[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 3]
[Senate]
[Page 3100]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




           OBAMACARE AND THE PRESIDENT'S ADDRESS TO CONGRESS

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, the past 8 years have not been easy for 
America's middle class. Americans labored under an economy that failed 
to deliver. They have fought against redtape that threatened their jobs 
and small businesses. When they looked at Washington, they saw an 
administration that repeatedly put its leftwing ideology ahead of 
middle-class interests.
  Kentuckians understand this better than most. They watched as the 
last administration launched a war on vulnerable families in coal 
country. They watched as the last administration launched a direct 
attack on the middle class in the form of ObamaCare.
  Kentuckians were promised that health insurance premiums would go 
down, but they soared by as much as 47 percent just this year. 
Kentuckians were promised that health choices would increase, but they 
plummeted down to just one exchange provider in nearly half of our 
counties. Kentuckians were also promised they could keep their health 
plans, but many continued to find themselves forced into insurance so 
expensive, insurance that so few of their doctors will accept, it is 
basically useless.
  ObamaCare has pushed Kentucky's insurance market to the brink of 
collapse, and now Democrats want to throw a victory party. I am not 
sure how else to interpret their choice to respond to the President's 
address tonight.
  The absolute ObamaCare disaster that Governor Beshear presided over 
continues to harm Kentucky today, even after he has left office. 
Kentuckians have since repudiated that legacy in election after 
election. They replaced him with an anti-ObamaCare Governor and 
legislature. They voted for a President who listened to them and 
promised to repeal and replace ObamaCare. They sent Republicans back to 
the Senate and House who listened to them and promised to repeal and 
replace this partisan law as well.
  Former Kentucky Governor Beshear was correct to note that ``the 
American people by their votes don't agree with [Democrats].'' So maybe 
he will agree it is time to finally listen to Kentuckians and families 
around the country and move on from this disastrous law.
  What I am talking about here is, he is doing the response tonight. 
The former Governor of Kentucky is the poster child for ObamaCare and 
doing the response to the President tonight. We are going to move 
forward. I hope that is the message Governor Beshear can find within 
himself to deliver tonight, but I will not hold my breath. I am sure it 
is a message President Trump will deliver, however.
  In November, the American people elected a new President who offered 
a new direction. He will now have an opportunity to talk about how we 
can make that change. We already know what needs to be done. We need to 
leave ObamaCare in the past and replace it with commonsense reform so 
we can bring relief to the middle class.
  We need to make regulations smarter so we can get the economy moving. 
We need to make taxes simpler so we can create more jobs. I look 
forward to hearing what the President has to say on all of these 
matters.
  I also hope he will provide more thoughts on how we can help our 
veterans and strengthen our military. Getting even one of these items 
achieved would be a win for our country. Getting all of them done would 
be a significant undertaking.
  Congress may hold the key to getting many things done, but the 
executive branch has important authority as well. The President and his 
Cabinet Secretaries have already taken critical action to move us 
forward on many of these issues. It is another reason the rest of his 
Cabinet needs to be confirmed as soon as possible. The Senate is 
working hard to get that done.
  The Senate is also working hard to confirm another of his nominees, 
an outstanding jurist named Neil Gorsuch. He is going to make an 
exceptional Supreme Court Justice. It is a sentiment you hear expressed 
right across the political spectrum. The President made a brilliant 
choice with Judge Gorsuch.
  We are all looking forward to what the President has to say tonight. 
It is a big moment for him. More importantly, it is a big moment for 
our country. Americans are ready to move forward. They are ready to get 
our economy moving. They are ready to leave the failures of the status 
quo behind, such as ObamaCare, and move toward a more hopeful future. 
After 8 long years, believe me, it is something we can all use.

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