[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 201 (Tuesday, December 2, 2025)]
[Senate]
[Page S8426]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                               HEALTHCARE

  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, on healthcare, let me start with a 
shockingly candid quote from a senior House Republican on their plan to 
fix healthcare. This senior House Republican, when it came to 
healthcare, said about the Republicans in the House:

       We're nowhere on healthcare.

  That is what a senior House Republican said. It is a grim thing to 
say, but it is the truth. There has never been a clearer divide on what 
Democrats want on healthcare and what Republicans want on healthcare.

  Democrats want to lower healthcare costs for families. We want to 
make healthcare cheaper, more effective, more accessible. We are united 
on that issue from one end of the party to the other.
  Republicans, meanwhile, are a total mess when it comes to healthcare. 
Republicans don't know what to do. One day Trump floats a so-called 
healthcare plan. The next day, Speaker Johnson forces him to shoot it 
down.
  Some Republicans say they want to dismantle the ACA--probably a 
majority of them in the House and a large number in the Senate--just 
dismantle it altogether. Other Republicans seem more focused on 
eradicating reproductive care in every State than helping people afford 
healthcare.
  The bottom line is, Republicans are in total disarray on healthcare. 
And while Republicans continue the infighting, who is paying the price? 
The American people, the people whose premiums are going up by $500 to 
$1,000 a month. These people know that Trump and the Republicans are to 
blame.
  America, we all know, is in a healthcare crisis, and Republicans are 
only adding fuel to the fire.
  Democrats have been clear from the start: The first step--the first 
step--to solve this crisis is extending the ACA tax credits. Democrats 
are ready to do so. We are united, and we are committed to lowering the 
cost of healthcare.
  Republicans, however, by their own admission, are nowhere on 
healthcare, and that is a disastrous message to send to the American 
people who are suffering from skyrocketing healthcare costs.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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