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Floor Speech

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Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, we are now on week four of Republicans insisting that they would rather keep the government shut down than talk about how we can stop healthcare premiums from skyrocketing.

In a sign of how serious Republicans are taking all this, House Republicans are still not even here. They are still on a vacation that has now lasted over a month. Senate Republican leaders are still refusing to sit down with us and do anything other than pull the same failed vote on their partisan bill over and over and over.

President Trump is gloating and lying about having more power than ever. He is illegally mass firing people who do important work for the American people. He is illegally hacking away at ``Democratic'' programs, and he is tweeting out more lies and truly obscene videos.

Let's be clear. President Trump does not have to fire people and slash funding. He didn't do any of this during the last shutdown he caused. Instead, Trump is choosing to cause pain and chaos because he wants to use the American people as leverage. Meanwhile, he is doing nothing about the fact that millions of Americans--the majority in red States, by the way--are about to see their premiums double. Open enrollment starts next week. In fact, it already began in Idaho. And where are the Republicans? They are on week 4 of sticking their heads in the sand. Again, House Republicans are not even here.

But, in a shock to no one, Republicans' ignoring reality has done nothing to change it. That became even more obvious today, as health plan window shopping started in my home State of Washington. It is going on in many other States as well, which means that right now, today, families are logging on and looking for plans for 2026 and seeing the full cost of the Republicans' inaction.

For millions of families, they are seeing for the first time that their premiums are going to double next year because Republicans are refusing to act. For many families, it will be even worse: Premiums will triple or even quadruple. I have heard from seniors not yet old enough for Medicare who have learned that their premiums will jump by more than $1,000 a month. I have heard from many small business owners who are trying to figure out if they are going to give up on their dream jobs or risk going without healthcare.

The Republicans' response is silence. The Republicans' solution is, just wait.

To my colleagues, what are you talking about? Wait? Until what? Until those premiums get locked in? Until people are officially priced out of coverage?

The billionaires did not have to wait for their tax cuts. Republicans made sure to pass that last July.

Why do working families have to wait for you to talk about healthcare?

It is completely absurd to me that Republicans are trying to say that they won't talk about this during a shutdown, but ``Trust us because, later, we may possibly think about or talk about something that is going to be way too late.''

It is just not credible for Republican leaders to insist that they won't talk about healthcare until the shutdown ends. After all, they wouldn't talk about it before the shutdown. As a matter of fact, I think they have talked about healthcare more during the shutdown than they have all year. They have been ignoring this issue. And their only offer to Democrats right now is to say we should ignore it too? No deal. I will not ignore my constituents.

And to my Republican colleagues: I won't let you ignore yours either. So join us at the table, and let's get serious about ending this shutdown and stopping those premiums from skyrocketing.

I have heard from families and small businesses in Washington State about how painful this is going to be. I have also heard from my neighbors in Idaho and Montana. Why is it so hard for Republican leaders to listen to these stories? Why is it so hard for them to listen to the voices of their constituents?

We saw that same issue with the protests last weekend. The No Kings protests were possibly the most massive, peaceful day of action in our Nation's history. From city to city, large and small, images poured in of massive crowds--a grassroots movement with handmade signs, colorful outfits, and Americans of every stripe.

Out in the crowds, you could see parents who were out to protest with kids on their shoulders, showing the next generation that this is how we make our voices heard in this country--loudly, proudly, and peacefully. You could see seniors out marching, determined to stand up for the rights they have cherished for decades and to stop this country from becoming something they no longer recognize. You could see young adults getting together with their friends, getting involved, and exercising their birthright as Americans to have a say in the future of this country.

It was an inspiring celebration of how we advocate for change in this country. Americans from every walk of life, in every stage of life, from every corner of our country, came together to speak with one voice and send one message: No Kings. That is about as fundamentally American as it gets.

Yet how did my colleagues across the aisle respond to these people, many of them their own constituents? Republicans spent weeks slandering peaceful protesters. They spent weeks saying this was a ``hate America'' rally. They actually said that repeatedly and proudly to the press.

Do you think those kids hate America, or those seniors? Do you think they hate America or that your constituents hate America?

That is disgraceful. Republicans who spouted those lies should apologize.

Let's not forget President Trump's response because it deserves to live in shame for all of history. The President of the United States responded to peaceful protesters across this country with a video of himself wearing a crown, driving a fighter jet, and bombing peaceful protesters with human waste. Are you kidding me? No one over there says anything about this? That is shameful.

Speaker Johnson said he thinks Trump is being an effective communicator. Really? What on Earth is effective about the President of the United States dropping waste on American families and seniors and our cities?

It was a vulgar, ugly, and fundamentally unstable display. It was in many ways a perfect mirror reflection of those peaceful protests because President Trump's response of showing himself donning a crown, soaring above the common people, and dropping waste on American cities and peaceful protesters is as fundamentally un-American as it gets.

So when are Republicans going to apologize for smearing peaceful protesters? When are they going to apologize for saying this weekend was a ``hate America'' rally? When are they going to apologize for all the rhetoric saying Democrats are terrorists? While we are at it, tell us when they are going to criticize Trump's completely unhinged response. What is it going to take to tell President Trump he crossed a line?

Millions of people can peacefully--peacefully--protest, and Republican leaders will slander it for weeks as a ``hate America'' rally, but there is not a squeak of criticism for the President of the United States fantasizing about bombing people with feces.

Republicans may be determined to cover their ears when it comes to our families who are speaking out about this healthcare crisis, and they may be determined to cover their eyes when it comes to Trump's tweeting out unhinged, un-American, AI slop, but Democrats are not going to let them cover up the truth. We are not going to let them ignore this healthcare crisis, and we are going to continue to speak out and lift up the stories of our families in their States and in ours. We will remain at the table, ready to work on real solutions to end this shutdown and address this healthcare crisis.

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