[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 62 (Wednesday, April 10, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Page S2350]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                                MEDICARE

  Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, on a completely different matter, for 
some time now, my colleagues and I have been speaking out about the 
Democrats' parade of fantastical new proposals--plans to spend 
unprecedented sums of Americans' money in order to seize unprecedented 
control over Americans' lives.
  Just a few weeks ago, the Senate voted on the so-called Green New 
Deal. It was Washington Democrats' plan to power down the U.S. economy 
and have the Federal Government intrude on basically every economic 
transaction and personal life choice in radically unprecedented ways. 
The specifics of the proposal, limited as they were, painted enough of 
a picture for outside experts to roughly estimate the price tag at as 
much as $93 trillion, which is more money than the Federal Government 
has spent in its entire history, in exchange for the systematic 
dismantling of American prosperity.
  It advocated for the abolition of the most affordable and plentiful 
domestic energy resources available to American families and a hog-tied 
American economy that our competitors would leave in the dust.
  So it should come as no surprise that for the sequel we see and hear 
that Senate Democrats may soon officially introduce their proposed 
Washington, DC, takeover of health insurance--the plan I call 
``Medicare for None.''
  It is a fitting name for a proposal that would gut the Medicare 
Program as American seniors know it, reuse the label on a new, 
government-run, one-size-fits-all arrangement, and remove 180 million 
Americans from the private insurance they have chosen in order to 
funnel them into a system without choice.
  What is especially ironic is that my Democratic colleagues are 
choosing to agitate for this pivot toward socialism during this 
particularly important economic period--at this particular moment, with 
more job openings than Americans looking for work for the first time 
since recordkeeping started, when we have seen unemployment reach a 49-
year low and wages growing faster than they have in a decade. It is the 
kind of economy where a single mom in Mississippi says: ``It's amazing 
that I'm getting paid almost $20 an hour to learn how to weld.''
  It is the kind of economy where garage door installers in Nevada say 
they are literally afraid to let potential new hires walk out the door 
because American workers are in such high demand.
  Let's remember that this transformation is being helped along by 
Senate Republican ideas and policies that are the polar opposite--
totally opposite--of what our Democratic friends are now calling for.
  Here is how Republican pro-growth and pro-opportunity policies helped 
us get where we are: by encouraging job creators to invest here at home 
instead of penalizing success; by recognizing that working families 
know best how to spend their paychecks, not Washington; and by creating 
conditions for an economic surge that touches every corner of our 
country.
  Now all of America is reaping the benefits. This isn't like the last 
administration, where 75 percent of new jobs and 90 percent of the 
population growth flowed into the very largest metropolitan areas. This 
time it is an all-American comeback, and all kinds of communities are 
benefiting from more jobs, more opportunities, and more growth in pay.
  Monday is tax day. It is not exactly a time many of us look forward 
to, but this year marks the first time Americans are filing under the 
new Republican tax reform law that has helped them keep more of their 
paychecks and has helped to create the outstanding economy we see 
today. Democrats may be working overtime to bring this bright chapter 
to an end, but over here, on this side of the aisle, we will keep 
making sure that this is still just the beginning of these brighter 
days for the American people.

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