Concurrent Resolution on the Budget, Fiscal Year 2016

Floor Speech

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Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, more than 5 years after being signed into law, the Affordable Care Act is improving the health and well-being of millions of Americans. Many of the Affordable Care Act's greatest successes are getting lost in the noise of political attack ads. The Affordable Care Act has expanded health care coverage to millions of Americans. These people no longer have to go to bed at night worried about the possibility of bankruptcy if they get sick.

Americans who had coverage already are benefiting from new protections. Women now pay the same premiums as men. Preexisting conditions can no longer be used as an excuse to deny coverage, and health plans no longer put lifetime caps on benefits. This amendment would require insurers to disclose all of the benefits afforded to consumers through the Affordable Care Act.

I strongly urge my colleagues to support this amendment.

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Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, I will be very brief. I support this amendment.

President Obama favors lowering this tax rate, and I believe the reason he does is because he thinks this will provide another opportunity to reduce offshoring. I support the amendment.

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Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, I call up amendment No. 968, and I urge Senators to support this amendment because it will cut taxes on the middle class and give millions of Americans a new ladder of economic opportunity. This amendment rewards hard work, makes college more affordable, and helps parents who have a tough time making ends meet. Let's create a new path upward for the middle class and those who want to be middle class. Support this amendment.

I yield back.

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Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, earlier in this week I was encouraged when Republicans voted with Democrats to approve an amendment I introduced with Senator Sanders that would protect Medicaid beneficiaries from benefit cuts under the budget. But when we actually look at the Republican budget on Medicaid, it is impossible to square that budget, which has $1.2 trillion in cuts, with the vote that was held earlier this week to protect Medicaid. And we can't get those savings without cutting reimbursements for nursing homes and long-term care services. Medicaid pays 40 percent of all nursing home care.

Colleagues, let us be consistent with our Medicaid vote that was cast earlier this week, and support my amendment.

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