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Floor Speech

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Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I thank my great friend from Connecticut who cares about these issues so much and is one of our most effective advocates in the whole country for things like this. I thank him and thank all of my colleagues who have come to the floor--Senator Whitehouse, Senator Markey, and so many others who are just eloquent spokespeople for helping people with healthcare.

Today, Democrats are holding the floor on the 60th anniversary of Medicare and Medicaid being signed into law to talk about the Republican all-out assault on our healthcare system.

Look, the American people are just fed up--fed up, up to here--with the soaring costs of healthcare. They are fed up with Donald Trump and Republicans cutting their healthcare to help the billionaire class. But, unfortunately, Donald Trump and Republicans seem to live in a bubble because while they brag about how big and beautiful their bill is, the American people feel the opposite.

The more Americans learn about the Republican bill, the more they are realizing that Donald Trump and Republicans sold them a raw deal--a raw deal.

The Republicans' ``Big Ugly Betrayal'' is one of the most devastating bills for American healthcare that we have ever seen. The largest cut to Medicaid in American history, $1 trillion in healthcare cuts, 15 million people at risk of losing their healthcare coverage--why? To pay for tax breaks for billionaires; telling a mom whose daughter has cancer that she can no longer afford treatment, and the child may die because some billionaire needs more money? I don't have anything against the billionaires. God bless them. They made a lot of money. They don't need a tax break at the expense of middle-class, working- class American families, poor American families who desperately need healthcare.

What is big or beautiful about what they are doing? Nothing. It is even nervy to call it big and beautiful.

They listened to Donald Trump who just makes it up as he goes along, and they say: Yes, whatever he says, no matter how bad it is for the American people.

The American people don't want their healthcare cut to help out the ultrarich. It is a nasty proposition from our Republican colleagues.

If I may add an aside--I want to be clear. It is not just healthcare that is in danger. It is not just healthcare.

Today, we got a rather stunning admission from the administration on Social Security, another part of the safety net that deserves some mention now before I give up the floor.

Today, Secretary Bessent admitted in a podcast that the so-called Trump accounts that the Republicans snuck into the ``Big Ugly Bill'' are, in Secretary Bessent's eyes, a ``backdoor for privatizing Social Security.'' Let me repeat that. These are Bessent's words. What they put and snuck into the reconciliation bill that they call BBB, and we call the ``Big Ugly Betrayal,'' is a ``backdoor for privatizing Social Security.''

America, do you hear that? From one end of the country to the other, probably the most popular Federal program ever passed, and they want to privatize it. Do you know what ``privatize'' means? It means you are in trouble, Mr. or Mrs. Senior Citizen, because when they privatize it and the big boys get ahold of it, it is going to be much less money for you, if any at all.

But now we have it. Bessent actually slipped and told the truth: Donald Trump and his government want to privatize Social Security.

Another great lie from Donald Trump--he just lies at will--he promised that Social Security, under his watch, ``would not be touched,'' while, at the same time, his administration has strangled the program behind the scenes, laying off staff, shutting down offices, making it harder to claim benefits. And now they are openly talking about privatizing it.

Rarely is the end game for Republicans so obvious. They are ramming historic cuts down Americans' throats to help their billionaire buddies.

So in light of the attacks, as we mark the anniversary of Medicare and Social Security--it was a proud, proud day 60 years ago, when America finally understood that we were a wealthy country, and we had to use some of it to give people healthcare, the most important thing in their lives. If you ask the average American: What do you want most? I want to live long and healthy.

And the reason we are living longer and healthier, with all the troubles in the system, is because we have Medicare and Medicaid. And this is the anniversary.

This morning, I was proud to introduce legislation to reverse the disastrous healthcare cuts in the ``Big Ugly Betrayal.'' The bill is simple: It repeals the entire healthcare subtitle of the Republicans' bill and permanently extends the ACA premium tax credits that Republicans let expire.

Extending these tax credits should be a no-brainer. It will save Americans on the ACA hundreds--if not thousands--of dollars a year on their health insurance. Anyone who objects to this wants Americans to pay more for healthcare, plain and simple.

The Senate should take up our legislation as soon as possible because the worst of the Republican cuts are already starting to take effect.

It is not going to happen. Republican colleagues who thought: Oh, we can delay it so no one will know until after the 2026 elections. Bunk. It is starting already. Healthcare premiums are going to start spiking very soon.

Hospitals and clinics are at great risk of closing now, not after 2026. Some have already shut their doors in Maine, Nebraska, and other States. People in rural communities are worried sick that they will have to travel even farther to get healthcare.

In many rural counties, including some of mine in New York, the local hospital is the biggest employer. Those jobs will go by the wayside.

Again, this is not what the American people want. People want healthcare that is easy to access, easy to navigate, easy to afford. Seniors, kids, people with disabilities, people who rely on Medicare and Medicaid don't want to see their coverage ripped away. Republicans should be working with Democrats to strengthen these programs, not slash and burn them to the ground.

Don't go home and tell people lies, that your healthcare won't be affected by this bill. Of course it will. Even the Republican gurus say: Oh, talk about other things; don't talk about healthcare--because they know how bad it is.

It isn't too late. It is not too late for Republicans to reverse course. Democrats, meanwhile, will never, never, never--Senator Whitehouse, Senator Markey, Senator Hickenlooper, and all of my other Democratic colleagues will never stop fighting to fix our broken healthcare system.

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