[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 183 (Thursday, November 9, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7132-S7134]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                              Veterans Day

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I would like to speak for a moment about 
Veterans Day, which is just 2 days away.
  On Saturday, November 11, Americans will pause to honor the courage 
and sacrifice of America's veterans. More than 40 million Americans 
have served our Nation in uniform, in battles from Bunker Hill to 
Baghdad, and beyond.
  Mr. President, as this Veterans Day approaches, I have been thinking 
about the words of one of those brave patriots. He is the son and 
grandson of military leaders. When his time came, he too went to war 
and suffered horrific deprivation and excruciating injuries.
  Years later, he said: ``Few veterans cherish a romantic remembrance 
of war.'' When wars are fought, he said, ``a million tragedies ensue.''
  ``War is wretched beyond description,'' he added, ``and only a fool 
or a fraud could sentimentalize its cruel reality.''
  Those are the words of a man whom I am privileged to call a colleague 
and a friend, the senior Senator from Arizona, John McCain. We owe him 
and all of our Nation's veterans and their families our profound 
gratitude and respect for their courage, sacrifices, and

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the hardships they endured for all of us.
  Senator McCain endured more than 5\1/2\ years of torture as a 
prisoner of war during the Vietnam conflict. When he finally came home, 
John McCain found another way to serve our Nation with honor. We thank 
him for that.
  Mr. President, this week, the Congress dedicated a commemorative 
chair to honor all Americans ever held as prisoners of war and to honor 
the more than 83,000 servicemembers who remain missing in action.
  The antique, empty chair will stand in Emancipation Hall in the 
Capitol as a solemn reminder of the servicemembers who were missing for 
years in captivity and those who remain missing today.
  Mr. President, as we prepare to celebrate this Veterans Day, I want 
to tell you about another veteran, another patriot, who was also a 
prisoner of war. His war was World War II.
  Like Senator McCain, he survived, came home, married, raised a 
family, and spent decades in public service. His name is Richard 
Lockhart. Everybody calls him Dick Lockhart. He is 93 years old, almost 
94. He is a lobbyist in Springfield, IL, the capital of my State and my 
hometown.
  Dick Lockhart does not represent the big, monied interests. He 
represents the little guys--the nonprofit groups, the public workers, 
the mental health providers and the families who need them, among 
others.
  He is the senior practicing lobbyist in Illinois, maybe in all of 
America. He will be giving up that title soon because, on December 31, 
Dick Lockhart is retiring at the age of 93 from the firm he founded 60 
years ago. He is not stepping down because he is tired. He still works 
7 days a week, most weeks. He is still physically strong and is as 
sharp as a tack mentally. No, Dick Lockhart is retiring because there 
are other things to do, he says. He wants to travel more and write the 
book that he has always wanted to write and explain to ordinary 
citizens how to make their government work better.
  Dick's life would make a fascinating book, itself.
  Born in Ohio in 1924 as an only child, his family moved to Indiana 
when he was young. The Great Depression hit the Lockhart family hard. 
Dick's dad lost his job. Sometimes the electricity was shut off at home 
for nonpayment. The family never owned a car, never took a vacation, 
and never ate a meal in a restaurant. Dick delivered newspapers and 
worked as a soda jerk during high school to help pay for expenses.
  He was a student at Purdue University when Japan bombed Pearl Harbor. 
Exactly 1 year later, on December 7, 1942, he enlisted in the U.S. Army 
infantry.
  He was assigned to the Army's 106th Division, the Golden Lions. In 
October of 1944, the 106th shipped out to England. In early December 
they arrived in a quiet area of southeastern Belgium, near the German 
border. Military higher-ups assured the men of the 106th to expect an 
uneventful few weeks and that Germany would probably surrender before 
Christmas.
  History had another plan.
  In the predawn hours of December 16, German forces launched their 
last major offensive of the war, the Battle of the Bulge. The U.S. 
forces were outnumbered. Lockhart's regiment, the 423rd, fought for 
days. Finally--out of food, out of water, and out of ammunition--they 
surrendered.
  In all, some 8,000 U.S. soldiers were captured at the Battle of the 
Bulge.
  They were packed into railroad boxcars, crammed in so tightly that 
soldiers had to take turns sitting and standing. After 2 days of being 
in those boxcars, they arrived at a prisoner-of-war camp in Germany, 
known as Stalag IX-B.
  Camp life was brutal. Medical care was nonexistent. Men died every 
day. Meals consisted of only thin ``grass soup.'' On one bitterly cold 
day, Dick Lockhart was beaten savagely by a German prison guard. 
Decades later, he still experiences back pain from that beating.
  One memory still haunts him.
  One day, the prison guards demanded that any Jewish prisoners of war 
identify themselves. For several hours, no one stepped forward. After 
more threats, Jewish American soldiers began to step forward, 
apparently thinking that their U.S. citizenship would protect them. 
They were wrong. They were shipped off to a notorious hard-labor camp 
in another part of Germany.
  On January 20, 1945, Dick Lockhart turned 21 while a prisoner of war 
in Stalag IX-B.
  On April 2, 1945, American soldiers liberated the camp, Dick 
Lockhart, and the other prisoners. The Army sent Dick Lockhart home on 
a 60-day furlough with instructions to get some rest and to gain back 
some of the weight that he had lost in the prisoner-of-war camp.
  He arrived home in Fort Wayne. He knocked at the door and was stunned 
to see a stranger open it. Months before, his parents had received a 
cable that read that their only child was missing in the war and was 
presumed dead. His mother, overcome with grief, went to Ohio to stay 
with her family. His father moved away to look for another factory job. 
Fortunately, they left forwarding addresses, and Dick found them soon 
and was reunited with his parents.
  A month later, while Dick was still on leave, Germany surrendered. 
The war in Europe was finally over.
  Dick had always loved Chicago. So he decided to use his GI bill to go 
to Northwestern University. He became involved in reform politics in 
Chicago--a battle of a different sort. He married and had two children, 
a son and a daughter.
  In 1958 he founded his own lobbying firm to try to advance democracy 
through good policies and laws rather than through tanks and bombs.
  He is honest, hard-working, modest, empathetic, and always an 
optimist. He has earned the respect of both sides of the aisle for 
decades of ethical and professional service in the Illinois General 
Assembly. Laws he has helped to pass have made life better for 
countless people in my home State. In recognition of that fact, the 
Illinois General Assembly recently voted to celebrate December 31, 
which will be Dick's last day on the job, as Richard ``Dick'' Lockhart 
Day in the State of Illinois--a well-deserved honor.
  Five weeks after Dick Lockhart and others were captured, American 
forces won the Battle of the Bulge, liberated Belgium, and sent the 
German occupying troops back to Germany.
  Two years ago, as part of the 70th anniversary of that event, Dick 
Lockhart returned to Belgium. The children and grandchildren of the 
Belgians who had been liberated from Nazi occupation greeted him like a 
hero. He was honored by the nation's King and Queen in a castle--royal 
treatment that he and all of the American soldiers richly deserved.
  When Dick speaks about his experience as a soldier, he is never the 
hero of any story. He reserves that role for the young men who didn't 
come home.
  He says: ``There is an inscription in a World War II cemetery that 
reads, `When you go home, tell them of us and say that for your 
tomorrow, we gave our today.' ''
  At the risk of contradicting my old friend, I have to say that Dick 
Lockhart is, indeed, an American hero.
  This Veterans Day, we say to him and to all of the American veterans: 
Thank you for your service. Thank you for our freedom. Thank you for 
all of the tomorrows you purchased for us with your courage and 
sacrifice.


                               healthcare

  Mr. President, in 2010, Congress passed the Affordable Care Act with 
one main goal in mind--to help more Americans get quality, affordable 
health insurance. And it worked.
  Since the law took effect, more than 20 million previously uninsured 
Americans have gained health coverage, including 1 million in Illinois.
  For the first time ever, our Nation's uninsured rate is below 10 
percent. Insurers can no longer deny coverage due to a preexisting 
condition, charge sky-high premiums for being a woman or having a 
health history, or impose annual or lifetime caps on your benefits.
  Young people can stay on their parents' plans until age 26, and we 
extended the life of Medicare by a decade. These are real improvements 
that are saving lives.
  Was the law perfect? No. But did it accomplish its primary goal of 
ensuring that more Americans could obtain healthcare--regardless of 
their income, gender, or medical history? Yes, it did.

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  None of that has mattered to President Trump, who has spent the past 
10 months orchestrating a deliberate campaign to sabotage healthcare 
for tens of millions of American families.
  From his first day in office, President Trump directed Federal 
agencies not to enforce the law. He cut the open enrollment sign-up 
period in half. He yanked advertisements and slashed outreach and 
enrollment assistance funding.
  And he terminated the cost-sharing reduction subsidies that keep 
costs down for 7 million Americans. As a result, individual market 
premiums will increase 20 percent next year alone.
  President Trump has done everything within his power to sabotage and 
undermine this law.
  Despite President Trump's repeated attempts at repeal and sabotage, 
the Affordable Care Act is still the law of the land, and that means 
that quality, affordable healthcare options are available.
  And we are right in the midst of Open Enrollment. Starting last 
week--on November 1--Americans who purchased their health plans in the 
individual marketplace began signing up for health insurance that 
covers them next year, in 2018. But you only have 6 weeks to sign up. 
Open enrollment began November 1, and ends on December 15.
  This is your opportunity to buy insurance that covers important 
health benefits--hospitalizations, prescription drugs, doctor visits, 
maternity/newborn care, mental health and substance abuse treatment.
  And there is financial assistance to help you buy these plans. In 
fact, 8 out of 10 people who purchase health insurance in the 
individual market are eligible to receive tax credits that help make 
that insurance more affordable.
  In Illinois, about 350,000 people purchase their health insurance in 
the individual market, and nearly 300,000 of them are eligible for tax 
credits that will ensure their health plan premiums are below $100 per 
month.
  So, despite the frenzy in Washington over healthcare: health 
insurance under the ACA is open for business, and the time to sign up 
is now. Visit www.healthcare.gov or call 1-800-318-2596. I would 
encourage everyone to sign up early. Don't wait unitl the last minute.
  Speaking of waiting until the last minute, I remain dismayed that 
this Republican-controlled Congress has failed to reauthorize two 
incredibly important Federal healthcare programs--the Children's Health 
Insurance Program and the community health centers program.
  Nationwide, 27 million people receive care from community health 
centers. And 9 million children and pregnant women get their healthcare 
through the CHIP program, including more than 330,000 kids in Illinois.
  Because of congressional inaction, funding for these two programs 
expired over a month ago, on October 1. And what have Republican 
leaders in the Senate done over the past month, while funding has 
lapsed for children, pregnant women, and our Nation's health clinics?
  Well, they passed a budget resolution making it easier to give huge 
tax cuts to wealthy individuals and big businesses. That is right. 
While States and health centers are struggling to figure out how to 
keep their programs operating, while families are worrying about when 
their health coverage may run out, congressional Republicans are 
focused on tax breaks for the rich.
  Facing this funding uncertainty, States and community health centers 
are trying to figure out how to keep their programs and clinics 
operating. Ten States--plus the District of Columbia--will run out of 
CHIP funding in the next month or so.
  For example, later this month, the State of Colorado is planning to 
send health coverage termination letters to lower income families. The 
letter reads, in part: ``You are receiving this letter because members 
of your household are enrolled in the [Children's Health Insurance 
Program] . . . If Congress does not renew federal funding, CHIP in 
Colorado will end on January 31, 2018 . . . there is no guarantee that 
they will.''
  Imagine how terrifying it would be to receive this letter, to learn 
that your child is about to lose their health insurance coverage 
because Congress is preoccupied with tax breaks for the rich.
  It is beyond unacceptable that congressional Republicans abdicated 
their responsibility to reauthorize these critical health programs.
  If we truly want to help the communities and people we serve, let's 
quickly reauthorize funding for children's health care and for 
community health centers.
  And remember, if you need health insurance next year, you have until 
December 15 to sign up. Don't miss your chance.