[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 61 (Tuesday, April 9, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2315-S2316]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
Healthcare
Ms. STABENOW. Mr. President, it seems that every week now, I come to
the floor to say the same thing, which is that healthcare is not
political; it is personal. There is no part of healthcare that is more
personal than the decision regarding if, when, and under what
circumstances to have a child. And that certainly is the case when
things go terribly wrong, which they sometimes do. These reproductive
health decisions need to be made by women in consultation with their
doctors, their families, and their faith. That is what the Supreme
Court has ruled. They should not be made by politicians--mainly men--
looking to score political points from women's personal tragedies. Yet,
once again, that is what the Republicans are doing right now.
I have a question. How dare you pretend to care about the health of
women and babies when all of your actions suggest otherwise?
Unfortunately, Republicans haven't noticed, but we have a real
healthcare crisis involving women and babies in this country. In most
of the world, fewer and fewer women are dying from childbirth--not here
in the United States. Our maternal mortality rate is climbing. More
women are dying. Our infant mortality rate ranks a shameful 32 among
the world's 35 wealthiest nations. That means we have more babies who
aren't surviving through the first year of their life because of lack
of healthcare, nutrition, and other issues.
The Republican majority should be working with us and taking action
to improve health outcomes for moms and babies. Instead, they are busy
trying to take away their healthcare.
Between 2010 and 2018, the Republican majority in Congress voted to
repeal or weaken the Affordable Care Act more than 70 times--7-0. Now
the Trump administration has stepped in to help. Last June and August,
they expanded access to association health plans and short-term plans.
We just call them junk plans because they don't cover so many basics,
like prescription drugs, mental health care, and--you guessed it--
maternity care.
Let me remind everyone that before the Affordable Care Act, most
insurance companies did not cover prenatal care and maternity care as a
basic part of healthcare. Women had to go out
[[Page S2316]]
and pay extra, get a rider to cover something that is a basic part of
our healthcare.
Thanks to these junk plans that don't cover maternity care, and other
sabotage, it is estimated that right now comprehensive health insurance
costs 16.6 percent more than it otherwise would because of these
efforts to undermine, sabotage, and take away healthcare. Does that
sound like the Republican majority cares about moms and babies?
Now the Department of Justice has announced that it agrees with the
Federal judge in Texas who said the entire Affordable Care Act must be
struck down. This is something the President has enthusiastically
embraced.
The entire Affordable Care Act is at stake, including Medicaid
expansion for low-income workers who want to work but now have to
choose between working and having healthcare coverage, children staying
on their parents' plans until age 26, and protections for people with
preexisting conditions.
In other words, if a baby is born with spina bifida, a heart defect,
a genetic condition, or any other health problem, insurance companies
would once again, under these plans, be able to deny them coverage or
subject them to lifetime limits like we used to have. Does that sound
like policies that care about moms and babies?
By the way, to emphasize that they support President Trump 100
percent, 2 weeks ago Senate Republicans passed a budget resolution out
of committee on a party-line vote that once again has language to
repeal the Affordable Care Act with no replacement. Sorry, moms and
babies, you are on your own. And don't go looking to Medicaid for
health coverage either. The Trump budget would cut $1.5 trillion from
Medicaid over 10 years--trillion. That is the same Medicaid that covers
half of all babies born in America. When you gut Medicaid, you are
keeping moms and babies from getting the healthcare they need. Does
that sound as though Republicans care about moms and babies?
If our Republican colleagues really care about the health of moms and
babies, here is what they should be doing and joining us to do: They
would pass a bill to guarantee that every insurance plan covers
prenatal and maternity care, like what is available under the
Affordable Care Act. They would reaffirm the Affordable Care Act's
protections for people with preexisting conditions, not just saying the
words but actually making sure people with preexisting conditions are
covered. And they would strengthen healthcare for moms and babies
through the Children's Health Insurance Program and Medicaid.
A few years ago, the Finance Committee reported out a bill that I led
with Senator Grassley called the Quality Care for Moms and Babies Act.
This bill would create a set of maternal and infant quality care
measures under CHIP and Medicaid--the Children's Health Insurance
Program and Medicaid. The goal is simple: improving maternal and infant
health outcomes. We need quality standards across the country.
Right now, half the births are through Medicaid. There are not
consistent quality standards across the country to make sure there are
healthy opportunities for prenatal care and maternity care.
The Quality Care for Moms and Babies Act would help make sure that
every mom gets the best pregnancy care possible and every baby gets a
healthy start. If our Republican colleagues care so much about the
health of moms and babies, instead of politicizing issues around
reproductive health and women's ability to make their own choices--
instead of politicizing what is happening around reproductive health,
they would join us in making the Quality Care for Moms and Baby Act a
reality.
It is time to stop the cynical, political stunts. It is time to trust
women to make the best reproductive healthcare decisions for
themselves, their families, and their futures. It is time to take
action to resolve the maternal and infant health crisis in this
country. It is also time to ensure that every mom and every baby has
the healthcare they need for a healthy life.
This is the United States of America; we can do better for our moms
and babies than is currently being done. Democrats are ready to take
real action to join with our Republican colleagues. It is time they
join us in protecting the health of moms and babies.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Ms. McSally). Under the previous order, all
postcloture time is expired.
The question is, Will the Senate advise and consent to the Wyrick
nomination?
Ms. STABENOW. I ask for the yeas and nays.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
There appears to be a sufficient second.
The clerk will call the roll.
The legislative clerk called the roll.
The result was announced--yeas 53, nays 47, as follows:
[Rollcall Vote No. 68 Ex.]
YEAS--53
Alexander
Barrasso
Blackburn
Blunt
Boozman
Braun
Burr
Capito
Cassidy
Collins
Cornyn
Cotton
Cramer
Crapo
Cruz
Daines
Enzi
Ernst
Fischer
Gardner
Graham
Grassley
Hawley
Hoeven
Hyde-Smith
Inhofe
Isakson
Johnson
Kennedy
Lankford
Lee
McConnell
McSally
Moran
Murkowski
Paul
Perdue
Portman
Risch
Roberts
Romney
Rounds
Rubio
Sasse
Scott (FL)
Scott (SC)
Shelby
Sullivan
Thune
Tillis
Toomey
Wicker
Young
NAYS--47
Baldwin
Bennet
Blumenthal
Booker
Brown
Cantwell
Cardin
Carper
Casey
Coons
Cortez Masto
Duckworth
Durbin
Feinstein
Gillibrand
Harris
Hassan
Heinrich
Hirono
Jones
Kaine
King
Klobuchar
Leahy
Manchin
Markey
Menendez
Merkley
Murphy
Murray
Peters
Reed
Rosen
Sanders
Schatz
Schumer
Shaheen
Sinema
Smith
Stabenow
Tester
Udall
Van Hollen
Warner
Warren
Whitehouse
Wyden
The nomination was confirmed.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the motion to
reconsider is considered made and laid upon the table and the President
will be immediately notified of the Senate's action.
____________________