

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