[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 11]
[Senate]
[Pages 15975-15976]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                               HEALTHCARE

  Mr. SCHUMER. First, Mr. President, a brief word on healthcare. 
Senators Alexander and Murray continue to negotiate a bipartisan 
package of legislation to stabilize our healthcare markets and lower 
premiums, a process that began over the summer. From what I have heard, 
they are down to a few final issues and are hopefully close to an 
agreement that can be taken back to both of our caucuses. Congress 
ought to show, through the work started by Senators Alexander and 
Murray way back in July, that Congress can work in a bipartisan way on 
healthcare, and we have no intention of

[[Page 15976]]

going along with President Trump's reckless sabotage of the Nation's 
healthcare law.
  Last week, President Trump showed that he is willing to take a 
wrecking ball to our Nation's healthcare for the sake of politics 
without any regard to the people it would hurt: veterans, senior 
citizens, kids, and folks struggling to afford insurance. President 
Trump was so angry they couldn't repeal and replace, he instead said: I 
am going to wreck the system. The problem is, it hurts millions of 
innocent people all for pique and politics. He has shown he is willing 
to put at risk the healthcare of millions of Americans. President 
Trump's decision to end the cost-sharing program was an act of 
impulsive malice with no benefit and no end.
  This seems to be his MO. He throws red meat to his rightwing base, 
whether it is on healthcare, immigration, Iran, or disaster aid. Then 
he says to Congress: You fix it up. That is not the way to lead. That 
is following. That is an act that exhibits no strength--no strength.
  We want our President to be a strong leader. Every American does, 
regardless of ideology, but when the President plays so many political 
games that are not just harmless but that hurt people and then says to 
Congress to clean it up, blaming Congress for the mess he created, it 
doesn't work, it is not fair, it is not right, and it is the reason 
that, except for his base, President Trump's numbers keep sliding. They 
are flat now, and they are down below 40 percent. No President has had 
such low numbers. By the way, it is not helping the Republican Party. 
Numbers today show a record difference between whether people prefer 
Democrats or Republicans, so I would urge him to stop these harmful, 
almost malicious shenanigans and let us all work together for the good 
of our country.
  On healthcare, we in Congress should continue to shore up the 
healthcare markets and lower premiums in a bipartisan way. We ought to 
reject the path of President Trump's sabotage and destruction and 
instead view a path of consensus and compromise. That is the way it has 
to go. No side wins everything they want. That is not how the Founding 
Fathers set up this country, otherwise we would be a dictatorship or a 
country without checks and balances. We ought to work together to 
improve our healthcare system, to lower costs for people, and to ensure 
that more people have access to health coverage. We Democrats have been 
pushing that for several months now.
  I salute Senators Alexander and Murray for understanding that. They 
have been in careful negotiations that represent the best first step 
forward on healthcare. I hope we hear more from them on the status of 
negotiations. I hope they can come to an agreement that includes 
curtailing the sabotage I spoke of that the President is doing. I hope 
Leader McConnell and I can support this bill together, and then maybe 
even the House might pass it. The President has said, I think--we don't 
know, it changes from day to day--but I think the most recent 
pronouncement is that he might sign it.

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