[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 154 (Friday, September 19, 2025)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6780-S6781]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
GOVERNMENT FUNDING
Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, today, all of America can see the glaring
contrast between Republican and Democratic priorities, as shown by the
bills each party introduced late yesterday.
Senators will have to choose to stand with Donald Trump and keep the
same lousy status quo and cause the Trump healthcare shutdown or stand
with the American people, protect their healthcare, and keep the
government functioning.
Today, we have a rare moment in the Senate where two bills come to
the floor that truly crystallize the contrast between the two parties.
On the Republican side, Americans will see more of the same high
costs, especially on healthcare, more of the same failures of the last
9 months or, instead, Republicans can vote to undo the destruction
Donald Trump has inflicted on American healthcare and instead work on a
bipartisan bill--the only bipartisan bill that can win--to keep the
government open. That is what Democrats offer the American people. The
choice is clear.
Our Republican colleagues seem to think Americans are happy with the
direction of this country. They are voting like they think the status
quo is good enough even though they have heard from so many of their
constituents about the fear of hospitals closing, of healthcare being
diminished, of premiums going way up, hundreds of dollars each month.
They have heard that from their constituents, but they stick with
Donald Trump, who doesn't give a hoot about them.
Republicans are voting like the status quo is good enough. They are
wrong. Americans are tired of the status quo. They are tired of Donald
Trump's chaos and inflationary policies.
By not even negotiating, by trying to make this partisan, Donald
Trump and Republicans are shutting the government down.
People are paying more for groceries, more for their electric bills,
more for rent. Even a cup of coffee every morning has gotten more
expensive under Donald Trump.
Healthcare in America has been plunged into crisis. Fifteen million
Americans will lose their healthcare. Premiums are set to go through
the roof--hundreds of dollars each month, thousands of dollars each
year. The American family--average family--can't afford that.
Republicans--what do they say? Well, let's kick the can down the
road. Republicans say: Let's put it off. Let's do it later. But for
Republicans, ``later'' means ``never.''
We should solve this healthcare crisis now. People are already
getting letters in the mail saying their premiums are about to go up
next year by $300, $400, $500--God forbid, even more.
A new report today showed that if we extend these tax credits, the
vast majority of the benefits will go to the working- and middle-class
families--the families who need help. That is what Democrats want to do
here today.
Also, hospitals from Virginia to Nebraska, from Maine to California,
are shutting down right now--not next
[[Page S6781]]
year; now. You know what that means. If you live in rural America, the
closest hospital to you might be hundreds of miles away. You might not
be able to see a doctor. Even if you can, you are going to pay more to
see the doctor.
If you are an adult with parents who live in a nursing home, what is
going to happen if that nursing home closes due to budget cuts?
Hundreds--hundreds--of nursing homes will close because they depend on
Medicaid, which has been slashed. Most people, most average families,
can't afford to take their parents in, and there is no way they could
provide the same care and expertise that a nursing home could.
I have talked to long-term care centers--in Republican districts no
less--where doctors and nurses and healthcare workers and parents are
frustrated or worried--worried their jobs are imperiled and worried
even more that their patients are imperiled. They cannot understand how
Donald Trump and Republicans are so OK with cutting their funding. In
short, it is a betrayal. That is what the status quo looks like under
Donald Trump.
Also, let me speak to my own colleagues here in the Senate who care
about this institution and who, in normal times, would love to work
together with the other side to make good things happen for the
country. Donald Trump and his little minion Russell Vought have made a
total mockery of the congressional appropriations process. He has
trampled over Congress's power of the purse. He has illegally frozen,
canceled, and redirected--unilaterally misappropriated--hundreds of
billions in funding.
Why the heck should the Senate vote on a budget if Russell Vought
singlehandedly, with Donald Trump's support, can undo it all? And that
includes NIH research. It includes public broadcasting and so much
else. It is all illegal. It cannot be tolerated. Why pass a budget if
Russell Vought can unilaterally rescind it? Every Senator should not
stand for it, including our Republican colleagues. Democrats will
certainly not stand for it. Will Republicans?
Republicans cannot expect that another take-it-or-leave-it extension
of government funding that fails to address healthcare costs is going
to cut it for the American people. What we should do instead is move
forward with our Democratic proposal to work to keep the government
open, to lower people's premiums, to protect people's healthcare.
Finally, both sides should at least talk. Donald Trump does not want
to talk. He has said to Republicans: ``Don't even bother'' to deal with
Democrats. That is Donald Trump saying he--he--wants a shutdown.
You have to have two parties to pass a bill. If you say ``Don't deal
with Democrats,'' you are saying you want a shutdown. That is what
Trump has said. He either doesn't know the Senate procedure, where you
need 60 votes--that is obvious--or he doesn't know math, because he
only has 53.
Donald Trump is saying he wants a shutdown, and Leader Thune and
Speaker Johnson should resist Trump's bullying. They know the only way
to pass a budget is with bipartisan negotiation. In the 4 years when we
Democrats had a majority, there was never a shutdown. Why? We talked to
our Republican colleagues and created bipartisan proposals. We sat down
and talked, which was normally what happened, except our Republican
colleagues--Leader Thune and Speaker Johnson--are too afraid to buck
Donald Trump.
Well, the American people won't stand for Donald Trump's status quo.
They don't like the Republican partisanship. They expect both sides to
come together and address the real needs they face, from healthcare to
the cost of living. This is what Democrats offer the American people
with our bill today if Senate Republicans heed their call.
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