[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 106 (Wednesday, June 24, 2026)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3171-S3172]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                            Rural Healthcare

  Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, as a physician, I want Americans to get 
the care they need from doctors they choose at prices they can afford. 
That is what I thought in my entire time of practicing medicine in 
Wyoming and now as a U.S. Senator; and where a person lives should not 
determine whether

[[Page S3172]]

they have access to high-quality medical care.
  So I practiced medicine in Wyoming for 24 years. At the Wyoming 
Medical Center, I was the chief of staff of the hospital and was 
president of the State medical society, and taking care of patients 
continues to guide my work here in the U.S. Senate.
  Wyoming is a rural State, as is the Presiding Officer's. Rural 
Americans deserve access to local care that is affordable, reliable, 
and high quality. For years, the options for people in many small 
communities have been shrinking. Why is that? Because of the passage of 
the Obama healthcare law. ObamaCare accelerated the rural healthcare 
crisis with there being hospitals closing all across the country. Since 
ObamaCare became law 15 years ago, over 100 rural hospitals across our 
Nation have closed. It is yet another broken promise from the failure 
of the Obama healthcare law, known as ObamaCare.
  Rural America deserves a better approach. That is why, 1 year ago, 
Republicans passed a $50 billion Rural Health Transformation Fund. The 
Rural Health Transformation Fund is a crucial piece of the Working 
Families Tax Cut law. It was designed to overcome the failed, one-size-
fits-all Washington approach to healthcare. It partners with 
communities to invest in the services that they need. The Rural Health 
Transformation Fund is the largest Federal investment in rural 
healthcare in our Nation's history. Every State in America is now 
receiving the first round of funding under this new program.
  The true power of this investment goes beyond the historic size and 
scope. Fundamentally, it is about delivering care to people where and 
when they need it the most. The Federal Government is too large to know 
the unique needs of every community. Rural solutions come from the 
States, they come from the local communities, they come from the local 
healthcare providers, not from Washington, DC. The Rural Health 
Transformation Fund is built on this simple idea. It gives States the 
resources and the flexibility they need to invest in the services that 
the communities need and that will work for them.
  In Wyoming, we have received over $200 million this year from the 
Rural Health Transformation Fund, and more funding will follow over the 
next 5 years. We are using it to strengthen and expand access to care 
in every corner of our State. We are supporting rural hospitals and 
clinics. We are embracing new technologies. We are bringing quality 
care closer to home.
  At the same time, we are investing in our healthcare workforce. High-
quality care starts with highly trained doctors, nurses, and other 
healthcare professionals. Wyoming has a long and successful track 
record of investing in our healthcare professionals. The Rural Health 
Transformation Fund allows us to build on that success.
  We also know that the best treatment is often prevention. Preventive 
medicine can lead to healthier lives, it helps to lower costs, it 
teaches healthy habits from a young age. That is why Wyoming is 
investing in prevention. We are making sure the Food Stamp Program 
focuses on healthy nutrition. We are bringing back Presidential fitness 
tests in schools across the State. This helps children grow up 
healthier and reduces the long-term burden of chronic diseases.
  These are practical and commonsense steps, and they have a clear 
goal. That goal is to help Wyoming families live healthier lives and to 
make healthcare more affordable.
  I want to thank Dr. Oz and Gov. Mark Gordon. You know, Dr. Oz leads 
the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. He and his team have 
worked closely with Gov. Mark Gordon of Wyoming and his team. Together, 
they have developed an innovative plan that is tailored to Wyoming's 
unique needs.
  Every single Democrat in Congress--every single one of them--voted 
against the Rural Health Transformation Fund, and that is not bad 
enough. One thing that was bad is they voted against it, and then they 
came to the floor and later voted to eliminate it--to eliminate it--to 
strangle the money that is going out to these communities all across 
the country. They said: No, we don't want it to go out.
  Why? Why did they vote to cut $50 billion from rural healthcare 
hospitals?
  It is because they wanted to pay for healthcare for illegal 
immigrants. That is their mindset. Look at what happened in New York 
yesterday with the primary elections: open borders, eliminate ICE, 
focus on giving services to illegal immigrants--people who are in the 
country illegally.
  How do they want to pay for all this?
  The Democrats in the Senate say: Well, let's eliminate the rural 
healthcare plan.
  That is the approach of every Democrat in the Senate and, apparently, 
of a lot of the Democrats, if not all, who are running to serve in this 
body.
  Democrats voted to weaken healthcare for law-abiding American 
citizens in order to expand healthcare for illegal immigrants. That is 
a fundamental difference in a mentality and in an approach--and is a 
concern for American citizens. So just remember that when Democrats 
come and talk about healthcare. It is not necessarily healthcare for 
you or your family; it is healthcare for illegal immigrants.
  Republicans are reversing the damage done by ObamaCare which, to 
repeat, forced the closure of over 100 small community hospitals around 
the country. Republicans are putting rural communities first, and we 
are going to continue to do that.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Nebraska.