[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 101 (Tuesday, June 16, 2026)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2802-S2803]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                                MEDICAID

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, the President called it the Big Beautiful 
Bill--his budget--the Big Beautiful Bill. That Big Beautiful Bill did 
give tax breaks--there is no question about it--primarily to the 
richest people in this country.
  Is that what you think is a priority for America? It is not what I 
think. It is one of the reasons I voted no.
  The second thing it did was to cut Medicaid reimbursements to 
hospitals and healthcare providers by $1 trillion over the next several 
years--$1 trillion.
  Do you know what the hospital administrators in Illinois told me 
would happen as a result of those cutbacks of Medicaid payments? 
Hospitals will close, particularly downstate hospitals in rural areas 
and those in the inner cities.
  We went to those administrators of the hospitals directly and said: 
Forget the political hype in Washington. What is going to happen on the 
ground in the State of Illinois and across the Nation when $1 trillion 
in Medicaid reimbursement disappears?
  They said: Well, first, the hospitals will close certain departments.
  I have noticed in Central Illinois--my own experience--that means 
usually the delivery of babies, as well as behavioral medicine, mental 
health counseling. Those are the first to go.
  But some hospitals won't make it. The hospitals in rural areas, as 
you

[[Page S2803]]

know, are small and willful and do their darnedest, with volunteer help 
from the communities, to stay open, and they are critically important.
  If you happen to live in rural Illinois, maybe you are a farm family, 
and there is a terrible accident that occurs on the farm. Driving 20 
minutes versus driving an hour and 20 minutes can be life or death.
  So the Republicans who want to cut $1 trillion from Medicaid--$1 
trillion--and give tax breaks to wealthy people? Vote me no. Vote all 
the Democrats no. Those aren't the priorities of this country.

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