[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 3]
[House]
[Pages 4393-4394]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




  PRESIDENT TRUMP'S BROKEN HEALTHCARE PROMISES TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 3, 2017, the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Gallego) is recognized 
for 60 minutes as the designee of the minority leader.
  Mr. GALLEGO. Mr. Speaker, I am going to cut directly to the chase. 
The Trump-Ryan healthcare bill betrays every single promise Donald 
Trump made about health care, and does it all for the sake of an 
enormous tax cut for those who need it least.
  The first promise that Donald Trump made to the American people was 
that everyone would have health insurance. Although the ACA expanded 
health coverage to more than 20 million Americans, Donald Trump said 
repeatedly that he didn't think the ACA provided enough people with 
coverage. He said: ``We're going to have insurance for everybody,'' and 
``I'm not going to leave the lower 20 percent that can't afford health 
insurance.''
  What does the Trump-Ryan bill do?
  According to the Congressional Budget Office, 14 million people would 
immediately lose coverage next year, and 24 million people would lose 
coverage by 2027. That is outrageous. But it gets worse.
  According to the White House's own estimate, 26 million people, not 
24 million people, will lose coverage under the Trump-Ryan bill.
  The second promise that Donald Trump made to the American people was 
that their health insurance would be cheaper. Donald Trump said that 
his plans would have ``much lower deductibles.''
  Secretary Tom Price said last week that under the Trump-Ryan proposal 
``nobody will be worse off financially.''
  What does the Trump-Ryan bill actually do?
  In my home State, Arizonans will get hit hard, very hard. In 2020, 
under the Trump-Ryan plan, Arizonans will receive on average $3,500 
less in subsidies than ObamaCare, meaning they are going to be forced 
to spend more money out of pocket to continue getting care.
  The Trump-Ryan bill will stick it to older Americans. It peels back 
an

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ObamaCare rule that protects older people from higher costs. The Trump-
Ryan bill green-lights insurance companies to charge older Americans 66 
percent more.
  According to the Congressional Budget Office, a typical, low-income, 
64-year-old's out-of-pocket costs would increase from less than $2,000 
a year to almost $15,000 a year by 2026. So if you are an older 
American and you don't like ObamaCare, let me tell you this right now: 
You are going to hate TrumpCare.
  The third promise that Donald Trump made to the American people was 
that Americans would enjoy better health care. As a candidate, Donald 
Trump said that ObamaCare was ``horrible health care.'' He promised 
that ``everybody's going to be taken care of much better than they're 
taken care of now.''
  So what does the Trump-Ryan bill do?
  Well, if you are lucky enough to still have health insurance under 
the Trump-Ryan plan, it will provide you even worse coverage. The bill 
does nothing to increase the quality of your care. It will cut some of 
the healthcare services you receive now.
  In his speech before Congress less than 3 weeks ago, Donald Trump 
said that ``we will expand treatment for those who have become so badly 
addicted.''
  At a time when opiate overdoses kill more Americans than car 
accidents, we absolutely should be expanding treatment. But what does 
the Trump-Ryan bill do?
  It does the opposite by cutting addiction services and mental health 
treatment under Medicaid.
  Donald Trump's fourth promise to the American was that he would not 
cut Medicaid. During the Republican presidential primary, he bragged 
that he was the first and only potential GOP candidate to state that 
there will be no cuts to Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.
  What does the Trump-Ryan bill do?
  It cuts Medicaid more than it has ever been cut before. According to 
the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, it cuts Medicaid funding by 
$370 billion over 10 years.
  The Trump-Ryan bill will permanently and radically weaken this 
critical safety net for the working poor. It freezes enrollment in 
Medicaid and unravels the Medicaid expansion. If you are worried about 
what this means for you, your family, and your friends, you should be.
  Donald Trump is breaking his promise on Medicaid. Will he break his 
promise on Medicare, too? Will he break his promise on Social Security? 
Why is Donald Trump breaking promise after promise he made on health 
care?
  The Trump-Ryan bill takes healthcare coverage away from millions of 
people, it raises deductibles and copays, and provides worse coverage 
for those who are lucky enough to still be able to afford it.
  So what are Donald Trump, Paul Ryan, and House Republicans up to? 
This bill does a lot of things poorly, but there is one thing, and 
really only one thing, that this bill does incredibly well. It cuts a 
whole lot of taxes for the rich.
  This Trump-Ryan ``healthcare bill'' includes a whopping $600 billion 
in tax cuts, almost all for the wealthy. The single biggest tax cut in 
the bill repeals a 3.8 percent tax on investors who make more than 
$250,000.
  This tax cut will not put a single dollar back in the pocket of any 
family who makes less than $250,000. But if you are the top one-tenth 
of 1 percent, which means that you make at least $3.75 million per 
year, then you will get on average a $165,000 tax cut. This is 
outrageous.
  The Trump-Ryan bill also repeals a nearly 1 percent tax on families 
making over $250,000. Again, if you are in the top one-tenth of 1 
percent, you are going to do great under the Trump-Ryan bill. You will 
get an average tax cut of over $30,000.
  But, if you are in the bottom 90 percent, if you are an average, 
hardworking American, you will get nothing from this tax cut.
  Who are Donald Trump, Paul Ryan, and House Republicans looking out 
for? If you are an out-of-work steelworker in Youngstown, it is not 
you. If you are a struggling farmer in rural Alabama, it is not you. If 
you are working at Target, Walmart, or McDonald's, you are out of luck, 
too. Heck, even if you are making a decent living as an auto worker or 
a truck driver, it is not you.
  Two nights ago, Donald Trump even admitted this. In an interview on 
FOX News, Tucker Carlson pointed out to Donald Trump that the rich do a 
lot better under the Trump-Ryan healthcare bill than working and middle 
class people, many of whom supported him in this election.
  What did Donald Trump say in response? ``Oh, I know.''
  Donald Trump, Paul Ryan, and House Republicans are looking out for 
the richest of the rich. They are putting the pinch to you, hardworking 
Americans, to give their rich friends and supporters a giant tax break, 
and they are willing to wreck our healthcare system and take healthcare 
insurance away from 24 million Americans to do it.
  Two years ago, Marco Rubio called out Donald Trump as a con artist. 
The Trump-Ryan healthcare bill is one big con on the American people.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Members are reminded to avoid engaging in 
personalities toward the President.

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