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Floor Speech

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Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, the last 41 days have exposed the depths of Donald Trump's cruelty. He shut the government down longer than any President in American history. He took innocent kids, veterans, and Federal workers as hostages--political hostages--all because he refuses to do anything--anything--to fix the healthcare crisis and instead keeps pushing policies that will cut people's coverage even more.

Look no further than Donald Trump's war on SNAP. Last night, the First Circuit reaffirmed what lower courts have already said: Donald Trump cannot take 42 million hungry people as hostages. He cannot withhold the benefits they need for food for their families.

Even now, Donald Trump isn't satisfied. Today--even more cruel--he appealed to the Supreme Court yet again to try to get out of paying full SNAP benefits. The President has done a lot of cruel, nasty, mean things over the years, but going all the way up to the Supreme Court-- not once but twice--to ensure kids go hungry is about as cruel a thing as he has ever done. Donald Trump would rather make hungry Americans suffer--make kids suffer, make veterans go hungry, and disabled individuals suffer--than do anything to lower healthcare costs for the American people. The American people will not forget Donald Trump's cruelty and heartlessness over the last 6 weeks.

Let me say something else: The American people have now awoken to Trump's healthcare crisis. Healthcare is once again at the forefront of people's minds. People now see their premiums are about to skyrocket. They are terrified about how they are going to pay for their insurance.

Democrats demanded that we find a way to fix this crisis and quickly, but Republicans have refused to move an inch. So I cannot support the Republican bill that is on the floor because it fails to do anything of substance to fix America's healthcare crisis.

The healthcare crisis is causing millions of families back home sleepless nights because they don't know how they are going to afford health insurance that is so much needed by their families.

Doing nothing is unacceptable, but that is the choice the Republican side made in obeisance to Donald Trump. Republicans now own this healthcare crisis. They knew it was coming. We wanted to fix it. Republicans said no, and now it is on them.

When people's out-of-pocket costs double or triple very soon, Americans will know Republicans made it happen. When 60-year-old couples start paying $20,000 a year for health insurance, they will know Republicans made it happen. When 4 million Americans lose insurance, when kids with cancer are priced out of coverage, when families face financial ruin, they will know Republicans made it happen.

The pain will only get worse as more and more people on ACA and with private insurance see their premiums go up and up and up. People out there are struggling. It is harder to make ends meet. Rent is up, groceries are up, people's electricity bills are going up, and now, thanks to Republicans, healthcare costs will spike dramatically.

The past few weeks have exposed with shocking clarity how warped Republicans' priorities truly are. While people's healthcare costs have gone up, Republicans have come across as a party preoccupied with ballrooms, Argentina bailouts, and private jets.

Republicans' breach of trust with the American people is deep and perhaps irreversible. Now that they have failed to do anything to prevent premiums from going up, the anger that Americans feel against Donald Trump and the Republicans is going to get worse.

Republicans had their chance to fix this, and they blew it. Americans will remember Republican intransigence every time they make a sky-high payment on health insurance.

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