Floor Statements

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 10 a.m., Tuesday, July 18; further, that following the prayer and pledge, the morning hour be deemed expired, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day, and morning business be closed; further, that following leader remarks, the Senate proceed to executive session and resume consideration of the Shanahan nomination; finally, that the Senate recess following resumption of the Bush nomination until 2:15 p.m. to allow for the weekly conference meetings.

Mr. President, if there is no further business to come before the Senate, I ask unanimous consent that it stand adjourned under the previous order.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Madam President, the American people deserve better than ObamaCare.

Across the country, Americans are paying more for less under ObamaCare. Already, ObamaCare premiums have increased, on average, by more than 100 percent on the Federal exchange. Next year, ObamaCare premiums could rise by as much as 50 percent or more in States like Georgia and Maryland.

All across the country, Americans are losing choice and access. Already, Americans living in 70 percent of the counties have little or no options for ObamaCare insurance. Next year, nearly 40 percent fewer insurers have filed to participate in the ObamaCare exchanges. Many Americans face the real possibility of having no options to pick from at all.

These trends are not new--costs have been going up and choice has been going down for years--but these trends continue to get worse, and things are not likely to turn around unless we act.

ObamaCare was a direct attack on the middle class from the very start. It is a ticking timebomb today. ObamaCare's years-long hurtle toward collapse is rapidly approaching its seemingly inevitable conclusion, total meltdown, which would hurt even more Americans on top of those it has hurt already.

We can't let that happen, and we are continuing to work hard to ensure it doesn't.

After extensive consultation across the conference, numerous meetings with constituents, and intensive conversations with Members, our conference has updated last month's Better Care discussion draft with additional provisions to make it stronger. We just walked through that revised draft together. It is now available online. I encourage everyone to review it.

As before, it aims to stabilize and reform the collapsing insurance markets that have left too many with no options, and it aims to make insurance more affordable and more flexible so it is something Americans actually want to buy.

For those stuck with ObamaCare insurance they don't want or can't afford, we don't think they should be forced to buy it any longer. For those who buy insurance on an exchange and want to continue doing so, we want them to have lower premiums and more choices.

For those tired of healthcare decisions being outsourced to far-off bureaucrats, we want to transfer millions of those decisions back to them and to their doctors.

We also want to strengthen Medicaid for those who need it most, by giving States more flexibility while ensuring that those who rely on this program don't have the rug pulled out from under them. Many States want the ability to reform and improve their Medicaid Program so they can actually deliver better care at a lower cost, and we would like to dramatically expand their authority to do that. It is an idea that should significantly improve healthcare in States all across our country.

The draft we just discussed, like the one before it, addresses all of these objectives. It would again give Americans more tools for managing their own care and this time goes even further. It would again devote significant resources to the fight against the opioid crisis and this time goes even further. The revised draft improves on the previous version in a number of ways, all while retaining the fundamental goals of providing stability and improving affordability.

Now, regardless, I am sure we can expect many of the same, tired, and predictable attacks from the defenders of ObamaCare's failed status quo. It hardly matters what the draft says; they would launch the same kinds of attacks anyway.

I would remind colleagues, this is the same crowd that said ObamaCare would lower costs, they pledged it would increase choice, and they promoted the infamous broken promise--if you like your plan, you can keep your plan. They were wrong before, and they are wrong again today.

Moreover, serious ObamaCare solutions from Democrats are hard to find these days. What we have heard recently essentially boils down to this:

No. 1, apply a multibillion-dollar bandaid--no reforms, no changes, just billions more for insurers. That is the game plan of the folks on the other side.

No. 2, quadruple down on ObamaCare and pass a massive expansion of a failed idea that puts bureaucrats in control of nearly every single healthcare decision in the country. The total cost of that so-called single-payer idea could add up to $32 trillion, according to an estimate of a leading proposal.

These are not serious solutions that Americans need to solve the real problems before us, but if Democrats would like to offer these ideas, then let's open debate on the underlying legislation so they can do that. I am sure Members will have more ideas about how we can improve this draft. The only way for anyone--Democrat, Republican, or Independent--to have that opportunity is to vote yes on opening the debate.

We expect an updated projection from the Congressional Budget Office early next week. Once that is released, we will have the opportunity to vote on the motion to proceed. That is the only way by which everyone will be able to come to the floor, share their ideas, and have their voices heard through both robust debate and a robust amendment process.

I remain disappointed that our Democratic friends made clear early on that they did not want to engage in a serious, bipartisan effort to solve this issue. But they have a renewed opportunity to engage now. I hope they will take it. I hope every Senator will vote to open debate because that is how we change the status quo.

This is our opportunity to really make a difference on healthcare. This is our chance to bring about changes we have been talking about since ObamaCare was forced on the American people. It is our time to finally build the bridge away from ObamaCare's failures and deliver relief to those who need it.

Failure to act means more families get hurt as it continues to collapse. It also means the law's problems will grow more formidable, making them even harder to solve. That is not something any of us should be comfortable with.

So it is time to rise to the occasion. The American people deserve better than the pain of ObamaCare. They deserve better care, and the time to deliver that for them is next week.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that with respect to the Hagerty nomination, the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table and the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action.

Mr. President, I move to proceed to legislative session.

Mr. President, I move to proceed to executive session to consider Calendar No. 157.

Mr. President, I send a cloture motion to the desk.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the mandatory quorum call be waived.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate be in a period of morning business, with Senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each.

Mr. President, I understand there is a bill at the desk, and I ask for its first reading.

I now ask for a second reading and, in order to place

the bill on the calendar under the provisions of rule XIV, I object to my own request.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 3 p.m. on Monday, July 17; further, that following the prayer and pledge, the morning hour be deemed expired, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day, and morning business be closed; further, that following leader remarks, the Senate proceed to executive session and resume consideration of the Shanahan nomination; finally, that notwithstanding the provisions of rule XXII, the cloture vote on the Shanahan nomination occur at 5:30 p.m., Monday, July 17.

If there is no further business to come before the Senate, I ask unanimous consent that it stand adjourned under the previous order.

Madam President, I have often come to the floor to relay the stories of Kentuckians who have suffered under ObamaCare.

Under ObamaCare, Kentuckians have seen their premiums skyrocket--by an average of 75 percent since 2013.

Under ObamaCare, Kentuckians have seen their options for health insurance plummet. This year, families living in 90 percent of the counties in Kentucky will have little or no options of insurers to pick from; that is, two options or less.

We all know the statistics in our own States. We also know the pain of ObamaCare is about far more than just numbers on a page. Behind each of ObamaCare's unaffordable premium increases, there is a family struggling to make ends meet. Behind all the canceled plans and restricted choices, there are countless individuals who have been left behind by this failing law.

Today Vice President Pence is traveling to Lexington in my State to hear directly from my constituents, including small business owners who have struggled under ObamaCare. As the Vice President knows, ObamaCare's pain is about more than just skyrocketing costs and plummeting choices; its taxes, mandates, and heavy-handed regulations hurt too. They have subjected small businesses across the country to serious challenges.

ObamaCare has been hurting the men and women we represent for many years in many different ways. I am thankful we finally have an administration that seems to care, an administration that has made a real effort to actually listen to those who have been forced to endure the negative consequences of this failing law.

ObamaCare has been spiraling toward collapse for years. Today it teeters on the brink of total meltdown, threatening to hurt even more of our friends and loved ones. We really can't allow that to happen.

Doing nothing about ObamaCare is simply not an option. That is why we have been working hard to move beyond the failures of ObamaCare with Better Care legislation. We want to stabilize and reform the collapsing insurance markets, we want to put downward pressure on premiums, and we want to put upward lift on choice. We want to give States dramatic new tools that can drive a new era of improved health outcomes, especially for those most in need, and we want to put more affordable insurance in reach for Americans ObamaCare continues to leave behind.

If we sit on our hands, families will continue to suffer. If we let this opportunity to move beyond ObamaCare pass us by, what other options will there be? One idea from the Democratic leader is simply to throw money at insurance companies--no reforms, no changes, just a multibillion-dollar bandaid.

Another idea from many other Democrats is to quadruple down on ObamaCare with a government-run single-payer system. It is called single payer because there is just one payer--one payer: the government. Nearly every healthcare decision would be decided by a Federal bureaucrat. Taxes could go up astronomically. The total cost could add up to $32 trillion, according to an estimate of a leading proposal.

Now, Americans deserve better than a massive expansion of a failed idea. Americans deserve better than a bandaid. Americans deserve better than ObamaCare. What they really deserve is better care, and we continue to work together to provide it. We are having productive discussions about the future of healthcare, just like we should be doing, and soon it will be time to move those discussions right out here to the Senate floor.

Once we proceed to the bill, Members--Republicans and Democrats alike--will have the opportunity to engage in robust debate and a robust amendment process right here on the Senate floor. I am sure Members will

have other good ideas then, and I hope they will offer them. They will certainly have the opportunity to offer them, but if the Senate is prevented from even proceeding to the bill, none of us will have an opportunity--not Republicans, not Democrats, not anyone.

I regret that our Democratic colleagues made clear from the outset that they weren't interested in working seriously with us to pursue the kind of comprehensive reforms needed to truly move beyond the pain of ObamaCare, but they will have a new opportunity soon. Once we get on the bill, they will have another chance to offer their solutions. I hope they will offer more than just a bandaid. I hope they will offer more than just a $32 trillion reup of a failed idea.

Whatever they would like to propose, I hope they will take the chance to open debate and advance the legislative process--for every Senator, for every American.

Leaving the American people to suffer under the ObamaCare status quo, I think, is unacceptable. We have seen the pain in our home States. We have seen the heartbreak all across our country. The American people are relying on us to bring them real relief, so we will keep working hard to deliver just that.

Madam President, on another matter, yesterday I shared some data reflecting the historic level of obstruction Senate Democrats have displayed when it comes to confirming our President's nominees. I noted that the opposition they have shown to these nominees most of the time seems to have little to do with the nominees themselves, nor whether or not Democrats even support them. In many cases, our Democratic colleagues actually support the nominees.

Take the nominee before us today for a U.S. district court judge in Idaho. He was reported out of committee on a voice vote. Every single Democrat then voted for cloture on his nomination. Yet Democrats still chose to throw up procedural hurdles to a nominee for whom they have no objection.

In fact, Senate Democrats have continuously forced procedural hurdles more than 30 times, compared to only 8 cloture votes Republicans required on nominees at this point in President Obama's administration.

They are obviously bound and determined to impede the President from making appointments, and they are willing to go to increasingly absurd lengths to further that goal--like requiring 30 hours of debate time on a noncontroversial nominee after having just voted unanimously that debate on the nomination was unnecessary.

If our Democratic colleagues keep up this current rate of obstruction, only allowing about one confirmation every 3\1/2\ days, it will take the Senate almost 11\1/2\ years to confirm the remaining Presidential appointments that must come before us.

I will say that again. At this rate, it would take us nearly 11\1/2\ years to confirm the remaining Presidential appointments. That is why I say to my friends across the aisle, this near total obstruction simply cannot continue.

As the Democratic leader once said himself, ``Who in America doesn't think a president, Democrat or Republican, deserves his or her picks for who should run the agencies? Nobody.'' That is a direct quote from the Democratic leader.

He went on. He said: ``The American people deserve a functioning government, not gridlock.''

So I would again ask my friend the Democratic leader and his party to consider the consequences of their actions and chart a different path. That is the best outcome for the country and for the Senate.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, I want to start this afternoon by offering deepest condolences to the Marine Corps and to all those who lost loved ones in the tragic plane crash yesterday in Mississippi. We are still learning details about the incident, but we know that at least 16 on board the plane perished as a result of the crash. Our hearts break for all those impacted and the many lives cut short in this tragedy. We are reminded of the bravery that our voluntary servicemembers exhibit, putting their lives on the line, both at home and abroad, in order to defend our communities and our freedom. We are indebted to them for their courageous, courageous sacrifice.