[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 8]
[Senate]
[Page 11827]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                               HEALTHCARE

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, the Senate took a critical step 
yesterday afternoon to finally leave the failed experiment of ObamaCare 
in the past. It marks an important moment for our country. It signals a 
positive development for the countless Americans who continue to suffer 
under ObamaCare's skyrocketing costs and diminishing options.
  I thank every colleague who voted to begin the debate. I thank the 
President, his administration, and our friends in the House for the 
roles they have played.
  Now we have to keep working hard. We are determined to do everything 
we can to succeed. We know our constituents are counting on us. We will 
work through an open amendment process. I know Members in both parties 
have healthcare ideas they would like to offer. If you have one, bring 
it to the floor.
  Last night the Senate considered a comprehensive ObamaCare repeal-
and-replace substitute. That amendment was subject to a 60-vote 
threshold because the Congressional Budget Office had not provided a 
score for that provision as yet, but it represented a number of 
important healthcare reform ideas developed by our Members.
  Later today, the Senate will vote on another alternative that is 
based on the ObamaCare repeal legislation that passed Congress in 2015 
and was vetoed by President Obama.
  We will consider many different proposals throughout this process 
from Senators on both sides of the aisle. Ultimately, we want to get 
legislation to finally end the failed ObamaCare status quo through 
Congress and to the President's desk for his signature.
  This certainly will not be easy. Hardly anything in this process has 
been. We know that moving beyond the failures of ObamaCare is the right 
thing to do. We have put a lot of hard work already into this. We have 
had important successes, as we saw with the vote to proceed yesterday. 
We have to keep up the work now so we can get this done.

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