[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 104 (Monday, June 19, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Page S3568]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         HEALTHCARE LEGISLATION

  Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, on healthcare, we are only 2 weeks away 
from the July 4th recess, and my friends on the other side say we are 
going to vote on a healthcare bill before the break. Democrats still 
have not seen the bill. The Republican Health and Human Services 
Secretary has not seen the bill. The American people have not seen the 
bill. I am sure many Republican Senators have not seen the bill either. 
The White House spokesman could not even say if the President has seen 
the bill.
  This is a bill that would likely reorder one-sixth of the American 
economy and have life-and-death consequences for millions of Americans. 
It is being discussed in secret, with no committee hearings, no debate, 
no amendments, no input from the minority. This is the most glaring 
departure from normal legislative procedure that I have ever seen. My 
friend the majority leader used to sing the praises of regular order 
and wax poetic about the wisdom of the committee process and an open 
amendment process.
  Republicans criticized Democrats vehemently for passing the 
Affordable Care Act with only Democratic votes, and that is after we 
accepted dozens of Republican amendments during a robust hearing 
process. Now that the shoe is on the other foot and Republicans are in 
charge, all of those concerns and criticisms have disappeared. No 
committee process, no hearings, nothing--quite the opposite of what 
they called for 5 years ago. What gall.
  Why are my Republican friends engaging in this farce of a legislative 
process? Why are Republicans willing to engage in such blatant 
hypocrisy, contradicting all of the things they have said about good 
procedure in the Senate? What are they afraid of? There is only one 
reason Republicans are doing this: They are ashamed of their bill. The 
Republicans are writing their healthcare bill under the cover of 
darkness because they are ashamed of it, plain and simple. They are 
ashamed that the bill will likely cause millions to lose their 
healthcare insurance. They are ashamed because it will increase costs 
for older and sicker Americans--all to pass along a big, fat tax break 
to the wealthiest among us, the folks who need it the least. No wonder 
they do not want to show anyone the bill. They are ashamed of it.
  This radical departure from normal procedure on a bill of such 
consequence leaves the Senate minority little choice but to depart from 
normal procedure as well. Starting this evening, Democrats will begin 
objecting to all unanimous consent requests in the Senate, save for 
honorary resolutions. We will seek, in as many ways as we can, as many 
times as we can, to refer the House-passed healthcare bill to 
committee, where it can be vetted, debated, and amended in the open for 
the American people to see, as is their right.
  Tonight, Democrats will hold the floor late into the evening in a 
series of speeches to highlight just how unprecedented this process is. 
If Republicans are not going to allow debate on their bill on the floor 
or in committee, Democrats will make opportunities to debate.
  These are merely the first steps we are prepared to take in order to 
shine a light on the shameful TrumpCare bill and reveal to the public 
the GOP's backroom deal-making.
  Of course there is another way. On Friday, I sent a letter to my 
friend the majority leader requesting that we hold an all-Senators 
meeting in the Old Senate Chamber to discuss a bipartisan way forward 
on healthcare. We should all share common goals--improving the 
healthcare system by lowering costs, raising the quality of care, and 
stabilizing the marketplaces. Let's sit down together, all 100 of us, 
and talk about how we can achieve those results together.
  That option, I say to the Republican leader, is on the table, and I 
hope he will not refuse it, but if Republicans will not relent and 
debate their healthcare bill in the open for the American people to 
see, they should not expect business as usual in the Senate.

                          ____________________