April 9, 2019 - Issue: Vol. 165, No. 61 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 1st Session

[Pages S2315-S2316]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                               Healthcare

  Ms. STABENOW. Mr. President, it seems that every week now, I come to 
the floor to say the same thing, which is that healthcare is not 
political; it is personal. There is no part of healthcare that is more 
personal than the decision regarding if, when, and under what 
circumstances to have a child. And that certainly is the case when 
things go terribly wrong, which they sometimes do. These reproductive 
health decisions need to be made by women in consultation with their 
doctors, their families, and their faith. That is what the Supreme 
Court has ruled. They should not be made by politicians--mainly men--
looking to score political points from women's personal tragedies. Yet, 
once again, that is what the Republicans are doing right now.
  I have a question. How dare you pretend to care about the health of 
women and babies when all of your actions suggest otherwise?
  Unfortunately, Republicans haven't noticed, but we have a real 
healthcare crisis involving women and babies in this country. In most 
of the world, fewer and fewer women are dying from childbirth--not here 
in the United States. Our maternal mortality rate is climbing. More 
women are dying. Our infant mortality rate ranks a shameful 32 among 
the world's 35 wealthiest nations. That means we have more babies who 
aren't surviving through the first year of their life because of lack 
of healthcare, nutrition, and other issues.
  The Republican majority should be working with us and taking action 
to improve health outcomes for moms and babies. Instead, they are busy 
trying to take away their healthcare.
  Between 2010 and 2018, the Republican majority in Congress voted to 
repeal or weaken the Affordable Care Act more than 70 times--7-0. Now 
the Trump administration has stepped in to help. Last June and August, 
they expanded access to association health plans and short-term plans. 
We just call them junk plans because they don't cover so many basics, 
like prescription drugs, mental health care, and--you guessed it--
maternity care.
  Let me remind everyone that before the Affordable Care Act, most 
insurance companies did not cover prenatal care and maternity care as a 
basic part of healthcare. Women had to go out

[[Page S2316]]

and pay extra, get a rider to cover something that is a basic part of 
our healthcare.
  Thanks to these junk plans that don't cover maternity care, and other 
sabotage, it is estimated that right now comprehensive health insurance 
costs 16.6 percent more than it otherwise would because of these 
efforts to undermine, sabotage, and take away healthcare. Does that 
sound like the Republican majority cares about moms and babies?
  Now the Department of Justice has announced that it agrees with the 
Federal judge in Texas who said the entire Affordable Care Act must be 
struck down. This is something the President has enthusiastically 
embraced.
  The entire Affordable Care Act is at stake, including Medicaid 
expansion for low-income workers who want to work but now have to 
choose between working and having healthcare coverage, children staying 
on their parents' plans until age 26, and protections for people with 
preexisting conditions.
  In other words, if a baby is born with spina bifida, a heart defect, 
a genetic condition, or any other health problem, insurance companies 
would once again, under these plans, be able to deny them coverage or 
subject them to lifetime limits like we used to have. Does that sound 
like policies that care about moms and babies?

  By the way, to emphasize that they support President Trump 100 
percent, 2 weeks ago Senate Republicans passed a budget resolution out 
of committee on a party-line vote that once again has language to 
repeal the Affordable Care Act with no replacement. Sorry, moms and 
babies, you are on your own. And don't go looking to Medicaid for 
health coverage either. The Trump budget would cut $1.5 trillion from 
Medicaid over 10 years--trillion. That is the same Medicaid that covers 
half of all babies born in America. When you gut Medicaid, you are 
keeping moms and babies from getting the healthcare they need. Does 
that sound as though Republicans care about moms and babies?
  If our Republican colleagues really care about the health of moms and 
babies, here is what they should be doing and joining us to do: They 
would pass a bill to guarantee that every insurance plan covers 
prenatal and maternity care, like what is available under the 
Affordable Care Act. They would reaffirm the Affordable Care Act's 
protections for people with preexisting conditions, not just saying the 
words but actually making sure people with preexisting conditions are 
covered. And they would strengthen healthcare for moms and babies 
through the Children's Health Insurance Program and Medicaid.
  A few years ago, the Finance Committee reported out a bill that I led 
with Senator Grassley called the Quality Care for Moms and Babies Act. 
This bill would create a set of maternal and infant quality care 
measures under CHIP and Medicaid--the Children's Health Insurance 
Program and Medicaid. The goal is simple: improving maternal and infant 
health outcomes. We need quality standards across the country.
  Right now, half the births are through Medicaid. There are not 
consistent quality standards across the country to make sure there are 
healthy opportunities for prenatal care and maternity care.
  The Quality Care for Moms and Babies Act would help make sure that 
every mom gets the best pregnancy care possible and every baby gets a 
healthy start. If our Republican colleagues care so much about the 
health of moms and babies, instead of politicizing issues around 
reproductive health and women's ability to make their own choices--
instead of politicizing what is happening around reproductive health, 
they would join us in making the Quality Care for Moms and Baby Act a 
reality.
  It is time to stop the cynical, political stunts. It is time to trust 
women to make the best reproductive healthcare decisions for 
themselves, their families, and their futures. It is time to take 
action to resolve the maternal and infant health crisis in this 
country. It is also time to ensure that every mom and every baby has 
the healthcare they need for a healthy life.
  This is the United States of America; we can do better for our moms 
and babies than is currently being done. Democrats are ready to take 
real action to join with our Republican colleagues. It is time they 
join us in protecting the health of moms and babies.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Ms. McSally). Under the previous order, all 
postcloture time is expired.
  The question is, Will the Senate advise and consent to the Wyrick 
nomination?
  Ms. STABENOW. I ask for the yeas and nays.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
  There appears to be a sufficient second.
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk called the roll.
  The result was announced--yeas 53, nays 47, as follows:

                       [Rollcall Vote No. 68 Ex.]

                                YEAS--53

     Alexander
     Barrasso
     Blackburn
     Blunt
     Boozman
     Braun
     Burr
     Capito
     Cassidy
     Collins
     Cornyn
     Cotton
     Cramer
     Crapo
     Cruz
     Daines
     Enzi
     Ernst
     Fischer
     Gardner
     Graham
     Grassley
     Hawley
     Hoeven
     Hyde-Smith
     Inhofe
     Isakson
     Johnson
     Kennedy
     Lankford
     Lee
     McConnell
     McSally
     Moran
     Murkowski
     Paul
     Perdue
     Portman
     Risch
     Roberts
     Romney
     Rounds
     Rubio
     Sasse
     Scott (FL)
     Scott (SC)
     Shelby
     Sullivan
     Thune
     Tillis
     Toomey
     Wicker
     Young

                                NAYS--47

     Baldwin
     Bennet
     Blumenthal
     Booker
     Brown
     Cantwell
     Cardin
     Carper
     Casey
     Coons
     Cortez Masto
     Duckworth
     Durbin
     Feinstein
     Gillibrand
     Harris
     Hassan
     Heinrich
     Hirono
     Jones
     Kaine
     King
     Klobuchar
     Leahy
     Manchin
     Markey
     Menendez
     Merkley
     Murphy
     Murray
     Peters
     Reed
     Rosen
     Sanders
     Schatz
     Schumer
     Shaheen
     Sinema
     Smith
     Stabenow
     Tester
     Udall
     Van Hollen
     Warner
     Warren
     Whitehouse
     Wyden
  The nomination was confirmed.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the motion to 
reconsider is considered made and laid upon the table and the President 
will be immediately notified of the Senate's action.

                          ____________________