Chuck Schumer (00:01):
Now, this weekend we got news that President Trump will be accepting almost a half a billion dollar jet from the Qatari government. This just isn't naked corruption. It's also a national security threat. Donald Trump isn't just blurring the lines between public service and personal profit. He's erasing it. That's not just speculation. In fact, it's backed by overwhelming evidence. He is jeopardizing America's national security to line his own pockets. That's why this morning I announced I would be placing a hold on all political DOJ nominees until we get more answers on this so-called deal. Until we learn the truth about this deal, I will do my part to block the galling and truly breathtaking politicization of DOJ. We've never seen anything like it.
(01:03)
In other heinous news for Americans this weekend, the House Republicans unveiled their plan for the largest cut to Medicaid in American history. The largest cut to Medicaid in American history. 14 million Americans, at least 14 million, would be ripped off of their health insurance under this proposal. Why? Tax breaks for billionaires. It's appalling. To take people's health care away, to make them sicker, to give tax breaks to billionaires is just appalling. It's not what America wants and it's not what America needs.
(01:46)
Not only will millions of Americans lose coverage, for many others, their premiums will skyrocket. Talk about lowering costs, this ain't a way to do it, that's for sure. And hospitals, rural, urban, and in-between, will close. Many, many people will lose their jobs and many more will lose their health coverage. States will scramble with their budgets and American families will be left out to dry. For months, the Republicans claimed that their tax plan wouldn't touch Medicaid. Now we know that's a bald-faced lie. They were afraid to admit it, but now they can't avoid it. It's slashing Medicaid more than it ever has been slashed before. It's cruel, it's heartbreaking. Senate Democrats will continue to expose this devastating plan and fight for American families to keep their hard-earned benefits. Senator Wyden.
Senator Ron Wyden (02:46):
Thank you, Leader. And let's be clear about what the Republicans are up to on healthcare. They're basically gas lighting the American people, telling folks that fraud, waste and abuse are everywhere and the Democrats are simply going along with all of it. Now we have the congressional budget office, which is the go-to arbiter of the facts in this area, say that 100% of the cuts have nothing to do with waste, fraud and abuse. Nothing. They're basically terminating coverage, denying services, like home care, which seniors see as precious, and also, in rural areas, making it harder to get hospitals and nursing homes and providers to cover care.
(03:40)
And the second point that I want to mention is when you look at the entirety of the Republican response on healthcare, what they are doing is everything possible to keep eligible people from being able to get coverage, they put them through so much red tape. That's essentially what some of these new things are all about. They are bureaucracy-requiring steps that ensure that it's hard to be eligible for services. We feel that healthcare is basic to American families. Nothing is more precious than to be able to go to bed at night knowing that you're going to get decent healthcare.
(04:24)
And what the Republicans do, in their healthcare provisions in the reconciliation package, is walk back health security for millions and millions of Americans, all to make sure that folks at the very top of the ladder can come up with another package of benefits, benefits that, in so many instances, defy common sense and are only there in order to give yet more privileges to the people at the top. We're for a tax code that gives everybody in America the chance to get ahead. That's what we're going to battle for in this process.
Chuck Schumer (05:00):
Thank you, Senator White. Senator Hassan?
Senator Maggie Hassan (05:03):
Thank you, Leader Schumer. Look, this week, President Trump and congressional Republicans are pushing forward with their plan to give billionaires and corporate special interests more tax breaks, all paid for by taking health coverage away from millions of Americans and, by the way, by adding trillions to the national debt. It is wrong, it's dangerous, and it's devastating to people. Our small rural hospitals, our communities, our economy.
(05:35)
Millions of families count on Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act for essential healthcare and this Republican bill to take coverage away from many of our constituents will result in untreated diseases, packed emergency rooms, if you think wait times are long in emergency rooms now they will get worse, and even higher prescription drug prices because this bill exempts more drug products from negotiation with Medicare.
(06:08)
When I was governor of New Hampshire, we expanded Medicaid with Republican support because, even though we didn't agree on everything, we understood that we're all better off when people are healthy. At a time when families continue to struggle with rising costs, I can think of few ideas as ill-advised as this one from President Trump and congressional Republicans. This bill directly raises healthcare costs on millions of Americans, just as other costs continue to go up.
(06:44)
But this proposal to take Medicaid coverage away from people doesn't just put the families who are going to lose coverage at risk. No, this proposal threatens our entire healthcare system. Healthcare providers all across the country, especially rural doctors and hospitals, are only able to keep their doors open because of the care that they provide to patients who have Medicaid and Medicare coverage. If millions of people can no longer afford to go to the doctor and get the care that they need, many of these facilities will have no choice but to shut down altogether.
(07:22)
And when people have their insurance taken away, they end up getting their care in emergency rooms when their condition is acute. This drives up waiting times, costs, and, look, it will drive up insurance premiums even on the private health insurance market for everyone. The bottom line here is clear. If this billionaire tax break at the expense of the middle class passes, more people will get sick, our economy will weaken and an awful lot of people, an awful lot of our fellow Americans, our friends and neighbors, will be hurt. Thank you.
Chuck Schumer (08:05):
Senator Welch.
Senator Peter Welch (08:06):
Thank you. Just on that plane, Senator Schumer, he's kind of an old-fashioned guy. He puts national security ahead of presidential travel and comfort. Shocking. You know, we're at crunch time here and there's a lot of suffering and anxiety throughout the country, especially folks who are struggling week to week, month to month, to pay their bills. And we're at a moment where that suffering is going to be intensified by a law that Congress is considering.
(08:46)
Folks need healthcare and folks need it in red states and they need it in blue states. Folks need healthcare, whether they voted for Trump or they voted for Harris. They need it for the kids, they need it for their older parents. And we are on the cusp of voting on a bill that makes it legal to boot seniors out of nursing homes, that makes it legal to deny disabled kids Medicaid, that makes it legal, to move to a different topic, to take $2 for a meal that's provided by SNAP off the table.
(09:36)
This is what we're actually considering to make it legal to take away healthcare for kids and for seniors. That is so outrageous. And why is it? It's not because my Republican colleagues don't want their folks that they represent to have access to healthcare. They're intimidated by Trump. This is totally outrageous that we even have to have a discussion about taking away healthcare, not to mention all the consequences, the insecurity, the suffering.
(10:06)
And then in rural America, where we depend on those hospitals, they won't be able to operate when we take away Medicaid. They won't be able to operate. You know what'll happen? They'll work hard. And that'll be in red states and blue states and they'll keep providing services, even when it's free, until they can't anymore. And it's an absolute disgrace that this Congress is even having a discussion about taking away healthcare from children, from seniors, from disabled people. We don't need to do it.
(10:38)
The version of fiscal responsibility that the Republicans have, to pay for this tax cut that largely goes to billionaires and to very wealthy people… And by the way, in Vermont, when I walk around, people are not saying, Peter, where's my tax cut? They're saying what's happening to my healthcare? They're saying what's happening to my ability to feed my kids? That's what they're asking me, not about this healthcare. The version of fiscal responsibility is to pay for it by taking away healthcare, by taking away food stamps, by taking away meals on wheels. No is the answer.
Chuck Schumer (11:13):
Thank you, Peter. And I mentioned on the floor, Trump calls this a big, beautiful bill. We call it the big grift. Greedy Republicans in favor of tycoons. Questions. Yes?
Reporter 1 (11:28):
Do you believe David Hogg should remain the vice chair of the DNC.
Chuck Schumer (11:31):
Up to the DNC. Yes?
Reporter 2 (11:33):
What do you make of threats to potentially sanction these Democratic members who went to the ICE facility, even threats from the Trump administration, maybe, to arrest them? We see a resolution now to maybe toss them from their committees.
Chuck Schumer (11:46):
Look, the right of peaceful protest is sacrosanct in America. The Trump administration, and often its Justice Department, doesn't seem to believe in it.
Reporter 2 (11:55):
Was that charitable?
Chuck Schumer (11:55):
Yes? Yes?
Reporter 3 (11:56):
On the DOJ nominee vote-
Chuck Schumer (11:56):
On the?
Reporter 3 (12:00):
On the new DOJ nominee vote, is there anything specific from the DOJ would want to hear that would make you comfortable with this claim deal or are you just against it [inaudible 00:12:08]?
Chuck Schumer (12:08):
On the floor today, and in a letter we will be sending, we ask a whole lot of questions. A lot of serious answers. National security threats. You're going to take a plane from another country? And Air Force One is the most complicated piece of aircraft in the world, so much goes into it, a lot of which is classified. We've got a lot of questions. Yes? No, no. Yeah, this person. Okay, you get him, Manu. I thought his hand was up.
Reporter 4 (12:38):
You said in June of last year, "In my meetings with President Biden, I found him to be in command and impressive and wielding influence to make progress on key priorities." But in that same month, Biden apparently did not even recognize George Floyd at a fundraiser. Were you being straight with the American public about Biden's condition-
Chuck Schumer (12:56):
Look, we're just looking forward. Yes?
Reporter 5 (12:59):
What's your reaction to President Trump's proposal to direct HHS and CMS to negotiate lower drug prices if they match what other countries are-
Chuck Schumer (13:06):
Yeah, it's very much the same as what he said in 2020. It's all talk, no action. In 2020, he didn't get the results and I doubt he's going to get them now. A lot of talk, a lot of hype. No action. Thank you, everybody.
Senator Ron Wyden (13:19):
Alex, want me to take you through that?
Alex (13:19):
Can I catch you later?
Senator Ron Wyden (13:19):
Yeah. My point was [inaudible 00:13:28].
