[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 125 (Tuesday, July 25, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4165-S4167]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2018--MOTION TO
PROCEED
Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I move to proceed to Calendar No. 175,
H.R. 2810.
The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will report the motion.
The bill clerk read as follows:
Motion to proceed to Calendar No. 175, H.R. 2810, a bill to
authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2018 for military
activities of the Department of Defense, for military
construction, and for defense activities of the Department of
Energy, to prescribe military personnel strengths for such
fiscal year, and for other purposes.
The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The majority leader.
Welcoming Back Senator McCain
Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I wish to start this morning with a few
words about our friend and colleague from Arizona, Senator McCain, whom
we will have an opportunity to welcome back today.
As I noted last week, we all know Senator McCain is a fighter. That
is evidenced by his remarkable life of public service, just as it is
again evidenced by his quick return to the Senate this afternoon. I
know he is eager to get back to work, and we are all very pleased to
have him back with us today.
Healthcare
Mr. President, on the vote we will have today in a couple of hours,
Senators will have an important decision to make. Seven years after
ObamaCare was imposed on our country, we will vote on the critical
first step to finally move beyond its failures.
Many of us have made commitments to our constituents to provide
relief from this failed leftwing experiment. Now we have a real
opportunity to keep those commitments by voting to begin debate and
ultimately to send smarter healthcare solutions to the President's desk
for his signature. Just yesterday, the President reiterated his
intention to sign them.
Yesterday, the administration released a statement urging all
Senators to vote in favor of the motion to proceed so that we can
``move forward on repealing ObamaCare and replacing it with true
reforms that expand choice and lower costs.'' I wish to express my
appreciation to the administration for its continued close work with us
on this issue at every step of the way. From the President and Vice
President to Secretary Price and Administrator Verma, as well as so
many others, the engagement we have seen has been important to our
efforts, and it has sent an unmistakable signal to the country that
this administration not only understands the pain middle-class families
have felt under ObamaCare but is actually committed to doing something
about it.
By now, we are all keenly aware of the pain ObamaCare has caused for
literally millions of families. Premiums have skyrocketed, doubling on
average in the vast majority of States on the Federal exchange.
Insurance options have declined under ObamaCare, leaving many with as
few as one or even zero insurers to choose from. Many Americans now
face the real possibility of having no options at all and could find
themselves trapped, forced by law to purchase ObamaCare insurance but
left by ObamaCare without any means to do so. All the while, markets
continue to collapse under ObamaCare in States across the country.
It is a troubling indication of what is to come unless we act.
Fortunately, the American people have granted us the opportunity to do
so. We finally have an administration that cares about those suffering
under ObamaCare's failures and a President who will sign a law to
actually do something about it. We have a House that recently passed
its own legislation to help address these problems. We have a Senate
with a great chance before us to do our part now.
If other Senators agree and join me in voting yes on the motion to
proceed, we can move one step closer to sending legislation to the
President for his signature. I hope everyone will seize the moment. I
certainly will. Only then can we open up a robust debate process.
[[Page S4166]]
Only then will Senators have the opportunity to offer additional ideas
on healthcare.
Inaction will do nothing to solve ObamaCare's problems or bring
relief to those who need it. In fact, it will make things worse for our
constituents all across the country.
I wish to reiterate what the President said yesterday:
Any senator who votes against starting debate is telling
America that you are [just] fine with the ObamaCare
nightmare. . . .
That's a position that even Democrats have found hard to
defend. Remember President Clinton called ObamaCare ``the
craziest thing in the world'' and a Democratic Governor said
it's ``no longer affordable.''
You won't hear me say this often, but they are right.
I hope colleagues will consider ObamaCare's history of failures--the
unaffordable costs, the scarce choices, the burden on middle-class
families--as they cast their vote this afternoon. I urge them to
remember the families who are hurting under this collapsing law.
Numerous Kentuckians, like so many others across the Nation, have
conveyed their heartbreaking stories with my office through phone
calls, letters, meetings, and dozen of healthcare forums all across
Kentucky. These families are suffering under ObamaCare. They need
relief. I will be thinking about them as I vote to proceed to the bill
today. I know many other colleagues will do the same.
Our constituents are hurting under ObamaCare. They are counting on us
to do the right thing right now. That means voting to allow the Senate
to finally move beyond ObamaCare's failures. That is what I intend to
do. That is what I urge every colleague to do.
We can do better than ObamaCare. We have a responsibility to the
American people to do that. Today's vote to begin debate is the first
step, and we should take it.
Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order
for the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Sullivan). Without objection, it is so
ordered.
Order of Procedure
Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that following
my remarks, the Democratic leader be recognized to use his leader time
for up to 20 minutes; and that following his remarks, the Senator from
Nebraska, Mrs. Fischer, be recognized to suggest the absence of a
quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
Without objection, it is so ordered.
Recognition of the Minority Leader
The Democratic leader is recognized.
Healthcare
Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, in a few short hours, we will vote on the
motion to proceed to the House Republican healthcare bill. I will have
more to say on the matter prior to the vote.
At the moment, no one knows the plan that is being cooked up in the
Republican leader's office, but it seems to be his intention to do
whatever it takes to pass anything, no matter how small, to get the
House and Senate Republicans into a conference on healthcare.
Surprisingly, I have heard that my friend, the junior Senator from
Kentucky, will vote yes on the motion to proceed. He announced it
himself. It is true he will likely get a vote on the motion to repeal
without replace, but surely he knows that will fail. Why then would the
junior Senator from Kentucky--a man who has preached the repeal of the
Affordable Care Act root and branch, a man who proselytized that
Republicans should stop at nothing short of full repeal--why would the
junior Senator from Kentucky vote on the motion to proceed knowing he
will not get what he wants? It is because, I believe, he and some of
the others in this body know that if the Senate manages to pass
something to get to conference in the House, the likely compromise in
the conference is either a full repeal of the Affordable Care Act or
something close to it. It will certainly mean drastic cuts in Medicaid,
huge tax cuts for the rich, no healthcare for those with preexisting
conditions, and millions and millions losing healthcare, particularly
in our poorer and more brutal States. That is the only thing our
Republicans have been able to agree on.
The hard-right Freedom Caucus in the House would never accept a
Republican bill that only repeals a few regulations in the ACA but
leaves much of it in place. No, they want full repeal, and, at minimum,
deep cuts to Medicaid, huge tax breaks for the wealthy, and millions in
every State in this Nation losing their healthcare.
To my Republican friends who have repeatedly said that full repeal
without replace would be a disaster and to my Republican friends who
have opposed the deep and drastic cuts to Medicaid, I say: Don't be
fooled by this ruse. A vote in favor of the motion to proceed will mean
deep cuts to Medicaid, maybe even deeper than in the House bill. It
will mean people with preexisting conditions will be left high and dry.
It will mean huge tax breaks for the wealthiest of Americans. It will
mean millions will lose their coverage.
So with all the complaining, why are we here at this late moment?
Because even the House bill was too drastic for many of the Members
here, and it is now being ignored on this motion to proceed, and
because we all know the ruse that is going on. The ruse is this: Send
it back to the House; then, we will see what they send us. We know what
they will send us. We may not know every detail. It will either be full
repeal without replace or something far too close to that, and all of
the work and all of the anguish that so many of my colleagues on the
other side of the aisle have shown in the last several weeks will be
wasted because they know darn well what is going to happen when there
is a conference.
There are no Democratic votes in the House. The Freedom Caucus calls
the shots. They will either ask for full repeal or something very close
to it. Make no mistake about it. A vote in favor of the motion to
proceed this afternoon will be a permission slip to slash Medicaid,
hurt millions, and give huge tax cuts for the wealthy--something the
vast majority of Americans in every State, a large percentage of
Republicans and Trump voters, abhor.
One last plea to my colleagues: Do not fall for the ruse that the
majority leader is putting together. We know what is going on. We all
know. Our constituents will not be fooled--oh, no. We on this side are
not fooled--oh, no. I hope my colleagues who, out of compassion and
care for the people in their States, have made such a fuss up to now
will not be fooled either.
Comments of the President on Attorney General Sessions
Mr. President, in recent days, President Trump has gone out of his
way to undermine his own Attorney General, his first supporter--what
has been reported to be his best friend in the Senate. He has tweeted
scathing criticism of Attorney General Sessions and chastised him
publicly for recusing himself from the Russia investigation and several
other perceived failures, in the eyes of the President.
We should all take a moment to think of how shocking these comments
are on a human basis. This is the first person who stuck his neck out
for Donald Trump and who was with him through thick and thin. Now, even
if the President has disagreements with him--which I think are ill-
founded and self-centered and wrong--you don't ridicule him in public--
someone who is your close friend. That speaks to character.
But I would like to speak to the major issue before us, which is
related. It is clear that President Trump is trying to bully his own
Attorney General out of office. How can anyone draw a different
conclusion? If President Trump had serious criticisms of his Attorney
General, why not talk to him in person? Why air his grievances so
publicly? He wants him out. Here is the danger. Many Americans must be
wondering if the President is trying to pry open the Office of Attorney
General to appoint someone during the August recess who will fire
Special Counsel Mueller and shut down the Russia investigation.
First, let me state for the record now, before this scheme gains
wings, that Democrats will never go along with the recess appointment
if that situation arises. We have some tools in our toolbox to stymie
such action. We are ready to use every single one of them at any time,
day or night. It is so vital to the future of the Republic.
[[Page S4167]]
Second, I cannot imagine that my friends on the Republican side,
particularly in the Republican leadership--my friend the majority
leader, who I have great respect for, and Speaker Ryan--would be
complicit in creating a constitutional crisis. They must work with us
and not open the door to a constitutional crisis during the August
recess.
Sanctions Bill
Mr. President, on one last item, I know there is a lot going on
today, but I just want to mention one item from the House of
Representatives. Later, the House is going to take up and, hopefully,
pass with near unanimity a sanctions bill that includes strong
sanctions against Russia, Iran, and North Korea. It is critical that
the Senate act promptly on this legislation.
I will work with the majority leader, as I have in recent weeks, to
ensure its swift passage so we can get it to the President's desk
before we leave for recess.
Thank you, Mr. President.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Nebraska.
Mrs. FISCHER. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mrs. FISCHER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order
for the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Kennedy). Without objection, it is so
ordered.
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