[Pages S3277-S3279]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                       One Big Beautiful Bill Act

  Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, we are rapidly approaching floor 
consideration of our reconciliation bill, and Democrats are melting 
down. I am pretty sure the Democrat leader was on the floor every day 
last week bemoaning the bill and emphasizing how Democrats are going to 
fight with everything they have got. That is right, with everything 
they have got. Democrats are going to use every resource at their 
disposal to fight against extending tax relief for American families.
  They are going to fight against funding to secure our border. They 
are going to fight against funding to equip our military. They are 
going to fight against unleashing American energy. And they are going 
to fight against all our efforts to make America safer, stronger, and 
more prosperous.
  And I guess it is not that surprising. After all, Democrats' previous 
pledges not to raise taxes on anyone not making less than $400,000 a 
year often felt a little bit begrudging.
  When you are constantly looking to expand government, I guess it 
makes sense that you would be more interested in raising taxes than in 
allowing Americans to keep more of their hard-earned money.
  And if the Biden border crisis taught us anything, it is that 
Democrats have, essentially, no interest in securing our borders at 
all. And speaking of President Biden, after years of Biden budgets that 
deemphasize investing in our military, I guess it is no surprise that 
filling the gaps in our readiness is not a Democrat priority.
  Democrat hostility to conventional energy is also well-known. And so, 
again, I guess it is no surprise that Democrats are opposed to 
unleashing America's energy resources. But it is worth thinking about 
the essence of what Democrats are endorsing by fighting against this 
reconciliation bill.
  They are endorsing a $2.6 trillion tax hike on Americans making less 
than $400,000 a year--$2.6 trillion. Without our bill, a typical family 
of four making $80,000 will be sending an additional $1,700 to Uncle 
Sam next year--$1,700. Apparently, Democrats are OK with that. 
Democrats are also implicitly endorsing a continuation of President 
Biden's lax policies at our border, along with an increasing--and 
increasingly dangerous--erosion in our military capabilities.
  The Air Force has the smallest fleet in its history, and a large 
proportion of that fleet is not mission ready. Our Navy fleet is 
already smaller than China's, and without new investment, that problem 
will only get worse in the next few years.
  And in the defining technologies of tomorrow's wars, space, AI, 
hypersonics, and cyber, China is gaining quickly or already has an 
edge. On top of that, we are falling seriously behind when it comes to 
maintaining an adequate supply of munitions. But none of this--none of 
this--seems to matter to Democrats.
  In fact, nowhere in the hysteria that they are fomenting over this 
bill is any perceptible recognition of the importance of the priorities 
our bill is addressing--from securing our border to bolstering our 
national defense to preventing a massive tax hike on American families.
  Indeed, judging from the Democrat leader's speeches last week, 
Democrats' biggest concern right now is ensuring that illegal aliens 
and able-bodied adults who refuse to work can stay on Medicaid.
  The leader certainly didn't put it that way, of course, but his 
obsession with the Medicaid provisions of our bill certainly suggests 
it.
  I think it is fair to say the Democrats lost last November because 
they didn't speak to the concerns of voters who were tired of the Biden 
inflation crisis and the Biden border crisis and Democrats' focus on 
far-left ideologies.
  And judging by Democrats' opposition to our bill and their complete 
lack of interest in the issues our bill addresses, I think it is fair 
to say the Democrats haven't learned much since.
  Americans are looking for the things our bill will provide, from the 
economic benefits that will come with continued tax relief to a secure 
border and a secure, stable, and affordable energy supply.
  Republicans are going to deliver, no matter how hard Democrats fight 
to stand in the way.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant executive clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.
  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, what is the hurry? What is the big hurry 
on this Big Beautiful Bill that President Trump wants to see the 
Congress pass?
  Well, the hurry is to make sure we don't stop and read it. It is 
1,000 pages. And as we read it, we discover things included in that 
bill that passed the House of Representatives which may not be 
appealing to the people across America. The House of Representatives 
passed this bill by one vote.
  It ends up having a direct impact on many people across this country. 
Just imagine this, if you will. They are considering a bill, a tax 
bill, that will eliminate health insurance coverage for 16 million 
Americans. More people and families will lose health insurance coverage 
by virtue of this Big Beautiful Bill than any legislation we have 
passed in modern memory. In fact, just the opposite has been true. I 
have been here under the Affordable Care Act with President Obama when 
we expanded the reach of health insurance. Now, President Trump has us 
going in the opposite direction.
  Some Republican Senators, like Josh Hawley in my neighboring State of 
Missouri, have criticized this because he realizes how many people he 
represents count on Medicaid, the basic government program for health 
insurance. Senator Hawley says, even as a Republican, he can't support 
that provision. No one should support that provision.
  If you ever lived in a moment in your life with a sick child--
seriously sick child--and no health insurance, you will never forget 
it. I know. I have been there. To think that 16 million families would 
lose their health insurance is impossible to imagine.
  We received a report from the Congressional Budget Office just last 
week. They are neutral. They are not Democrats; they are not 
Republicans. They revealed that the Republican proposal would cost 16 
million families their health insurance coverage, the biggest cut to 
healthcare in American history.
  No wonder then that Republicans want to move this bill quickly. They 
don't want to talk about the impact it is going to have on the Medicaid 
Program. Medicaid, of course, is a program that provides health 
insurance based on a person's income. Lower income individuals qualify 
for it; those in higher incomes don't.
  The facts are coming out now that many of the Republicans in the 
House are saying: Well, we didn't read the bill when it went through 
there. They have

[[Page S3278]]

a chance to read it now. Republican and Democratic Senators have a 
chance to read it here. To make sure that the Senate Republicans don't 
make the same mistake as the House, here is a more detailed breakdown.
  With this analysis from the Congressional Budget Office, we have new 
estimates on how this bill impacts each and every State. Two hundred 
ten thousand people in my neighboring State of Missouri, Senator 
Hawley's State, could lose their health insurance coverage--210,000. In 
Iowa, nearly 100,000 people can lose their health plans. And our 
neighbor Indiana, 250,000 Hoosiers could lose the peace of mind that 
comes with having health insurance. It is the same story coast-to-
coast: 40,000 people in Maine, 26,000 Alaskans, they are all going to 
be victimized.
  You say to yourself, What is it that is so compelling that the 
Republicans feel they can stand up and tell 16 million people in 
America you lose your health insurance? What will they use that money 
for? What will they take it to the bank for? For something very basic, 
tax cuts for the wealthiest people in America.
  Oh, there they go again, Democrats talking about tax cuts. Many of 
the Republicans deny that this is going to happen, but the facts are 
there. They estimate that the top 0.1 percent of wage earners in 
America under the Republican plan that passed the House will get an 
annual tax break of $400,000. Republicans quickly add: Go ahead and 
tell the rest of the story. Everybody gets a tax break.
  OK, let's go down to the other end of the spectrum: $400,000 for 0.1 
percent wage earners. What about those making minimum wage? What will 
they get as a tax break? Twenty dollars a month. Twenty bucks a month 
while the cost of healthcare goes up and the cost of their margins go 
up--$20 a month. This, to me, is absolutely indefensible.
  Friday, I visited a hospital in Chicago. It is a special hospital. It 
is La Rabida, a children's hospital on the South Side of the town right 
on Lake Michigan. It is a wonderful hospital. Ninety percent of the 
families that bring their children to La Rabida Hospital qualify for 
Medicaid. These are families of limited means, and they turn to this 
highly professional hospital which has a reputation of caring for the 
poorest kids as well as the richest kids. They treat them all the same, 
and they treat them well.
  When I visited the hospital, they told me a story of one of their 
patients. Her name is Leyone. She was born prematurely, 26 weeks. When 
she was born, she was only the size of the palm of your hand. She was 
given just days to survive. She needed a ventilator, tracheotomy tube, 
central line, an IV-like device that brought medicine to her heart, and 
much, much more.
  Today, Leyone is 4 years old. It is a miracle. Thanks to the 
incredible care provided by La Rabida and the love of so many people, 
she is here.
  Leyone's family was covered by Medicaid, the most highly targeted 
program for cuts in this Big Beautiful Bill.
  Ninety percent of the patients that come through the doors of La 
Rabida Children's Hospital in Chicago are on Medicaid.
  What is going to happen to that hospital? I will tell you what the 
hospitals tell me. Many of them are barely getting by, barely--not just 
in the city of Chicago but my downstate areas as well. They came out to 
see me 3 weeks ago, 20 hospital administrators from downstate Illinois. 
On their own, they wanted to tell me the story that the bill that 
passed the House of Representatives--the big beautiful Trump bill, the 
tax bill we are talking about here--will be devastating to these 
hospitals. Some of them won't survive.
  What does it mean to a small- or medium-sized city that is lucky 
enough to have a good hospital and lose it? Well, the obvious: If you 
need emergency medical care, it is a longer drive. If that baby is 
about to be born, it is a longer drive.
  When it comes down to treatment, these hospitals provide the first in 
urgent care, and if that hospital closes, what happens? Well, it takes 
longer to get that care. In addition to that, it also means that a 
major part of the local economy is gone--gone. How are you going to 
attract a business or keep a business when you lose your hospital? That 
is what is at stake here because of the cuts in the Medicaid Program.
  So the Trump Big Beautiful Bill is designed to cut the program that 
these hospitals rely on most--the Medicaid Program.
  Now it turns out that because they add so much to the deficit--
trillions of dollars to the deficit--for this tax cut, you are also 
facing the possibility of something called sequestration. What that 
means is that there will be less coverage for Medicare.
  Medicare is a program created in the 1960s under President Lyndon 
Baines Johnson that provides for families who are elderly and need some 
help in paying medical bills. It worked miracles. People started living 
longer and being healthy and being able to survive. But now they want 
to cut back on Medicare as part of sequestration. This would be 
devastating to the many people who count on it.
  It is not just La Rabida that would face devastating consequences 
under these Medicaid cuts; red States and blue States will also suffer. 
When you cut $800 billion out of Medicaid, hospitals that are on the 
edge close. Already today, 26 rural hospitals in Kansas--26 hospitals 
in Kansas--and 9 in Missouri are at risk of immediate closure. This Big 
Beautiful Bill could push them over the brink.
  According to America's Essential Hospitals, uncompensated care costs 
for hospitals will increase by $42 billion in a single year under this 
Republican Big Beautiful Bill. For the rural hospitals that are hanging 
by a thread, this bill could permanently close their doors.
  Hospitals are not the only ones. The Medicaid Program provides for 
help in paying the bills of over half of the people who are in nursing 
homes. So if your parents or grandparents are in a skilled care 
facility or in a nursing home and you are happy with where they are and 
you want to keep them there, you have a new challenge. If the Big 
Beautiful Bill providing tax cuts for the wealthiest people in America 
passes, the compensation to that nursing home will go down. When that 
goes down, many of these nursing homes are going to close, and the 
choices for someone you love in your family will be limited.
  As if an increase in healthcare premiums isn't enough, the cost of 
basic goods will skyrocket under this Republican plan. The ``Big 
Beautiful Betrayal'' will raise energy bills up to $400 a year for 
families and 10 percent for businesses. Remember what I told you the 
tax break was for people who are on a basic income in this country--20 
bucks a month? Well, it turns out $400 a year, which is dramatically 
more than 20 bucks a month, is going to make it even harder. It will 
increase costs by hundreds of dollars a year for 80 million households, 
all while giving $400,000 to Elon Musk and the wealthiest Americans.
  If housing weren't already too expensive, many Americans will see 
their mortgages increase by $600 a year. Want to follow your passion 
and start a business? Small business loans are estimated to increase 
under the Big Beautiful Bill by $1,000 a year. Tariffs are estimated to 
raise costs for American households by around $2,500.
  If this last election were about the cost of living and giving 
families a fighting chance to survive paycheck to paycheck, this bill 
is devastating for those who aren't the wealthiest in America. I urge 
everyone to learn the facts and know what effect this Republican tax 
bill will have on families across my State and others.
  This year, for the Fourth of July, the most American thing we can do 
is, on a bipartisan basis, stop this disaster. What does it take to say 
pause? stop? We don't want to cut Medicaid. We don't want to take 
health insurance away from 16 million people. We don't want to see the 
expenses of families going up. What does it take? It takes four--four--
Republican Senators who will step up and say: This is a mistake.
  Donald Trump is trying to rush us into something which is not good 
for American families. It is good for billionaires. If you happen to be 
in that category, this is a great day for you. But for ordinary 
families who are struggling with their regular bills they have to pay, 
the Big Beautiful Bill is a big, beautiful betrayal of American 
families.

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