Providing for Congressional Disapproval Under Chapter 8 of Title United States Code, of the Rule Submitted By the Centers for Medicare Medicaid Services Relating to ``Patient Protection and Affordable Care

Floor Speech

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Ms. KLOBUCHAR. Mr. President, I want to thank Senator Warner for his tremendous leadership on this important issue that is just really tormenting so many Americans right now--as well as Senator Wyden.

This involves tens of millions of Americans who are facing a healthcare crisis. Their premiums are doubling or tripling, and it is completely in our hands to do something about it.

Open enrollment is ending in 2 days. Americans across the country are looking at their budgets and facing this difficult choice of whether to pay double or triple for coverage or go uninsured.

Why are tens of millions of Americans facing this reality? Well, because congressional Republicans failed to act, to come to the table to negotiate an extension of the enhanced Affordable Care Act tax credits before the end of last year.

Last Thursday, the House passed legislation to extend these healthcare tax credits for 3 years. Seventeen Republicans joined Democrats. You think about it, they could have done that months ago-- months ago. We were willing to negotiate with them 3 years, 2 years, 1 year at the time. They wouldn't do anything. And now they have realized--I guess they didn't understand what was happening to their constituents when 20-some percent of farmers and ranchers are on these kinds of policies and 75 percent of them are in red States.

The legislation that Senator Warner and Senator Wyden proposed is simple and reasonable. We are simply saying: Let's make sure the same tax credits that made care more accessible for tens of millions of Americans yesterday and last year and the year before that continue to be there for families this year. Americans are looking for us to act, and the time to act is now.

I have heard from people across my State in what is a very, very difficult time right now in the State of Minnesota. With the arrival of ICE on our streets, with people terrified, with the chaos that has ensued, we are still hearing from people about healthcare all the time.

Nicci from Waseca wrote to me that the healthcare premium for her and her husband almost tripled from $862 a month to $2,344, which, over the course of the year, is more than her annual salary. She called the increase ``insufferable.''

Nadine from Sartell, a 53-year-old single mom, shared that she has a master's degree in social work but lives nearly paycheck to paycheck now because her housing and utility costs eat up over half of her monthly income, and unless Congress renews the healthcare tax credits, she is not going to be able to purchase healthcare because there are only 2 days left. And here is the kicker: Just 4 months ago, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. She has already used up nearly all she has in savings for the copays and coinsurance to get a diagnosis and receive treatment.

Another constituent, a schoolbus driver named David, saw his premiums double. He is now spending 12 percent of his total pretax income on health insurance. David wrote:

It's difficult and frustrating to see life crumble before your eyes. Just trying to get ahead and just to find setbacks waiting for you. I would like Congress to actually sit in real life people's shoes for just a while to see how it feels. I hope we can get something changed.

That is a busdriver in Minnesota begging our colleagues on the other side of the aisle to stand and sit in his shoes, because if Congress can't fix this, David shared with me that even though he works full time, he will have to give up his health insurance entirely.

The rules that Senator Warner and Senator Wyden and others of us have suggested do away with the caps that limit how much of their income people like David must spend on health insurance, and so as we work to extend the healthcare tax credits, it is critical that we stop the administration from further undermining the Affordable Care Act and raising costs.

And this just isn't happening in my State. As I know, three-quarters of the people who get their health coverage on this ACA Marketplace live in States that President Trump won. We know the stakes, and we must come together to solve this affordability crisis. And I will note that the amount of money given to Argentina was approximately the same amount it would take to fix this for 1 year.

There is a lot more work to be done to lower healthcare costs: Medicare drug price negotiations that I have led for years and making sure that is really happening under this administration, reforming prior authorization, making improvements, public option. We can go on and on and on.

But, right now, we have one crisis that is hitting so many Americans, and we have a way to fix it. So I urge my Republican colleagues to join us to stop Americans' healthcare premiums from skyrocketing, and simply bring to the Senate floor and pass the bipartisan House-passed bill to extend the healthcare tax credits that Americans rely on, and, of course, to vote for S.J. Res. 84, which is in front of us today. And we thank Senator Warner and Senator Wyden for leading the effort.

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