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Floor Speech
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Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, well, it is day 3 of the Trump shutdown, and the government remains closed because Donald Trump and Republicans insist on raising Americans' healthcare premiums and kicking millions off their insurance.
Sending premiums skyrocketing, as Republicans insist, is fundamentally unsustainable. The American people overwhelmingly support affordable healthcare. Seventy percent of Americans support extending the ACA premium tax credits according to a poll released yesterday by the Washington Post, and another poll by KFF yesterday found that nearly 80 percent support an extension. Guess what. Even a majority of Trump supporters support an extension. Even a majority of Trump supporters--nearly 60 percent--support an extension.
You don't need the polls. Just go into a barbershop. Just go into a diner. Just go into a supermarket and ask people. People are learning about this issue, and they are aghast that their premiums could go up so much. They are aghast that our Republican colleagues don't even want to fix it when it affects so many tens of millions of people and the amount that it goes up is so high--so high. It is not difficult. We know Americans want this, and we know many of my Republican colleagues want this as well.
Failure to act would be devastating, and Republicans know it. Even Donald Trump knows it. He talked about it a little bit with us in the White House when we went a few days back.
If we don't act now, then at least 22 million people will see their healthcare premiums double--double--on average. But for many people, it is even worse than that. If these ACA premium tax credits aren't extended, the average 55-year-old couple making $85,000 a year would see their premiums not just double but triple--$25,000 a year. How does a senior citizen--even one who has a little bit of savings and a little bit of a cushion--afford $25,000 a year?
So that is all Democrats want to fix. We are on the side of the people. People know it and want it and need it. It is not complicated. Americans want it. Republican voters want it.
Democrats remain ready and willing to work with the other side. We are ready to work on a path forward to lower healthcare costs for the American people and fund the Federal Government.
I yield to the floor.
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