King V. Burwell

Floor Speech

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Mr. BLUMENTHAL. Mr. President, I am pleased to follow my
distinguished colleague and friend from the State of Wyoming, and I
rise to talk about exactly the same issue and to differ with him,
respectfully, that the current law is unworkable, unpopular, and
unaffordable. In fact, history demonstrates that it is certainly
working.

In the State of Connecticut we know well that it is working as it was
intended because we have a State-run exchange, and we have cut the
number of uninsured by one-half, while improving health care quality,
lowering Medicaid spending, and making remarkable achievements across a
whole range of metrics. That same story is true of our Nation as a
whole, whether there are State-run exchanges or Federal supervised
exchanges.

Today's point, whether it is in the Supreme Court or here, should be
extraordinarily encouraging about the Congress's approval of the
Affordable Care Act and the fact that it is working across the country.
It is succeeding in delivering exactly what was intended, what the
Congress promised, what its advocates saw, access for all Americans to
affordable health insurance.

The ACA is working today to protect Americans from abuses, and I saw
them literally day in and day out as attorney general: people who lost
health insurance when they got sick, people who were denied coverage
because of a preexisting condition, people who were charged more
because of their gender, people who were denied the basic care they
needed and deserved for themselves, their children, and their families,
giving them access not only to health care but also to work and to
family stability.

I saw every day as attorney general how imperiled and critical health
care is in this country and how much we need to do more and do better
in this area.

The uninsured rate in this country is the lowest it has been in 7
years, and we have lowered it a remarkable 25 percent in just 1 year.
Eight million people have gained health insurance through the exchanges
who didn't have it before, and I know that States with federally run
exchanges have made improvements, just as Connecticut has done, which
is fully in accordance with the absolutely crystal-clear intent of this
Congress and this law to provide affordable health insurance for all
Americans, regardless of where they live, what State, what ZIP Code,
whatever their occupation and background.

Let's be clear. As with any big law there are kinks that need to be
ironed out, there are glitches that need to be resolved, but the
Affordable Care Act is working now and working better every month,
every year.

The legal issue before the Court has been debated today in depth, and
I believe with the great persuasiveness--similar to the Presiding
Officer, I had the honor to serve as a law clerk to the Supreme Court
and watch many arguments. To say that today is historic I think is
true, but in my view almost every argument before the Supreme Court is
historic in its consequences--some more than others, but every one is
consequential because cases don't reach the U.S. Supreme Court unless
they are difficult and consequential, and issues of statutory
interpretation that are said to be simple often are more complicated
than they may seem.

But I know, without a doubt, having read this statute, that the text
and structure of the Affordable Care Act clearly demonstrate--in fact,
they unmistakably demand--that Federal tax credits be available to
every eligible taxpayer in every State in this country.

I have done arguments in the U.S. Supreme Court, and I had the honor
to be attorney general of the State of Connecticut as well as a U.S.
attorney.

Having looked at this statute as a whole, having read the words that
need to be interpreted by the Supreme Court, I have reached this
conclusion: Contrary to the argument of partisan opponents, both the
act itself and the plainly overwhelming evidence from its consideration
and passage demonstrate its nationwide scope.

I wasn't here at the time it was passed, but from the legislative
history and, most important, from the structure and language of the act
itself, there seems to be irrefutably and incontrovertibly an
understanding that tax credits would be available regardless of which
governmental agency set up an exchange. The act simply would not have
worked any other way and courts have an obligation to read statutes in
a way that makes the most sense in terms of the overriding intent and
purpose of the Congress.

The financial support simply, for universal coverage, would not be
there without this interpretation, a commonsense interpretation that
makes sense of congressional intent, purpose, and the law as a whole.

The law has given so many families across the country access to care
for the first time. There has been an effort to repeal this act
legislatively. There has been an effort to overturn it in the courts.
Both have failed because it is working and because it is
constitutional.

A ruling for the plaintiffs in this case that is now before the Court
would not only be contrary to law, it would be catastrophic to millions
of families who owe their health insurance to the structure the ACA has
established. It would be, in fact, a human tragedy as well as a legal
travesty.

There is simply no alternative that has been offered by opponents to
this law. It is difficult therefore to see how this misguided lawsuit
is anything other than one more cynical attempt to repeal or overturn
this law--or torpedo it by any means necessary, regardless of the
collateral damage to millions of innocent people who would suffer loss
of health care insurance and health care. And the tragedy would be not
only for them but for our entire Nation because the cost would ripple
throughout our society--the cost in lost work; the cost in families
suffering from the consequences of bankruptcy, which is caused most
frequently by health care-related financial issues; the cost in the
ability of our workforce to function at the height of efficiency that
we all need; and the cost ultimately in diseases that have to be
treated and ailments that have to be addressed and preventable health
care consequences for our children. Prevention is one of the most cost-
effective goals of the Affordable Care Act.

So I will work with my colleagues to support this act and to
determine what other efforts can make progress toward the ultimate goal
that we all should share--an America that is free from disease or
injury that will bankrupt our families, an America that is healthier
and better able to afford health care, and quality and timely health
treatment.

The lack of standing on the part of these plaintiffs seems clear, but
putting aside all of the technical issues and the legal debate, the
Affordable Care Act has allowed America to make huge, exciting strides
in the direction of better health care. So we should be proud of the
act passed by this body. Even many of us perhaps who were not here at
the time can look forward to how much further we can go, and America
has that fundamental obligation.

Mr. President, I yield the floor.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

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