Executive Session
Floor Speech
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. President, before I begin on the nomination before us, I wish to first echo what so many of my colleagues--Democrats and Republicans--and millions of people across the country have made very clear today: enough with all of the partisanship around healthcare, enough with playing politics with people's lives, and enough with the repeated attempts to roll back all of our progress and move our country backward.
It is time that we drop Graham-Cassidy, drop TrumpCare, once and for all, and join together to actually work to improve healthcare, starting with acting right now to lower premiums for families and strengthen healthcare in a bipartisan way.
That has been my message to colleagues all along. The truth is that I know many of my Republican colleagues prefer a bipartisan route. They have said as much in the last TrumpCare debate, in the very productive discussions we have had in and outside of the HELP Committee, and in many of their comments over the past few days.
It begs this question: Why are we in this spot yet again? People across the country have been demanding for months to turn the page on TrumpCare. Instead of working in a bipartisan way to actually help people, a few of our colleagues have now pushed through yet another reckless repeal bill that is even worse than the previous TrumpCare version. It is a bill that will increase costs for families, especially seniors and people with preexisting conditions.
It will allow insurance companies once again to charge people more for basic healthcare, such as maternity care, mental health services, and more, and it will take away women's access to care at health centers like Planned Parenthood and result in millions of people across the country losing their Medicaid. Just like last time, the bill has not been subject to any real hearings, public debate, or even a complete and thorough CBO score.
Let's be clear. This bill is not a new proposal. It is not serious policy. It is not regular order. It is yet another version of
TrumpCare that would be devastating for people across the country. This is actually pretty simple because there is a clear alternative path before us. Let's do what my colleague, the senior Senator from Arizona, and so many others have so bravely called for once again and return to working together.
As I have said, I wholeheartedly agree with my colleague from Arizona that the right way to get things done in the Senate--especially on an issue as important to families as their healthcare--is through regular order and finding common ground. That is why I am still at the table ready to keep working. I remain confident that we can reach a bipartisan agreement as soon as this latest partisan approach by Republican leaders is finally set aside.
Mr. President, I come to the floor today on the nomination before us and to urge my colleagues to vote no on William
Emanuel to be a Member of the National Labor Relations Board. On the campaign trail, President Trump promised to put workers first, but instead this administration has rolled back worker protections and prioritized corporate interests at the expense of our workers. It is critical today, more than ever, that the NLRB remain what it is supposed to be--independent and committed to protecting workers' rights to organize and to bargain collectively.
I am deeply concerned that President Trump's nominee, Mr. Emanuel, will use his place on the Board to advocate for corporations and special interests. As a corporate lawyer fighting on the side of management, Mr. Emanuel has spent decades repeatedly undermining workers and their efforts to unionize.
It is the core mission of the NLRB to encourage collective bargaining. Given his long anti-worker track record, I am afraid that workers' fundamental rights are not safe in his hands.
I urge my colleagues to join me tonight in doing what President Trump has failed to do and to start working to put working families first and to vote against this nomination.
I yield the floor.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Source