EXECUTIVE CALENDAR--Continued

Floor Speech

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Mr. BLUMENTHAL. Madam President, I am very pleased to follow my colleague from Connecticut and to continue his thoughts about the utter chaos and catastrophe that would be caused by the success of this lawsuit now before the court of appeals--chaos and catastrophe that would, in effect, turn back the clock to days that I remember well because I was attorney general when preexisting conditions were used as a ruse to deny lifesaving medical care and coverage to people with cancer, brain tumors, and literally lethal diseases.

In those days, as attorney general, I took their fight and made it my own, even sometimes calling presidents of insurance companies over weekends to go to bat for those individuals.

Those bad old days--the days of no protection against preexisting conditions--are over now, but they will come back if this lawsuit is successful. If this lawsuit wins, young people who are now covered by their parents' policies up to the age of 26 will be without it. If this lawsuit wins, the annual and lifetime caps on benefits will come back. If this lawsuit is successful, preexisting conditions again will come back to haunt people who need and deserve coverage. If this lawsuit wins, millions of people--tens of thousands in Connecticut--will be at risk.

One of them is a young man, Conner Curran, an 8-year-old boy in Ridgefield. His picture is right here. I met Conner 3 years ago when he was 5, and his parents noticed he was lagging behind his twin brother. They brought him to a doctor, expecting maybe a simple diagnosis. Instead, they were told that Conner had Duchenne muscular dystrophy. That is a degenerative, terminal disease. It has no cure. It is life- threatening. In fact, most people with the disease don't survive past their midtwenties.

Conner's family wrote to me, telling me that their beautiful, young, sweet child, at the time just 5\1/2\ and full of life, would slowly lose his ability to run, to walk, to lift his arms. Eventually, they said, he would lose his ability to hug them.

Conner needs care--complex care--from multiple specialists, costing tens of thousands of dollars per year. Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, there is no denying him coverage. There is no denying him coverage because of his illness, and he will receive the care he needs.

His family also wrote to me that the reinstatement of lifetime caps or elimination of essential health benefits will hinder his family's ability to access the care Conner needs. In fact, if this lawsuit wins, there will be virtually insuperable obstacles to Conner receiving that vital lifesaving care. If this disease progresses, as seems very possible, he will need access to Medicaid in offsetting costs of living with that disability.

For his family, the question is, Will Medicaid even be there? If that devastating day comes, will he receive the care he needs?

Conner's family shared their concern over what would happen if the repeated and reckless attempts to undermine healthcare succeed and if repeal of the ACA becomes a reality. He and his family are not giving up. They have come to my office since he was diagnosed to fight for a cure and for the Affordable Care Act. They have demonstrated strength and courage, sometimes with tears in their eyes. They raise awareness and fight for their son. I know they would do it a million times over if it meant Conner could have a long and healthy life.

Connor and millions like him are the reasons I am here to fight back against any attempts to repeal the Affordable Care Act. Whether it is in Congress or in the courts, make no mistake, this effort in the courts is another means of repealing the ACA. The people of Connecticut get it. They understand the agenda here. They want all of us--and I think most of our constituents do as well--to make sure this kind of care is there for Connor and for all of us because all of us will be at risk if the ACA is repealed, whether it is in Congress or the courts.

In Connecticut, there are 1.5 million people living with preexisting conditions. That includes 182,000 children like Connor. If this Republican-backed lawsuit against the Affordable Care Act succeeds, their protections will be eviscerated; they will be lost, not just for a year or two but likely for their lifetime.

The Affordable Care Act ban on lifetime coverage caps is so important to kids like Connor. If the Republican-backed lawsuit against the ACA is successful, he will be one of the more than 1.2 million people in Connecticut who would meet a lifetime coverage limit and be forced to worry about how and if they can pay for their necessary medical care.

In Connecticut, about 25,000 young people get their healthcare coverage under their parents' plans, thanks to the Affordable Care Act's requirement that children can be covered until the age of 26. If the Republican-backed lawsuit against the ACA succeeds, these young adults will be left without coverage.

In Connecticut, over a quarter of a million people have healthcare coverage because of the ACA's Medicaid expansion. Another 110,000 have coverage through the Connecticut ACA exchange. If the Republican-backed lawsuit against the Affordable Care Act succeeds, their healthcare coverage will be gone.

If the Republican-backed lawsuit succeeds, the uninsured rate of Black Connecticut residents would likely double. One in five Latinos under 65 will go uninsured.

All of these people, like Connor, represent our Nation--the best of our Nation--with their dedication to the people they love, and they deserve to be heard. Their voices need to be heard here. They are the true faces of the Affordable Care Act. Every one of them, like Connor, is a life that will be enhanced by continuing the Affordable Care Act. If this Republican-backed lawsuit succeeds, their lives will be at risk, and we will be a lesser nation.

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