Healthcare

Floor Speech

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Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, on an unrelated matter, America's health system is in critical condition. In 17 days, 22 million Americans will be asked to pay double or triple for their current health insurance premiums. Rural hospitals will be facing closure, small businesses won't be able to cover expenses, and more than 4 million Americans will lose their insurance if we fail to do anything in Congress.

Last Thursday, Senate Democrats put forward a bill to prevent this catastrophe. Our bill would have provided a clean extension of the Affordable Care Act's enhanced premium tax credits, which 22 million Americans rely on to help them pay their insurance premiums. These credits expire at the end of this year.

But too many Senate Republicans voted against extending them and, instead, rushed a vote on a partisan proposal that would upend the Affordable Care Act and the American healthcare system, less than a month before the insurance premiums spike. Their bill, which was introduced last week, has never been debated in committee, and no Member had a chance to amend it.

I say this to my friends on the other side of the aisle: You are in the majority. You have the power to set matters for a congressional hearing. You have the power to go through a serious process to reform healthcare. You are in the majority.

But, first, we need triage. First, we have to stabilize the patient. Americans who are about to pay thousands of additional dollars cannot wait as Republicans attempt to change the entire healthcare system in a week.

Four Senate Republicans understood this and voted with all the Democrats to extend these tax credits. I thank them for their singular political courage.

Each additional day we delay an extension of the enhanced premium tax credits, more Americans forgo their health insurance because it is just too darn expensive.

Time is running out.

I recently spoke to a waitress at Lou Mitchell's restaurant in Chicago--in downtown Chicago, across from the train station. She is personally worried that she will not be able to afford her healthcare next year without the enhanced premium tax credits. She sees her health insurance bill doubling or more.

This waitress does not care about who is winning the political fight in Washington. She cares about whether she and her family can pay for their doctors' appointments and medications.

I want to go back to that restaurant soon and tell my friend that the Senate did something to help her. We can help her, so long as we act on a bipartisan basis.

If you don't like our proposal for a clean, 3-year extension, counter it with a reasonable offer. Show that there is a beating heart that cares to address the real problems Americans face. Let us come together and give American families the gift of health coverage they can afford for Christmas.

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