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Floor Speech

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Ms. WARREN. Mr. President, in July, when Republicans voted on the first spending bill for 2026, with cuts that would knock 15 million people off healthcare, I stood right here, and I asked my Republican colleagues in the Senate to grow a spine and stand up for Americans.

We are here today because the Republicans refused. Instead, Republicans bowed down to Trump, and, now, people all across this country will suffer.

Let's be clear: Republicans shut down the government because they would rather make healthcare more expensive than keep the government running. That is literally where we are right now.

Republicans control the House. Republicans control the Senate. Republicans control the White House. They are in power. It is their job to keep the government running for the American people, and they have failed. Donald Trump and the Republicans own this shutdown.

Don't take it from me. Listen to Donald J. Trump. In 2013, Trump himself said about a potential government shutdown:

If there is a shutdown, I think it would be a tremendously negative mark on the President of the United States. He's the one that has to get people together.

That is Donald J. Trump.

Now, at the same time, Trump said:

The President has to lead. You have to get people in a room, and you have to just make deals for the good of the country.

Donald Trump today should listen to Donald Trump from yesterday. Instead, Trump, Mr. ``Art of the Deal,'' hasn't been able to cut a deal for the most basic government functions. Wow.

As Trump said, that is ``a tremendously negative mark on the President of the United States.''

Let me say it again. Democrats are fighting to roll back the Republican cuts that would take away healthcare from millions of people and raise health insurance premiums for millions more. That is it. That is what we are asking for. We have been asking for months to negotiate over this, and the Republicans have said no.

What are they doing right now? Are they making counteroffers? Are they saying, ``We could go this far, not this far''? Nope. They are simply saying no.

So now, when a family is forced to the brink of bankruptcy from one bad medical diagnosis, Trump and the Republicans own it. Republicans insist that those healthcare cuts go through. When community hospitals have to shut down, Trump and Republicans own it. When kids with cancer can't get treatment because potentially lifesaving research grants come to a screeching halt, Trump and Republicans own it. When insurance premiums skyrocket, Trump and Republicans own it.

Healthcare in America was already broken, but Trump and Republicans are making it much, much worse. They ripped away money that covers mamas giving birth and neighbors who need wheelchairs and home health aides, and they handed it over to giant corporations and billionaire CEOs.

Democrats believe that no one should go bankrupt because they got sick and needed to see a doctor. So Democrats are here to say we are willing to fight for families who need healthcare. If Congress is going to pass a budget for the U.S. Government, then Democrats want saving healthcare for millions of Americans just to be part of that deal. Democrats have made that clear, and Republicans have refused even to talk about it.

Trump is already doing his best to shut down government or at least to shut down the parts of government that he doesn't like. Since day one, Trump has been trying to illegally wipe away millions of dollars for programs that Congress already agreed to fund. Trump and his buddy Elon Musk have fired tens of thousands of Federal workers. Trump is declaring American cities as ``war zones'' and sending troops to invade communities.

Trump is playing King time and time again, and Republicans in Congress are bowing down and letting him do it.

While all of that is going on, Republicans in Congress want Democrats just to sign a blank check and hand it over to Trump and let him continue to shut down whatever he doesn't like and to destroy our democracy. They want us to agree to a budget, knowing full well that Trump will then turn around tomorrow and delete this part or that part or whatever he doesn't like, just like he has already done.

Why would we play along with that farce? Why would we throw our support behind a deal that, any time, any day, Trump could just decide he doesn't feel like honoring it? And why would we do that without getting anything in return to help American families who are struggling with high costs, particularly the healthcare costs that Republicans are driving up? To do that would be a betrayal of the American people.

Senate Democrats are holding the line for families. Senate Republicans decided they would rather take orders from a wannabe King and shut down the entire government instead of helping out families who are getting squeezed on healthcare costs. It really is that simple.

Make no mistake, this Trump shutdown will hurt people. Because of Republicans, children across this country could lose access to childcare through Head Start. Because of Republicans, the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center will now stop enrolling patients in clinical trials that could be their only shot at treatment. Because of Republicans, air traffic controller hiring will stop, at a time when we are already dealing with a dangerous shortage. Because of Republicans, park rangers and thousands of other civil servants won't get paid. Because of Republicans, Donald Trump's corruption and chaos will continue.

So what is next? Well, Democrats want to keep the government open, and we want rollbacks of the Republican cuts that will cost 15 million Americans their healthcare coverage and drive up insurance costs for everyone else.

This isn't partisan. This is a righteous fight on behalf of everyone who needs healthcare, everyone who might need to go to the hospital, everyone who counts on a community clinic or a home health aide, whether they are a Democrat, a Republican, an Independent, or a ``none of the above.''

We are in this fight for Americans and for American healthcare, and it is only the Senate Republicans, led by Donald Trump, who stand in the way.

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