Designating the United States Courthouse Located At 300 South Fourth Street in Minneapolis, Minnesota, As the ``Diana E. Murphy United States Courthouse''

Floor Speech

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Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, well, now that the Senate has concluded its very divisive debate about the Supreme Court, it is time to talk about the No. 1 issue to the American people: healthcare. We begin that debate tomorrow, when the Senate will take up a Democratic motion to repeal the Trump administration's effort to expand short-term insurance plans.

Let me be clear. These so-called short-term plans are junk insurance. Short-term plans are junk insurance. People who buy them are going to be extremely disappointed because they bait the consumer in with low prices but hardly cover anything. They might not cover maternity care, mental health care, prescription drugs--you name it. Even worse, the plans draw consumers out of the health insurance market, making it more expensive for everyone else to purchase insurance, especially more expensive for those with preexisting conditions.

That is why so many prominent patient and consumer groups have filed a lawsuit against the administration's rule to expand these junk plans. Groups like the American Cancer Society, the AARP, the Lung Association, the Diabetes Association, and others that represent millions of Americans with preexisting conditions have clearly said that this is sabotage--sabotage--of the insurance market and will drive up costs for millions of Americans.

So Senator Baldwin has introduced a CRA disapproval resolution--a resolution brought under the Congressional Review Act--to repeal this fundamentally misguided policy from the Trump administration. All of my colleagues should vote for this, but I suspect my colleagues on the other side of the aisle have a different idea because ever since taking control of Congress and the Presidency, Republicans have deliberately, relentlessly undermined Americans' healthcare.

This particular policy is part of a long campaign to sabotage our healthcare system. Remember, nearly every Republican was silent when President Trump canceled the program that helped low-income Americans afford insurance. Remember, every Republican was silent when President Trump directed his administration to stop helping Americans sign up for the right policy. Remember, nearly every Republican was silent when President Trump's Justice Department refused to defend protections for preexisting conditions. A large number of Republican attorneys general--some running for the Senate right now--were part of the Trump administration's efforts to say it is just fine to get rid of protections for those with preexisting conditions. Remember, nearly every Republican voted to gut Medicaid, raise premiums on older Americans, repeal protections for Americans with preexisting conditions, and move us toward a future where 20 million fewer Americans have healthcare. Remember, every single Republican voted to repeal the coverage requirement and cause premiums to be much higher this year than they needed to be.

So Americans, when you are paying more for insurance and you hate it, when those deductibles go up, those copayments go up, and you say: Where is the insurance that was supposed to protect me? I have taken so much money out of my own pocket. It is hardly worth it. Look to the other side of the aisle, and look at what your Senators have done, if you come from a State where they represent you. As a result of the Republican sabotage, premiums are up, out-of-pocket costs are up, prescription drug costs are up, and the quality of insurance is down-- in many cases way down. Under this Republican President and this Republican Congress, Americans are paying more to get lower quality health insurance. Americans, under this President, this Congress, are paying more to get less when it comes to health insurance.

Protections for preexisting conditions are under assault in so many different ways. No wonder why, in poll after poll, Americans put healthcare as the No. 1 issue in the upcoming election. Tomorrow the Senate will have an opportunity to undo a portion of the Republican campaign to sabotage healthcare.

In November, the American people will have a golden opportunity to move our country in a dramatically different direction by voting for Democratic candidates who will work to improve our healthcare rather than so many of those Republican candidates who, in obeisance to the big insurance companies, work to destroy it.

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