00:00Mr. President, the senator from Connecticut. Thank you, Mr. President. Today, Mr. President,
00:08marks the 60th anniversary of the day that President Lyndon Baines Johnson signed the
00:21Social Security Amendments of 1965, establishing Medicare and Medicaid cornerstones of American
00:30health care. These programs provide millions, including 1.5 million people in Connecticut,
00:40with access to comprehensive and affordable health care. Nothing is more important than
00:46our health. As the saying goes, if you don't have health, you don't have anything. And if
00:52you don't have health care coverage, which for most Americans guarantees treatment, diagnosis,
01:03effective health care, you don't have your health. I'm here, I wish I could say, to celebrate
01:14these vital programs. But really, I'm here to defend them. To defend them against deep
01:21and damaging cuts made by Senate Republicans and the Trump administration. Their budget
01:28decimates Medicaid benefits. It threatens rural and pediatric hospitals. It increases health
01:37insurance premiums for the majority of Americans. Let me repeat, it increases premiums paid by
01:44everyday Americans, the majority of our fellow citizens. Health insurers are already proposing
01:52a median premium increase of 15% in 2026. That's the largest in five years. And that's just
02:02an estimate. You know, if you've had any experience with health insurers, that if they're estimating
02:1015%, it could well, in fact, likely be higher. These cuts are not about eliminating fraud or waste in the
02:17federal government. They're about delivering tax breaks to billionaires on the backs of working
02:22Americans. This bill is an absolute disgrace. The American people should hold every member who voted for
02:32in the federal government. It's the largest in the federal government. It's the biggest Medicaid cut in our history.
02:42Over 900,000 people in Connecticut rely on Medicaid for their health insurance coverage. 30% of them are children.
02:51In fact, in Connecticut, Medicaid covers 41% of births and 68% of people living in nursing homes.
03:04The majority of people in nursing homes, in other words, depend on Medicaid. And they could well be
03:11thrown out of those nursing homes. Under this bill, up to 158,000 people in Connecticut will lose Medicaid,
03:20and 53,000 will lose their ACA coverage. Even those who keep their health coverage will see reduced benefits
03:34and strain providers as the state struggles to make up the difference. People in Connecticut are lucky,
03:42because there will be an effort to make up the difference. But many of the states won't have
03:48that ability. Just to be clear, these cuts are going to have an impact on everyone, because the Medicaid
03:56program is a huge source of funding for all hospitals. All hospitals depend on Medicaid. Even if you're not
04:06there with Medicaid coverage, the quality of care that you'll receive will suffer as a result of these cuts.
04:14So even if you have private health insurance, your nearest hospital could close. You may have to wait
04:21longer for an appointment to see a doctor. Your out-of-pocket costs may increase. Hospitals will
04:27attempt to recoup that lost funding on your backs. They have no choice. They have to stay open, and they
04:34have to cover their costs. To make matters worse, my Republican colleagues refused to extend the ACA
04:41monthly-enhanced premium tax credits. 112,000 people in Connecticut rely on these credits to lower their
04:51monthly premiums. They are a lifesaver. They're a lifeline to health insurance coverage. And without the
05:01extension, 10,000 children are at risk of losing essential services. And 81 small business owners in the state
05:11state will see their premiums skyrocket. Premiums will rise for small businesses as well as individuals.
05:22These numbers are staggering. They are stunning. But they fail to capture the human costs, the impact on
05:33everyday people who look out the window in the morning as they have their first cup of coffee or see their
05:44children at night for dinner as they come home and wonder what will happen in the event of a health care emergency,
05:57not even an emergency, what will happen in the event of flu, COVID, any of the other kinds of
06:09health care challenges that may arise. So the net result here, in human terms, is couples
06:19foregoing children, grandparents losing independence, people seeing preventable
06:27deaths, skipped checkups, burned out health care workers. That's the real cost, the human cost,
06:40the impact on people's state of mind, their level of anxiety, their ability to focus on work,
06:49because of physical pain they may have because of illness, but also anxiety about how that illness
06:55is going to be covered by health insurance. These cuts aren't just numbers. They are children,
07:00they're families, they're grandparents, people with disabilities, your neighbors, your friends,
07:06and probably you at some point. Republicans knew the consequences. There was no mystery here.
07:14They knew the data. They chose cruelty. These cuts are cruel, and they are stupid.
07:26They are dumb because we all know that preventing health emergencies, providing diagnoses and catching
07:38illnesses early, providing care and treatment early, in the long run, saves money for all of us.
07:51It is unforgivable that they decided to turn their backs on millions of Americans, including
07:59their own constituents, whose health and well-being is on the line.
08:07Since this bill passed, of course, some Republicans are trying to walk back their votes.
08:16Buyer's remorse. They had mixed feelings at the time, perhaps. They're supporting tweaks,
08:23like repealing the Medicaid provider taxes, or boosting rural hospital funds, because they see
08:30that those rural hospitals in their own states are going to be closing. They know the impact of Medicaid
08:37cuts on hospitals in all areas and people in every part of their state. But those efforts are doomed to
08:50failure. They fall short. The rural health care fund doesn't come close to offsetting the losses rural
08:59providers will face from the cuts of Medicaid, just to give you one example. And that's why I've joined
09:06Senator Wyden and Senator Schumer in introducing a bill that will repeal the health provisions in the big,
09:14blatant betrayal. It's not a big, beautiful bill. It's a big, blatant betrayal. This measure would extend
09:25the ACA premium tax credits. Again, Medicaid cuts are reprehensible and reckless. Cutting the ACA premium tax
09:41tax credits affects hundreds of thousands of others in Connecticut and millions around the country,
09:49everyday middle-class working Americans who have to cover health care bills. I'm going to keep fighting
09:57against any legislative efforts that put the interests and desires of billionaires over the needs of working
10:03and middle-class Americans. This big, blatant betrayal is, in fact, simply cruel and stupid.
10:19And I hope my Republicans will join us in these efforts to truly walk back and compensate for
10:28the disastrous impact, the devastating effect it will have on families and working people all across
10:41this great country. Thank you, Mr. President. And I'm honored to yield to our distinguished leader.
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