Things that work. I yield the floor the most important words in the constitution are the first three words. We the people. Their goal was to repeat the of, by and powerful of europe and pursue differently, a vision in which the will of the people will be enacted and government would work not just for the benefits of the citizens at large but also empowered by the citizens at large. A vision we are concerned about as we see the influence of the concentration of money in american politics. We have five members of the Supreme Court who dont understand the basic nature of the first three words of the constitution. They adopted a court case Citizens United that was the opposite of the vision of our constitution. And that vision was articulated by Thomas Jefferson who said the will of the people will only be enacted if each and every citizen has an equal voice. But Citizens United gives a dramatic stadium size mega phone to the individuals who are the richest and most powerful in the country at odds with that fundamental vision that lincoln summarized of, by and for the people. We have certainly seen the case of government by and for the powerful in the context of the recent trump care Senate Version there of bill crafted in secret by 13 of my colleagues from across the aisle hiding from the press, hiding from the Health Care Stakeholders and experts and hiding from their own citizens. During this last break in fact, of 52 members of the republican congress, apparently, only a couple had a town hall because they were terrified of what their citizens would say about the bill they have been crafting in secret. The secret 13. This bill also known as the zero, zero, zero bill. Zero committee meetings. Zero amendments considered in committee. Zero months of opportunity for senators to go back and consult with their citizens back in their home state. And then what do we find as a result of this secret process of government . A bill to Rip Health Care from 22 million americans in order to deliver hundreds of billions of dollars to the richest americans. In fact, if you want to just summarize it, you can say this bill gives 33 billion, not 33 thousand, not 33 million, but 33 billion dollars to the richest 400 americans while ripping Health Care Away from 700,000. That is the number that could be funded by that 33 billion covering all the medicare recipient recipients in alaska, arizona, nevada and west virginia. This has incredibly grave consequences for the peace of mind and the quality of life for these millions of americans. It rips 772 billion out of medicaid. The Medicaid Expansion in oregon has enabled 400,000 people to acquire health care in my home state. 400,000 people. If they were Holding Hands they would stretch from the Pacific Ocean to the state of idaho across the entire eastwest breadth of my state. If you think about how much of an impact this has on rural americans. 13 rule oregon residents are on oregon medicaid program. It has a big impact on our seniors. Our seniors in Long Term Care. Oregon is a leader in helping families and individuals stay in their home as their health care declines. In rural oregon, it is higher. I was reciting the National Statistic town there, 63 , the head of the nursing home said senator, here it is virtually a 100 percent. I looked at the residents who needed intensive Nursing Health care and one woman asked why i was there and i explained it to her. Her name was debra and she said senator, i am paid for my medicaid. If it goes away i am out on the street and that is a problem because i cant walk. It is not just a problem for debra but all residents in Long Term Care who need expensive nursing care. It is a challenge for our mothers. About 13 women in Maternity Care are paid for my medicare. Dont we want our children to get a good strong start in life. Dont we want Maternity Care from the moment a woman knows she is expecting a child . Then why do so many of my colleagues support a bill to tear that care away from our expecting mothers. It is a problem for our Older Americans. Our Older Americans whose rates would go way up. For example, a man 60 years old earning 20,000 a year who currently pays about 80 a month for health care, an affordable policy but under the trump bill it would be to 570 a month. A challenge to my colleagues. Find me someone earning 20,000 a year who can pay 570 a month in health care. Find that individual and defend our point as to why that isnt equivalent to taking Health Care Away from that individual. And of course we have the exist issue of preexisting conditions. Preexisting conditions. People have an injury in High School Football or maybe it is in softball they carry with them the rest of their life. Or maybe something that develops further on in life. Maybe it an asthma, diabetes, or episode of cancer and now they have a preexisting condition. Under our old Health Care System, prior to 20092010, they could not acquire insurance unless they were fortunate enough to get it through their jobs which millions of americans dont get it through their workplace. They were out in the cold. Now we have this Republican Trump care bill and they want to throw those citizens back on the ice who have preexisting conditions. Not the heads of corporations who get big benefit packages. Not them. Just the struggling working american. Dont we care about struggling working americans . Arent we a we the people nation . Not a we the privilege nation. We have the plan my colleague from texas suggested. The cruz amendment for fake insurance. It works like this. It says if Insurance Company provides one policy with extensive benefits that it benefits central to ordinary Health Care LikeMaternity Care and the ability to go to a hospital, the ability to get a broken bone repaired, the ability to get affordable drugs. They have one policy with essential benefits. They can offer policies that cover virtually nothing. These are known as fake insurance. We have a president who likes to talk about fake news. Why do we have a president who hates fake news but loves fake insurance . And why do i have 52 colleagues who apparently love fake insurance. Here is what it does. It means the young and healthy get those policies because they cost little and make a bet they are not going to get hurt or sick. But that means those who are older and have preexisting conditions has to go for the policy with the essential benefits but because the older and sicker individuals are getting the policy it is way beyond reach. Earlier, i described how a 60yearold with 20,000 has a policy that increases from 80 to 570 a month. The cruz amendment would make that much worse. Fake insurance for the young and healthy and unaffordable policies for those who are older and have preexisting conditions. Our president said the house bill is mean. But the senate bill is meaner. The house bill knocks 14 million out of health care and the senate bill is 15 Million People. The American Medical Association has long uperated under the operated under first do no harm. Wouldnt that be a good principle for legislation on health care . Is it any wonder recent polls, usa today poll, says only 18 americans likes this Republican Trump care bill . Or we can turn to the pbs newshour poll, 17 . That is quite a small number of americans who understand that ripping health care from 22 Million People in order to give hundreds of billions to the richest americans is one of the biggest takings this country has ever seen proposed and one that is so deeply and profoundly damages the quality of life for these americans. Our president s Republican Democratic over time have understood this. President eisenhower said because the strength of our nation is in its people their good health is a concern. Healthy americans live more rewarding and productive and happier lives and he continues fortunately the nation continues to advance in bettering the health of all its people. But today on the floor of the senate we have a different philosophy. The trump policy echoed by colleagues that is about destroying the health care for millions of people. Taking us back in time to a place where peace of mind was missing for millions of americans because they cannot afford health care or because their policies didnt cover anything. Other president s over time have weighed in with similar sentiments to that come president eisenhower put forward. Lets hear from the citizens back home. Kathryn from springfield who has battled cancer three times over the last 12 years and says during the last two bouts of cancer in 2010 and 2011 she was quote blessed enough to have qualified for the Oregon Health plan and without it she would not be here today. And dean, Health Care Coverage has been a blessing to so many. Lets not rip those blessings away. Lets go to beth in bend and her 34yearold son who is living with a rare genetic condition and relies on the Oregon Health care plan to survive. In 2012, doctors found tumors along the spine and areas of concern in the brain and lung. They are benign now and could turn into cancer any time so her son depends on regular expensive mri to monitor them and is only able to afford them because of the oregon plan. Beth says if the aca is repealed and replaced with trump care my son will lose his insurance and that is a potential death sentence for my son. Medical professionals like katelandkate kaitlyn kaitlyn, a nurse in portland. With the passage of obamacare people were able to come and be seen by teams and their disease was so advance we would have to take extreme merses but as time passes we can catch things sooner and people can go to primary care until waiting until it is life or death and having be seen in the emergency department. I am struck by liz from enterprise who works at a clinic and told me the clinic expanded in a small, remote town in northeast oregon from 20 something employees to 50. Doubled in size which means an incredible improvement in health care. She went on to say they have been able to take on Mental Health as well which they were never able to do before. And why would they afford to do this . Because the uncompensated fare dropped. John wrote about his grandmother who he lost to alzheimers a few months ago but thanks to the Oregon Health plan his grandmother was able to live in a nursing home and get the care she needed 24 hours a day until the end. As john says quote i am forever thankful for the work of obama and congress for passing the aca. If they didnt pass the bill, my grandmother wouldnt have gotten the care she needed by those great men and women at the home. Over the last weekend, i did a series of town halls in rural oregon, parts of oregon that would be painted red on a political map. And went to swapz with mayors and what i heard everywhere i went inviting the entire community to come to the town hall and talk was enormous anxiety and disappointment that the leaders they are counting on to make Hour Health Care system work better care more about giving more american tax dollars away to the richest americans than they do about fundaMental Health care for struggling working families across our nation. Lets listen to those individuals. I know that most of my colleagues didnt go home and listen to constituents. As i mentioned, only a couple republican colleagues held a town hall even though this bill would affect them so profoundly. Still, their voices are echoing through this building. Through the emails, through the phone calls, through the individuals who are coming and visiting our offices both here and back home. Lets listen to those voices. Lets be a we the people that works in partnership to make the nation provide a foundation for every family to thrive. We have to take a sick and pound it through the heart of trump care and bury it six feet under and Work Together in a bipartisan fashion. Think of all we could do . When you strip away reinsurance we know you destroy the market for insurance to go into new areas and compete so lets restore that reinsurance. We know bh when the president holds on to the cost share and will not release them Health Insurance companies are fleeing because the president will not tell them if they are releasing the cost sharing payments. We can fix that. We know we have a meth and Opioid Epidemic across the country. I have heard colleagues on both sides they we have to take this own in a more substantial operation. Lets put funds behind that. Lets do that. Lets take on the high cost of pharmaceuticals. These four things we could do together and the country would love to see democrats and republicans working together to make our Health Care System work better. That is what we should be doing to recognize the citizens of the United States of america and we the democratic perepublic. I would like to take a moment to talk about the ongoing efforts on Senate Republicans to take away Health Insurance for millions of americans by repealing the Affordable Care act. I was on the floor reading letters from my constituents about how they have benefited from the aca and what trump cares means for them. Since then, my colleagues on the other side of the aisle have continued forges ahead in their effort to oppose aca. Every Major Health Care organization representing patients, doctors, nurses and hospitals among others is opposed to this misguided effort and that is on top of millions of americans who know how devastating trump care would be for them and their families. Senate republicans are working on tweaks to convince their republicans to vote for the bill. Their socalled fixes are not improvements and that is because trump care is fatally flawed and cant be fixed. My constituents know better and have continued to write, call and stopping me in stores and on the street to express their opposition and fear of all versions of the Senate Trump Care bill. For example, my republican colleagues are looking to at a provision that would bring us back to the days when Insurance Companies can deny coverage or charge high amounts for those with preexisting conditions. The Affordable Care act ended hat and i cannot imagine why my republican colleagues want to bring that back but the amendments they are proposing would do just that. It would create a death spiral in the marketplace so the people who need the Health Insurance the most will be priced out entirely. Just last week i heard from ann in rhode island. She said i am the parent of a Childhood Cancer survivor. The last 11 months of my life have been fighting alongside my warrior, 9yearold osteosarcoma survivor julia. She loves horses, the beach and going for walks. Due to no fault of her own she hasnt been able to walk for nine months. I will ask for your support to ensure all children fighting cancer have access to Affordable Health care. If enacted in the law, it would have devastating impacts on the hundreds of thousands affected by Childhood Cancer. Without Health Insurance and access to treatment my child would not have survived. Ann went on to explain the republicans efforts to undermine preexisting conditions protections would be devastating for Childhood Cancer survivors. Even parents who get their insurance through their employer would be at risk. Ann pointed out that nearly half of families of children with cancer will experience gaps in coverage because one or both parents often need to stop working or reduce their hours to care for the child. Further, trump care erodes other protections like allowing annual and lifetime limits on care. Ann continues, additionally Childhood Cancer patients must be assured for insurance that would not price them out. Two thirds of Childhood Cancer survivors will develop Serious Health conditions from the toxicity of the treatments. My childs future is uncertain enough. We should not have to worry about annual or lifetime caps on coverage. I agree with ann. What use is Health Care Coverage that expires just when you need it the most . Why would anyone think it makes sense to sell a Health Insurance policy for thousands that doesnt cover anything or nothing when you need it . This is a step in the wrong direction. I continue to urge my republican colleagues to reverse course. I want to talk about what this would do for those suffering from opioid addiction. I, along with many democratic colleague colleagues have been talking about how the Senate Trump Care bill would pull the leg out from many of those suffering from Substance Abuse disorders by decimating medicaid which is how many suffering from the Opioid Crisis access treatment. News reports republicans are considering adding a fund for opioid addiction treme treatment as a socalled fix to the bill. We absolutely need more federal funding and expanding access to drug treatment, what they are proposing cannot make up for their bills nearly 800 billion cuts to medicaid with a 45 billion opioid fund. The math doesnt work. Second, short term drug treatment programs dont provide a full spectrum of Health Care Coverage over the long term like medicaid or other Health Insurance. The expansion has provided the security of reliable Health Care Coverage and long term stability to help people with chronic conditions such as Substance Abuse disorders seek treatment and turn their life around. Trump care takes that away. In addiction, people with opioid addiction suffer from other Mental Health conditions at twice the rate of the general population and higher rates of physical Health Conditions as well which would still go unaddressed in this socalled fix. We would be setting people up for failure if we provide immediate Drug Services but cut access to mental and physical Health Services they need. An opioid fund alone will not solve this Public Health crisis and in fact would be a drop in the bucket to how the rest of the bill would worsen the crisis. The cuts are beyond repair. Fundamentally changes the structure of the medicaid program, making massive cuts representing a 35 cut over the next two decades. Simply put this will end Medicaid Programs as we know it which will hurt not only those suffering from the Opioid Crisis but also seniors children, and people with disabilities. We may see republicans try to spread out this harm over more years to hide the damage, but do not be fooled. Whether they make massive cuts to medicaid in 2021, 2022 or 2026 it will be devastating. This bill is a massive tax break for the wealthiest americans at the expense of everyone else. No and management will change that. We have sharon from my feelgood island that wrote me a couple of physical. She said, i do not support the socalled American Healthcare act because it is not a healthcare plan. It is a tax cut for the rich. And 67 years old, i have a milder version of muscular dystrophy and have medicaid. Since the gop wants to end medicaid i am asking you to vote no on the bill. Republicans must abandon this and work with democrats on a new path forward. Lets have productive conversations and how we can improve access to care and bring down costs. They just improving access coupled with the bill, the efforts will not mitigate what this will do to my constituents and goes across the country. I will oppose trump care and all of its forms so we can Work Together on a bipartisan solution and attempt to do something positive for our constituents. Senator rand paul of kentucky called the new healthcare replacement bill worse than the original version saying it is not a repeal. Something he said republicans had promised the American People. Here is a look at some of what he had to say. The Obamacare Repeal bill is not a repeal. The new bill is actually less of a repeal than the old bill. The new repeal actually only repeals about half of the obamacare taxes. It repeals to obamacares regulation and we think it is at least 180 billion. I suspect it may be bigger. This does not know what they will do with the 400 billion that they are going to put into the. There are 200 billion in taxes that theyre not going to cut and theres another 200 billion that they think they can put into it as well. So there will be 400 billion and more spending in this iteration from the last. When we looked at the bill a week ago and i said i could not support the bill as it was they have not taken it and made it worse. They are taking any pretense that this is a repeal bill and made it a bill that basically is a spending bill. I just came from the republican caucus. Many of the members behind closed doors are willing to admit it is not a repeal bill. This needs to be the discussion. Our promise to the American People was that we would repeal obama care. Now it looks clear voting to keep obamacare. Tonight and cspan2, a confirmation hearing for President Trump fbi director nominee, christopher wray. Any hearing of these over states and the implications for national security. Later, a hearing on past congressional and executive branch criminal investigations. Christopher wray, President Trumps choice to leave the fbi received tough questions from both republicans and democrats on whether he will remain the bureaus independent. He denied being asked to give a loyalty oath to President Trump and got to be loyal to the constitution and the rule of law. This portion of the hearing is three hours