Quorum call mr. Casey mr. Pres mr. Carper mr. President , i ask unanimous consent that i speak as if in morning business. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Casey the republican bill, and im referring to the House Republican bill that the senate now is considering in addition to other ideas is in my judgment not really a tax not really a Health Care Bill but a tax cut bill. Its a tax cut bill for the super rich, not only the rich but the wealthiest, literally the wealthiest few americans while increasing costs for middleclass families. It gives states the options forker for allowing you states to discriminate again like they did before the a. C. A. Was passed. And also would allow those same policies to devastate our hospitals, particularly those in rural communities. I live in a state where 48 out of 67 counties are in fact rural counties. The republican bill would rip away health care according to the Congressional Budget Office, would rip away health care from 23 million americans. Heres what that means in pennsylvania based upon the Congressional Budget Office numbers. Up to 770,000 pennsylvanians would Lose Health Insurance by 2026, if the bill were to pass. 48,000 pennsylvania seniors on medicare could lose access to Services Covered by medicaid. Third, 52,600 pennsylvanians with disabilities could lose medicaid coverage. I live in a state where according to the center on budget and policy priorities, over 722,000 pennsylvanians with disabilities rely on medical assistance for their medical care. Medical assistance is the state version of medicaid. So we know that if you are a he a child, far he a senior, or you have a disability, Many Americans in those categories of course rely upon medicaid. We also know based upon the c. B. O. Numbers that 180,000 pennsylvanians could lose being a test to Substance Abuse care now provided by medicaid. Weve heard a lot of talk and a lot of work actually in this chamber, in this body as well as the other body, in the last year on the opioid problem. We have democrats and republicans focusing on a Major National problem, an Urgent Public Health problem, and weve made some progress. Not enough but some Good Progress on opioid legislation. All of that would be badly, badly undermined, if we made the changes to medicaid that some want to make here, because of the Significant Impact that cuts to medicaid would have on the challenge of reducing the opioid crisis. So even the possibility that this bill might become law is, in a sense, destabilizing and destabilizing to a marketplace, a health care marketplace, thats been better each year we move forward from the passage of the a. C. A. In 2010. Just last week the Pennsylvania Insurance Department a nnounce nnounced announced average proposed rate increases for Health Insurance premiums for 2018. Heres what the heres what the Pennsylvania Insurance Department told us. If we maintain current law, premiums will go up 8. 8 in pennsylvania under current law. If the republicans get rid of the costsharing subsidies which many seem to either want to get rid of or want to ignore, will be creating uncertainty, if those costsharing subsidies are thrown out the window, premiums will go up two and a half times as much by over 20 . So so far 8. 8 under current law, 20 just based upon the costsharing costsharing subsidies being taken away. Third, if the individual mandate is repealed, premiums will go up almost three times as much, by 234 . By 23 . And if you get rid of both the costsharing subsidies and the individual mandate, guess what . Pennsylvanians premiums in our state will go up by over 36 . So we got a basic choice to make, at least as it relates to pennsylvania. Current law, its 8. 8 . We should try to bring that document i think there are ways we could Work Together in a bipartisan fashion to bring that document but if you go in the direction many want to go, especially on the republican side, undermine or do nothing about costsharing, get rid of the individual mandate, premiums go up 36 . So folks can make their choice go up about 9 or go up 36 . It is a real simple choice, and theres basically two options. The bill that was passed in the house will destroy the lives of many vulnerable pennsylvanians. P what should we do about it . Work the first thing we should do with the bill is throw it in the trash heap. Thats where it belongs. And i hope thats where Senate Republicans are headed and that theyre going to start over on a new bill, because the bill that was passed in the house is very bad for the country. We know that among the three million pennsylvanians with preexisting conditions are two remarkable young women whose mother first contacted me in 2009. Stacey ritter, from mannheim, pennsylvania is a mother of three children, including her twin children. Hana and madeleine were dig knowed with leukemia when they were just four years old. You can see their picture there at that time. I guess about eight years ago now. Stacey and her husband went bankrupt did went bankrupt, trying to pay their daughters medical bills. She wrote at the time, without health care reform, quote, my first of all will be unable to afford care. That is if they are eligible for care that is critically necessary to maintain this chronic condition. Now, fortunately, things have changed in the last eight or so years. Fortunately hana and madeleine are healthy young women now, freshmen at Arcadia University and are doing well. They rely on the Affordable Care acts protections to ensure that they have access to affordable coverage, whether they are on their parents planning or purchasing a plan in the individuals market. As you can see on my left, a picture of hana and madeline today, as college freshmen. Without the Affordable Care act, they could be denied Health Insurance, as their mom said, they could be, quote, punished and reject because they had the misfortune of developing cancer as a child. Unquote. The republican bill passed in the house would put them at risk of being denied Health Insurance or charged more because they are cancer survivors. I dont know why anyone would support a bill that would do that. Just a number of months ago, i received a letter from pam simpson, from chester county, pennsylvania. Pam and her son roane, have their story to tell. Rowan is five years old and was diagnosed with autism. I talked about him before on this floor and in other places and what the Medicaid Program means for rowean and his family. Medicaid provides Important Services for rowan and others with disabilities, enabling rowan to go to preschool and allowing his mother to work. Here is what his mom said to me. I wont read the wheel whole letter. The first page is, rowans life before he was diagnosed with autism, all the challenges he and his family had. Rowans life after diagnosis of autism but then ultimately when he received medicaid or medical assistance, as we call it in pennsylvania. Heres what his mom told me in the letter after he received word that he was going to be enrolled in medical assistance. Im quoting now, late january 20106616 i applied for 2016 i applied for medicaid, which is medical assistance. We were able to obtain wraparound services. She is services included a behavioral specialist consultant, and a therapeutic Staff Support worker. Then she goes on later in that paragraph to say that these two features in the overall wraparound services, these wraparound services, quote, have been a godsend, unquote. Then see says, im, quote, thrilled by rowans daily progress. I cannot say enough great things about this program. Without medical assistance, im confident that i could not work fulltime to support our family. Our family would be bankrupt or our son would go without the therapies he sincerely needs, unquote. Hereheres the last line of her letter. Quote, we are desperately in need of rowans medical assistance and would be devastated if we lost these benefits, unquote. Referencing medical assistance or medicaid, the same program at the state level. So you have two families now totally reliant on these programs, either the a. C. A. More broadly or in particular the Medicaid Program. Both families referencing bankruptcy bankruptcy because of Health Care Challenges in the life of that family. One that would be on the brink of bankruptcy, rowans family, and the other that actually went through bankruptcy because of those Health Care Challenges. No family in the United States of america should have to worry about going bankrupt because of a health care problem. Were well on our way to solving these problems and no one should pull the rug out from under those families. But, unfortunately, when it gets to this legislation, thats exactly what could happen to many of them. Ill give you a third example alex. Recently i met alex, who is from southeastern pennsylvania, nine years old. And he has downs syndrome. Heres what a nineyearold wrote. Although i have a medical diagnosis of downs syndrome, i am an excellent student. I got 100 on my spelling tests. My students and teachers and everyone around thought from the beginning there was nothing i could not do. I am able to get a good education because of the supports that i get from special education. Thats why i am very concerned about possible cuts to medicaid funding in our schools. Medicaid funding in schools is a very, very important part of what makes it possible for us to receive successful education at school and become contributing members of our society. End quote. Thats a 9yearold in pennsylvania reminding us about this important program. Alex has tremendous potential that would be in jeopardy by the proposed cuts to medicaid. Number four, peg fagan, a pennsylvania y the republican bill includes an age tax that will allow insurers to charge Older Americans up to five times more than younger americans. Peg is from bucks county, southeastern pennsylvania. Shes a threetime cancer survivor who could not afford Health Insurance prior to the Affordable Care act. She is approaching medicare eligibility but still has a few years to go before shes old enough to enroll. Peg was able to find affordable Health Insurance thanks to the a. C. A. But under the republican bill, she could once again be discriminated against for being an older adult, an older adult, and another possible object of discrimination would be because she is a cancer survivor. That was the old law. Thats where we were before, that Insurance Companies were allowed under the law to discriminate in that fashion. They could discriminate against you because you were a woman. They could discriminate against you because you had preexisting conditions. They could discriminate against you because you were a cancer survivor. They could discriminate against you because of your age and so many other circumstances. I thought we were beyond that. I thought we had finally cured that problem. But some want to go back in time. So the c. B. O. Tells us the republican bill would rip away health care from 23 million americans. I just went through some pennsylvania stories. Weve go to a lot more and youll be hearing them. But for hana and madelin and rowan and peg, we should ask ourselves a couple of basic questions. Health care for those pennsylvanians should not be made worse and they should not be made worse off in order to give the top. 1 a 200,000 giveaway. Thats what the first version oe Health Care Bill would do. It would give the top. 1 an average tax cut of 197,000. I exaggerated. I said 200,000. Lets be exact. 197,000 each. Why would we take away health care or even risk or create uncertainty about health care for hannah and madeleine and rowan and alex and peg because some people around here want to give tax cuts to the tune of hundreds of billions of dollars to very wealthy people. Thats not what i call a Health Care Bill. So the senate has an obligation, in my judgment, both parties, to stop this bill from it being enacted into law. We cannot allow this legislation to pass or anything like it to become law. So i ask each member of the senate to consider these pennsylvanians and plenty in your home states and the countless more like them who are anxiously hoping and praying that this congress will not vote to take away their health care. Mr. President , i would ask consent to continue my remarks but also to ask consent that the following remarks would be placed in a separate portion of the record. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Casey thank you, mr. President. I want to rise as well today to express my support for the drug and other treatment courts, including veteran treatment courts in pennsylvania and the more than 3,000 across the nation. Just last month during National Drug court month, drug courts across the country held graduation ceremonies to recognize individuals who completed this rigorous treatment program. These courts would serve about 150,000 people a year, hold offenders with Substance Abuse and Mental Health disorders accountable for their actions through strict supervision while also connecting them to the treatment they need. More than 1. 25 Million People have successfully graduated from drug and treatment courts those programs, i should say, and are now on a path to recovery. Research has demonstrated that drug and other treatment courts not only reduce crime but also reduce spending by slowing the cycle of recidivism. Drug and other treatment courts also are an important resource for Law Enforcement and Community Stakeholders working to combat the opioid epidemic. Opioid addiction is a growing Public Health crisis in pennsylvania and throughout the nation, and it demands real action. As public officials, we had an obligation to ensure that the resources and policies are in place to fight this scourge so that more families wont have to endure the heartache that comes with losing a loved one to addiction. Veteran treatment courts are innovative and collaborative programs to address some of the unique challenges that face our veterans community. There are approximately 22 million veterans in the United States. Pennsylvanias home to nearly a million. The majority of veterans return to our communities as leaders and lead exemplary lives. However, not every veterans path is straightforward. That is why we need to make sure the right programs and support are in place. According to the department of justice in 20112012, approximately 8 of the total incarcerated population of the u. S. Were, in fact, veterans. These veterans found themselves serving time in correctional facilities because they had not received the treatment that they needed. While this represents a small, very small percentage of veterans, its important that we support programs like veterans treatment courts. For veterans who face significant obstacles returning to civilian life, including Mental Health concerns, posttraumatic stress disorder or Substance Abuse issues. These treatment courts can have lifelong impact on a veteran by helping them get out of the criminal Justice System and get the necessary treatment that they have earned. Its our obligation to work every day to ensure veterans are receiving the care and support they deserve. There are many stories from across a state like pennsylvania and across our country that exemplify why these veteran treatment courts are critical. Just give you one. Shortly after Michael Collette i from colletti from mog county received a discharge from the coast guard, he found himself in the grips of a serious addiction to opioids. To support his habit, michael started stealing from his employer, resulting in his arrest and jail time. His crimes were caused by his opioid use disorder, and michael found himself in the Montgomery County veterans treatment court. Finally, given the accountability he needed and connected with the benefits he earned as a veteran, michael began the process of leaving behind his life of addiction and crime to start a new path. Today Michael Colletti is a partner in a successful Small Business and a mentor to others in his community struggling with their own Substance Use in that community. He says of the veterans treatment court, quote, i wouldnt be here without the support network from the court. I wouldnt have my girlfriend. I wouldnt have my beautiful place. I wouldnt have my career. And most importantly, i wouldnt have the sound clarity of mind to be myself again. Now i am committed to paying it forward, unquote. I and i know many others are proud to support a recent letter led by our colleagues senator klobuchar and senator wicker highlighting the importance of funding the Drug Court Discretionary Grant program and veterans treatment courts. As we go through the appropriations process, i urge my colleagues to consider the proven track record of these courts and improving outcomes for graduates and Hope Congress will offer its strong support for these important programs that have been helping the Justice System better serve individuals, veterans, their families, friends and communities. With that, mr. President , i will yield the floor. A senator mr. President. The presiding officer the senator from north carolina. Mr. Tillis i ask unanimous consent the senate be in a period of morning business with senators permitted to speak for up to ten minutes each. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Tillis mr. President , i ask unanimous consent that the Judiciary Committee be discharged from further consideration and the senate now proceed to Senate Resolution 174. The presiding officer the clerk will report. The clerk Senate Resolution 174, recognizing the 100th anniversary of Lions Club International and celebrating the Lions Club International for a long history of humanitarian service. The presiding officer is there objection to proceeding to the pressure . To the measure. Without objection, the committee is discharged and the senate will proceed to the measure. Mr. Tillis thank you, mr. President. I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the moran amendment to the preamble be considered and agreed to, the preamble as amended be agreed to and that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Tillis thank you, mr. President. Mr. President , i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to the immediate consideration of Senate Resolution 187 submitted earlier today. The presiding officer the clerk will report. The clerk Senate Resolution 187, congratulating and honoring fairme accelerator National Laboratory on 50 years of Ground Breaking discovery. The presiding officer is there objection to proceeding to the measure . Without objection. Mr. Tillis thank you, mr. President. I further ask that the resolution be agreed to, that the preamble be agreed to, that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Tillis thank you, mr. President. Mr. President , i ask unanimous consent that when the senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 9 30 a. M. Thursday, june 8. Further, that molg the prayer and the pledge, the morning business be deemed expired, the journal the journal of proceedings be approved to date, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day and that morning business be closed. Further, following leader remarks, the senate resume consideration of the motion to proceed on calendar 110, senate 722 postcloture. Finally, that all time during recess, adjournment, morning business, the leader remarks, postcloture on the motion to proceed to senate 722. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Tillis if there is no further business to come before the senate, i ask that it stand adjourned under the previous order, following the remarks from senators wyden, merkley, peters and sanders. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Sanders mr. President. The presiding officer the senator from vermont. Mr. Sanders thank you, mr. President. Mr. President , in the United States senate, it is the parliamentarians office that determines whether or not a reconciliation bill is in compliance with the rules of the senate. That is not the function of the chairman of the Budget Committee. If it was, we could save taxpayers money and get rid of the parliamentarians office, but that is not what we should be doing. I am extremely concerned, therefore, that the chairman of the Budget Committee in an apparently unprecedented manner appears to have made that determination himself with regard to the trumpryan Health Care Bill that was passed several weeks ago in the house. As i understand it, the parliamentarian has made a narrow ruling with respect to the jurisdiction of a provision in this bill that would eliminate Health Care Subsidies for lowincome native americans. I look forward to hearing from the parliamentarian as soon as possible on the broader ruling on whether the trumpryan Health Care Bill is in compliance with the instructions contained in the budget resolution requiring this bill to save at least 1 billion in the help committee and at least 1 billion within the finance committee. Mr. Chairman, i yield the floor. Im the presiding officer the senator from oregon. Mr. Wyden i ask unanimous consent to vacate the quorum call. The presiding officer the senate is not in a quorum. Mr. Wyden thank you, mr. President. Mr. President , senator merkley and i come today together to discuss our resolution honoring heroes of the portland attack. On may 26 in portland, our hometown, our community lost two very brave people. Ricky best and tolishen murden kai mesh. They stood up bravely against terrorism and with core oregon American Values of tolerance and freedom, along with micah, david cole fletcher, who was seriously injured, these three extraordinary samaritans stepped in to protect two girls who were being terrorized on Public Transit by a man menacing them because he thought they were muslim. These three oregon heroes did not run when they saw danger. Instead these three advanced towards the danger. Paid my respects last week at the beautiful memorial that my fellow portlanders created at the transit station where this attack occurred. And i can assure my colleagues that the message of the memorial could not be more clear. The heroes of portland stood up to terror, and we ought to be willing to call out the hate and the evil that they confronted. So today i join our friend and colleague, senator merkley, to express our deepest condolences to the families, friends of the victims, so that we can all make clear how much we appreciate, how grateful they are and we all are to be able to stand with the two girls who were being terrorized, and to support all Community Efforts to overcome hatred and bigotry and violence. As the son of parents who fled the nazis, i know full well what hate speech is all about, and there must be zero tolerance for hate speech and violence, because otherwise you give it room to fester and grow. Hate speech and violence must have no place in oregon or anywhere else in our great nation. With these three oregon heroes forever in our memories, we must and we will recommit to fighting hate, violence, and terrorism every, every, every chance that we have. We urge passage of this important resolution, and i yield to my friend and colleague, senator merkley. Mr. Merkley mr. President. The presiding officer the senator from oregon. Mr. Merkley mr. President , i thank my friend and colleague, senator wyden, for introducing this resolution, and im proud to partner with him as we address the senseless deadly attack that occurred back home in oregon just 12 days ago. Robert kennedy once said we must recognize that this short life can either be ennobled or enriched by hatred. Were reminded of that in this part of our history here in the last year and a half in which weve seen acts of hatred flourishing across the country, preying on divisions between parts of our society. And its incumbent on all of us to call out the unacceptability of hate speech, and certainly to work to bring unity where there has been division. This all came in dramatic deadly fashion together on the max train when a man spouting hatred and antimuslim rhetoric acosted two young women sitting on the train, and three men stood up and sprung into action and told him that that was unacceptable. And i wish we could turned clock back and have incidents stop right there with that intervention. These men, by being willing to stand up in that setting, they are champions of justice. They were saying that this is unacceptable. They were saying it must stop. But then this confrontation turned deadly with the man spouting the hate speech pulling a knife and stabbing all three of these champions, killing two of them and nearly killing the third. These individuals, rick best and taliesin namkaimeche, they paid with their lives. And the third individual, micah davidcole fletcher, came very close to losing his as well. We have been holding the families in our hearts and in our prayers, and the Community Came together at a vigil and another ceremony at the Muslim Educational center and at the funerals to let the families know that across oregon people are carrying them in their hearts and prayers. And certainly one of those prayers was for the full recovery of micah davidcole fletcher. And he is back on his feet, and thats just a beautiful thing to see that he is out of the hospital. And he spoke some very eloquent words that id like to share with you in the days after the attack. He said, i want you to imagine for a second being a little girl on the max and a man is screaming at you. His face is a pile of knives. His body is a gun. And everything about him is cocked, loaded and ready to kill you. Theres a history here with this. You can feel that this has happened before. And the only thing that was different was the names and faces. And micah continued. He said, and then a stranger two strangers, three strangers came to your aid. They try to help you, and that pile of knives just throws itself at them and kills them. Well, this was an extraordinarily traumatic experience for these young girls to simply be accosted on the train, and all the more so to see that those who came to their rescue were stabbed, with two of them dying and the third badly injured. Our hearts are again so connected to the families, and we must have a determination as a society to put healing where there has been division, to put empathy where there has been antipathy, to replace hatred with a connection, with a love. Robert kennedy said in that same speech when he was commenting on the fact that nothing has ever been ennobled or enriched by hatred, he continued to say this but we can perhaps remember if only for a time that those who live with us are our brothers, that they share with us the same short moment of life, that they seek as we do nothing but the chance to live out their lives in purpose and in happiness, winning what satisfaction and fulfillment that they can. Cant we come together as a society and enable each person to be able to live out their lives in purpose and happiness, and set aside this divisiveness and hatred. I hope as we honor the incredible her rowism of the men that sprung into action and mourn the loss of the two of them that we rededicate ourselves to the purpose of creating a connection and creating a unity and creating a respect and that we shall see the banishment of hate speech and hate violence. Thank you, mr. President. A senator mr. President , i yield back. Quorum call mr. Peters . Quorum call mr. Peters mr. President. The presiding officer the senator from michigan. Mr. Peters i ask that the quorum call be vitiated. The presiding officer the senate is not in a quorum call. Mr. Peters i am here to speak about legislation that i introduced with senator stabenow to authorize funding for the sioux lock. Ships have been allowed to pass from Lake Superior to lake heron. It has moved coal, iron ore, and other agricultural supply. This chain connects iron ore with steel mills and manufacturing facilities all across the country. During with World War Ii Congress authorized funding for a new lock because it was clear that the countrys ability to move iron ore to steel prants plants in michigan, ohio, and pennsylvania was critical for the war effort. It took less than two years to complete that project after congress authorized the funding in 1942. President roosevelt signed an executive order establishing the military district of sioux st. Mary and the army station 10,000 troops to defend the sioux locks by air, land, and sea. So great was the fear that a german attack would cripple our ability to produce steel and weapons. Today there it is only one sioux soo lock to move the vessels that move millions of tons of iron ore. Over 80 of the commodities that flow through the soo lock must pass through the polock and it carries the equivalent of three,000 3,000 truckloads of iron ore. It is not possible november it by rail or road. The steel mills rl only equipped to handle iron ore supply by water. A study conducted by the department of Homeland Security in 2015 confirmed that it is the achilles heel of our economy. A disruption of the poll pole lock will create the shut down of Steel Production. It says a shut down of Steel Production will cost all north american appliances, automobile, construction equipment, farm equipment, Mining Equipment and railcar production to cease within weeks. The Homeland Security report estimates that 11 million americans would lose their jobs if this were to happen. Mr. President , i urge you to consider the fact that the jobs of millions of American Workers depend on thability of large ships to pass from here to here on the st. Marys fall canal. Currently theres only one lock that can accommodate this task. If this lock shuts down, steel plants in ohio and indiana and kentucky shut down. Auto plants in texas, tennessee, california, and michigan shut down. The American Economy shuts down. The losses would be felt throughout the United States wherever steel is used in the manufacturing process. We are taking an unacceptable risk if we do not act swiftly to ensure that there is a backup in the case of a lock failure. That is why i am joining senator stabenow and members of the michigan congressional delegation from both parties to introduce a bill that would authorize the funding for constructing a larger poesized lock. The current authorization for the project is far below projected cost estimates, and our bill which was introduced today if enacted will allow the army corps to move directly into the design and construction phase. We do not have a moment to lose. Just last week i traveled to the soo locks for a tour with members of the michigan congressional delegation, and we saw firsthand how the dedicated men and women of the army corps are working to keep the locks functioning. They go to work each and every day with a full understanding of how the safety and security of the nation rest in their ability to maintain this critical infrastructure. It is a credit to the skill of the army corps of engineers that freighters have been able to pass through the st. Marys on their journeys around the great lakes almost without interruption. But they are working with equipment that has been maintained well beyond its life cycle and in some cases beyond two life cycles. When i was there last week, i saw 100yearold water pumps still in use. We cannot continue to rely on the Infrastructure Investments made by our grandparents and great grandparents. It is time to invest in our country and the wellbeing of our economy for future generations and pass the soo locks modernization act. Mr. President , i yield the floor. The presiding officer the Senate Stands adjourned until