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Floor Speech

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Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, while Republican leaders continue trying to ignore this healthcare crisis and insisting on shutting down the government rather than even considering talking to us about how we prevent these premiums from doubling across the country, I have been listening to folks back home who are painfully aware healthcare premiums are about to skyrocket and who are deeply concerned about what it is going to mean for their families and for their communities.

So last week, when the Republican leader sent us home, yet again, instead of working with us to end this shutdown and address the healthcare crisis, I made a visit to Sea Mar Community Health Centers' Oak Harbor Clinic. Why? To hear from doctors and healthcare providers about what is just beyond the horizon if Republicans insist on inaction. I heard about how healthcare cuts Republicans passed are going to devastate our hospitals, devastate our clinics and health centers, and I heard about how these massive premium hikes that are being announced right now--the ones Republicans are trying very hard to ignore--are going to push millions of people off their healthcare plans.

One person I spoke with serves on the board of an insurer on the Washington Health Benefit Exchange. He warned me that, if we do not save these ACA tax credits, they are anticipating so many customers will be priced out that the number of individuals they cover through the marketplace will drop 35 to 50 percent.

You know, there is already a loud chorus of people speaking out concerned about this in my State and across the country. I have spoken with small business owners who are going to see their premiums double, even triple, and some quadruple, who are having to rethink whether they try to keep their small business doors open and maybe go without coverage or, alternatively, just pack it in and try to find a job with an employer-sponsored plan.

I have spoken with retirees that are not yet old enough for Medicare who have gotten notices that their monthly premiums are about to go through the roof. In some cases, we are talking about thousands of dollars a month.

And here is the thing, not only do I know there are more stories like this across the country, I also know there are going to be many more stories pouring in very shortly because the reality is, there are rate hikes in the mail right now going out to people who had no idea about the Republican healthcare crisis and that it was going to hit them in the end. Rates are being set now. People are window shopping in many States and panicking from the sticker shock.

In Idaho, open enrollment is now underway. It has started. That means right now families are seeing the cold, hard numbers and the sharp increase it will cost them to stay covered.

And in 2 weeks, that same nightmare is coming to every State in the country.

Who do Republicans think they are fooling when they try to just ignore this? What in the world are they talking about when they say ``deal with it later''? These price hikes are going to get locked in. There is no later. We need to act now.

There was ``an earlier,'' though. Perhaps we should talk about that for a minute because Democrats have been calling for action on this for months. And where were Republicans? Why wouldn't Republicans sit down with us to talk about healthcare in September? Why wouldn't they talk about healthcare in August? Why couldn't they find a single minute to work with us on healthcare in July or June or even May? After all, they had plenty of time this summer to shovel tax breaks at billionaires and put over a trillion dollars in healthcare funding on the chopping block.

They spent months on billionaires, but they can't be bothered when it comes to healthcare. They can't be bothered to help our working families. They would rather shut down the government than sit down and talk about preventing these premiums from doubling.

But Democrats are going to talk about healthcare, whether Republicans want to or not.

House Republicans have been hiding from this issue for a month. I am not kidding. They have literally been on vacation for nearly a month now. Hiding from this problem will not make it ago way. Those rate hikes in the mail--they are going out to our constituents. Window shopping is going live. Folks can now go online in many States and see the exact cost of Republican inaction.

And open enrollment is still marching ahead. It is underway now in Idaho. And in a few weeks, it is going to be across the Nation.

If you are a Republican who thinks that somehow families will not notice their premiums doubling, somehow they won't mind that their healthcare costs jump a couple hundred dollars a month--or, in some cases, by the way, a couple thousand dollars a month--here is your advice: Stop taking your marching orders from billionaires like President Trump and start listening to those people back home. Talk to the farmers. Actually, a quarter of them are covered on these exchanges. Talk to small business owners like I have; talk to employees, many of whom are covered through the exchange, because they are the ones who will feel the pain from this and they know it and they are begging Congress to act.

And do you know what? Three fourths of the people who rely on the ACA tax credits live in red States. And the 10 States where folks who lose these tax credits will see the largest premium increases? They are all red States. So shutdown or not, Republicans can only ignore this issue if they ignore their own constituents.

So to our Republican leaders: Don't hide from your constituents. Don't hide from this healthcare crisis you are causing. Quit hiding from the negotiating table. The clock is not just ticking; the alarm is going off. We need to act now before these premium hikes become unavoidable.

Democrats are at the table. We always have been at the table. We are ready to work out a deal that reopens the government and addresses the healthcare crisis.

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