[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 120 (Wednesday, July 17, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Page S4880]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                            Government Waste

  Mr. SCOTT of Florida. Mr. President, today is ``Washington Waste 
Wednesday.'' It is a new series I launched last week to highlight all 
of the ways Washington wastes taxpayer dollars. Unfortunately, there 
are a lot of ways.
  My belief is that you, the American taxpayer, can spend your money 
better than Washington can. It is a novel concept here in DC. The way 
Washington spends your money is oftentimes an embarrassment.
  As Governor of Florida, my focus on responsible spending meant more 
money in the pockets of Florida families and more funding available to 
pay down State debt and invest in what mattered most to our families. 
We paid down $10 billion in State debt over my 8 years as Governor--
nearly one-third of total State debt. We cut taxes 100 times, giving 
more than $10 billion back to Florida families and job creators. And we 
have record funding for education, for the environment, and for 
transportation.
  But right now, our national debt is impossible to fathom, much less 
sustain. It is $22 trillion. Just let that sink in for a minute. We are 
already $22 trillion in the hole, but that doesn't stop the far-left 
Democrats from proposing more debt for this country.
  Medicare for All, which I like to call Medicare for None, would not 
only throw 150 million people off the private insurance they like, but 
it is projected to cost as much as $32 trillion over a decade. That is 
$32 trillion with a ``t.''
  The problem with our healthcare system is rising costs. It just costs 
too much. Prescription drugs cost too much. Hospital visits cost too 
much. ObamaCare drove up the cost of healthcare. That is obvious. Then 
the government tried to hide that cost by providing Federal subsidies 
to the tune of $737 billion in 2019--$737 billion in 2019 and $1.3 
trillion by 2029.
  Instead of providing subsidies and proposing more wasteful ideas, we 
should be focused on bringing down the cost of healthcare, which solves 
two problems. First, it will result in more people having healthcare 
coverage, and, second, it would ensure that health insurance results in 
actual healthcare.
  Reduce costs and you solve both of these problems, but solving 
problems is a novel concept in Washington. The Democrats in Washington 
just want to spend more money to solve every problem. On top of 
Medicare for All, the Democrats want a Green New Deal. The Green New 
Deal--I call it the Green Job Killer--would cost as much as $93 
trillion. These two proposals alone will cost more than $100 trillion. 
To put that in perspective, that is more than $300,000 for every man, 
woman, and child in the United States--$300,000. You wouldn't run a 
business like this, so why are Democrats proposing to run a country 
this way?
  We are turning this Nation around. Our economy is booming, and wages 
are rising. We can't go along with this dangerous socialist playbook. 
Higher taxes, more debt, and more regulation will reverse our success 
and bankrupt our country. These ideas are the craziest examples of 
Washington waste we have seen in a long time.
  Thankfully, the American people will not go along with socialism. We 
can cut the waste and cut the spending, but we have to be thoughtful. 
We have to propose real solutions, just as we did in Florida, to make 
Washington work for all American families.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Wyoming.