[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 9]
[Senate]
[Page 12087]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                            WORKING TOGETHER

  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, first, let me say that it has been a 
long, long road for both sides. Each side had sincere convictions, and 
we are at this point.
  I want to say three things. First, I suggest that we turn the page. 
It is time to turn the page.
  I say to my dear friend the majority leader that we are not 
celebrating. We are relieved that millions and millions of people who 
would have been so drastically hurt by the three proposals put forward 
will, at least, retain their healthcare, be able to deal with 
preexisting conditions, deal with nursing homes and opioids that 
Medicaid has paid for.
  We are relieved, not for ourselves, but for the American people. But 
as I have said over and over again, ObamaCare was hardly perfect. It 
did a lot of good things, but it needs improvement. I hope one part of 
turning that page is that we go back to regular order, work in the 
committees together to improve ObamaCare.
  We have good leaders--the Senator from Tennessee, the Senator from 
Washington, the Senator from Utah, the Senator from Oregon. They have 
worked well together in the past and can work well together in the 
future. There are suggestions we are interested in that come from 
Members on the other side of the aisle--the Senator from Maine and the 
Senator from Louisiana.
  So let's turn the page and work together to improve our healthcare 
system, and let's turn the page in another way. All of us are so 
inspired by the speech and the life of the Senator from Arizona, and he 
asked us to go back to regular order, to bring back the Senate that 
some of us who have been here a while remember. Maybe this can be a 
moment where we start doing that.
  Both sides will have to give. The blame hardly falls on one side or 
the other, but if we can take this moment--a solemn moment--and start 
working this body the way it had always worked until the last decade or 
so, with both sides to blame for the deterioration, we will do a better 
job for our country, a better job for this body, a better job for 
ourselves.
  Finally, I am glad that the leader asked us to move to NDAA. We need 
to do it. I can say that on this side of the aisle, we will move 
expeditiously. I know that the Senator from Rhode Island has worked 
with the Senator from Arizona on a list of amendments that can be 
agreed to, and we can finish this bill up rather quickly. As I 
mentioned to the majority leader, there are some other things we can do 
rather quickly, including moving a whole lot of nominations.
  We can work together. Our country demands it. Every place in every 
corner of the country where we go, the No. 1 thing we are asked--and I 
know this because I have talked to my colleagues from the other side of 
the aisle--is: Can't you guys work together? Let's give it a shot. 
Let's give it a shot.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority leader.

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