[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 171 (Thursday, October 16, 2025)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7149-S7150]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
Government Funding
Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, while Republican leaders continue trying
to ignore this healthcare crisis and insisting on shutting down the
government rather than even considering talking to us about how we
prevent these premiums from doubling across the country, I have been
listening to folks back home who are painfully aware healthcare
premiums are about to skyrocket and who are deeply concerned about what
it is going to mean for their families and for their communities.
So last week, when the Republican leader sent us home, yet again,
instead of working with us to end this shutdown and address the
healthcare crisis, I made a visit to Sea Mar Community Health Centers'
Oak Harbor Clinic. Why? To hear from doctors and healthcare providers
about what is just beyond the horizon if Republicans insist on
inaction. I heard about how healthcare cuts Republicans passed are
going to devastate our hospitals, devastate our clinics and health
centers, and I heard about how these massive premium hikes that are
being announced right now--the ones Republicans are trying very hard to
ignore--are going to push millions of people off their healthcare
plans.
One person I spoke with serves on the board of an insurer on the
Washington Health Benefit Exchange. He warned me that, if we do not
save these ACA tax credits, they are anticipating so many customers
will be priced out that the number of individuals they cover through
the marketplace will drop 35 to 50 percent.
You know, there is already a loud chorus of people speaking out
concerned about this in my State and across the country. I have spoken
with small business owners who are going to see their premiums double,
even triple, and some quadruple, who are having to rethink whether they
try to keep their small business doors open and maybe go without
coverage or, alternatively, just pack it in and try to find a job with
an employer-sponsored plan.
I have spoken with retirees that are not yet old enough for Medicare
who have gotten notices that their monthly premiums are about to go
through the roof. In some cases, we are talking about thousands of
dollars a month.
And here is the thing, not only do I know there are more stories like
this across the country, I also know there are going to be many more
stories pouring in very shortly because the reality is, there are rate
hikes in the mail right now going out to people who had no idea about
the Republican healthcare crisis and that it was going to hit them in
the end. Rates are being set now. People are window shopping in many
States and panicking from the sticker shock.
In Idaho, open enrollment is now underway. It has started. That means
right now families are seeing the cold, hard numbers and the sharp
increase it will cost them to stay covered.
And in 2 weeks, that same nightmare is coming to every State in the
country.
Who do Republicans think they are fooling when they try to just
ignore this? What in the world are they talking about when they say
``deal with it later''? These price hikes are going to get locked in.
There is no later. We need to act now.
There was ``an earlier,'' though. Perhaps we should talk about that
for a minute because Democrats have been calling for action on this for
months. And where were Republicans? Why wouldn't Republicans sit down
with us to talk about healthcare in September? Why wouldn't they talk
about healthcare in August? Why couldn't they find a single minute to
work with us on healthcare in July or June or even May? After all, they
had plenty of time this summer to shovel tax breaks at billionaires and
put over a trillion dollars in healthcare funding on the chopping
block.
They spent months on billionaires, but they can't be bothered when it
comes to healthcare. They can't be bothered to help our working
families. They would rather shut down the government than sit down and
talk about preventing these premiums from doubling.
But Democrats are going to talk about healthcare, whether Republicans
want to or not.
House Republicans have been hiding from this issue for a month. I am
not kidding. They have literally been on vacation for nearly a month
now. Hiding from this problem will not make it ago way. Those rate
hikes in the mail--they are going out to our constituents. Window
shopping is going live. Folks can now go online in many States and see
the exact cost of Republican inaction.
And open enrollment is still marching ahead. It is underway now in
Idaho. And in a few weeks, it is going to be across the Nation.
If you are a Republican who thinks that somehow families will not
notice their premiums doubling, somehow they won't mind that their
healthcare costs jump a couple hundred dollars a month--or, in some
cases, by the way, a couple thousand dollars a month--here is your
advice: Stop taking your marching orders from billionaires like
President Trump and start listening to those people back home. Talk to
the farmers. Actually, a quarter of them are covered on these
exchanges. Talk to small business owners like I have; talk to
employees, many of whom are covered through the exchange, because they
are the ones who will feel the pain from this and they know it and they
are begging Congress to act.
And do you know what? Three fourths of the people who rely on the ACA
tax credits live in red States. And the 10 States where folks who lose
these tax credits will see the largest premium increases? They are all
red States. So shutdown or not, Republicans can only ignore this issue
if they ignore their own constituents.
So to our Republican leaders: Don't hide from your constituents.
Don't hide from this healthcare crisis you are causing. Quit hiding
from the negotiating table. The clock is not just ticking; the alarm is
going off. We need to act now before these premium hikes become
unavoidable.
Democrats are at the table. We always have been at the table. We are
ready to work out a deal that reopens the government and addresses the
healthcare crisis.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Iowa.
Ms. ERNST. Mr. President, it is day 16 of the Schumer shutdown.
During this time, President Trump has been working to guarantee that
our troops get paid, ensure women and children continue receiving food
assistance, and end the conflict in the Middle East.
Meanwhile, the Democrats continue holding the government hostage. As
a result, air traffic controller shortages are causing flight delays,
and some rural airports in Iowa may soon be forced to suspend
operations. Seniors have lost access to some health services. The FDA
is unable to process new drug and medical device applications, delaying
the availability of new medical products.
And Senator Schumer is taking pride in his shutdown, claiming that
``every day gets better for us.''
Who is this ``us'' that it is getting better for? Because I know my
folks back home really don't appreciate that attitude. Only a
Washington politician would delight in causing such dysfunction.
[[Page S7150]]
And while Congress will be paid for failing to do its job, many
essential government employees who have continued to work through this
shutdown will likely miss their next paycheck.
The President is ensuring our troops get paid this week, a move that
is being protested by some Democrats.
Now, my daughter serves on Active Duty. She is a young Army officer,
and she had to sit down and counsel her troops last week on where they
could go to get loans so they could make their obligated payments.
So, thank you, President Trump, for taking care of my daughter and
her soldiers.
Meanwhile, 750,000 nonessential government employees--who haven't
worked at all in these past weeks--will be paid for doing nothing. It
costs $400 million every workday to provide backpay to those that are
furloughed during Schumer's shutdown. As of today, the pricetag to pay
nonessential bureaucrats not to work is $4.8 billion--$4.8 billion.
Taxpayers should all be asking: Why is Washington spending money on
anyone or anything that is nonessential?
President Trump is permanently eliminating many of these nonessential
positions as part of a reduction in force, or RIF.
So here are some of my suggestions for getting rid of the riffraff
with a RIF.
First up, eliminate the positions of Federal employees and
contractors who weren't even working before the government shutdown.
While millions of Americans have two or more jobs to make ends meet,
these Federal employees aren't working at all. There are dozens of
National Laboratory employees with nothing to do who spend the workday
catnapping or playing cards and games.
To pass time, one of them started journaling. One of his entries
reads:
Did nothing all day today over 10 hours in here.
The following day he wrote:
I do hope to play another good game of chess.
They are not the only ones with nothing to do. A Department of Energy
contractor actually filed a complaint that he was getting paid for work
he wasn't doing. So good on him--at least he is honest. For years, he
and his coworkers have been spending their time looking for things to
do, watching Netflix and taking naps. He says he is ``begging for
work,'' adding, ``I can't believe I am getting paid to do nothing.''
If Federal employees can't even justify their own salary, how can
anyone else?
I have also uncovered bureaucrats who are holding several different
government jobs simultaneously but aren't doing any of them. For
example, a full-time HUD employee was being paid for two other full-
time--got this, folks? She was being paid for two other full-time
government contractor jobs. That is three full-time jobs in total. She
frequently billed taxpayers for working more than 24 hours in a single
day.
Gosh, if I could find more than 24 hours in a day, that would be
pretty extraordinary.
But this woman was paid $225,000 for hours she never worked in nearly
3 years. Three full-time jobs, people--not working any of them.
This isn't an isolated case, either.
I have introduced my Double Dippers Act to crosscheck paychecks and
payrolls to identify and stop bureaucrats from double billing taxpayers
for work they are not even doing.
OK, don't laugh. This is true here.
There are plenty of other nonessential jobs that can be nominated
immediately, beginning with the multitude of gimmicky government
mascots. I am not talking about Smokey the Bear--OK?--not talking about
Smokey the Bear, but rather other costume characters you probably have
never even heard of, like the National Parks Service's Lupe the
Ringtail, who is so frightening that Lupe makes children cry. Owlie
Skywarn--I am sure you have all heard of Owlie Skywarn, with the
National Weather Service.
Another Parks Service mascot is Riley the Roadrunner; Puddles the
Blue Goose, with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; and everybody's
favorite, Franklin the Fair Market Fox, from HUD.
I say, let's ``fur-lough'' these furballs forever.
Tax dollars should never be spent paying for any of these do-nothing
jobs, especially when there are severe staffing shortages for critical
jobs, like air traffic controllers and VA healthcare providers. The
folks who are working these important jobs are too often overworked,
understaffed, and underappreciated. So these folks can go.
I commend all of those essential workers who are doing the jobs that
we need done on a daily basis. They continue to answer the call of duty
during the Schumer shutdown without knowing when they may receive their
next paycheck. Thank you for putting your country first. And on behalf
of my fellow Iowans, I would also like to extend to them a very hardy
thank-you.
To those who have been collecting paychecks without even working,
even before the shutdown began, all I can really say is thanks for
nothing.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Delaware.