E PL UR UM IB N U U S Congressional Record United States th of America PROCEEDINGS AND DEBATES OF THE 115 CONGRESS, FIRST SESSION Vol. 163 WASHINGTON, MONDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2017 No. 166 Senate The Senate met at 4 p.m. and was EXECUTIVE SESSION in Federal spending, and it honors our called to order by the President pro commitments to Social Security and tempore (Mr. HATCH). provides for the national defense. EXECUTIVE CALENDAR f In addition to these important as- The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under pects of this budget, it will also provide PRAYER the previous order, the Senate will pro- the legislative tools to advance tax re- The Chaplain, Dr. Barry C. Black, of- ceed to executive session and resume form. As I have said before, tax reform fered the following prayer: consideration of the Gingrich nomina- is the single most important thing we Let us pray. tion, which the clerk will report. can do today to get our economy mov- Eternal Lord God, we bless Your Holy The senior assistant legislative clerk ing again. Name. Provide our lawmakers with the read the nomination of Callista L. We think taxes should be lower, sim- wisdom to obey You completely and re- Gingrich, of Virginia, to be Ambas- pler, and fairer for middle-class work- ceive Your guidance. May Your guiding sador Extraordinary and Pleni- ers so that Americans can keep more of presence inspire them so that they can potentiary of the United States of their own hard-earned money in their find, even in troubles, opportunities for America to the Holy See. paychecks. We think taxes should be joy. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under reformed to end the perverse incentives Lord, remind them of the blessings the previous order, the time until 5:30 that help keep American jobs and prof- that come from being challenged, as p.m. will be equally divided between its offshore and so it is easier to make they learn from experience that the the two leaders or their designees. and keep American jobs where they be- things that test them produce endur- If no one yields time, the time will be long—right here at home. ance. When their endurance is fully de- equally divided. We think it is time to take more veloped, give them the satisfaction of RECOGNITION OF THE MAJORITY LEADER money out of Washington’s pockets possessing such integrity that their The majority leader is recognized. and put more money in the pockets of faith will not shrink, though pressed WORK BEFORE THE SENATE the American middle class. That is why by many foes. Mr. MCCONNELL. Madam President, we know it is time for tax reform. Lord, help our Senators to seek You as I discussed with the President and The tax reform goals I just men- repeatedly each day with their prayers, the Vice President at our working tioned are shared by many, including fully expecting You to answer their lunch today, the Senate has a full the President, his team, Chairman intercession and direct their lives. schedule of important work ahead of ORRIN HATCH, and Chairman MIKE ENZI. We pray in Your mighty Name. us. As I said, to get there, we first need to Amen. The Senate’s fall agenda includes pass the budget before us. I want to thank Chairman ENZI and the members f confirming more nominees to the judi- ciary, administration, and other impor- of the Senate Budget Committee for all PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE tant positions. Later today we will re- of their work in getting us to this The President pro tempore led the sume consideration of another nomi- point. As we advance that budget on Pledge of Allegiance, as follows: nee, Callista Gingrich, who has been the Senate floor this week, Senators on I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the nominated to serve as our Ambassador both sides of the aisle will have the op- United States of America, and to the Repub- to the Vatican. That agenda includes portunity to offer their input. lic for which it stands, one nation under God, providing continued assistance to com- I look forward to putting our fi- indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. munities affected by the recent hurri- nances on a better path with this budg- f canes, and we will process the Presi- et, just as I look forward to continuing dent’s supplemental funding request to with the other important initiatives on RESERVATION OF LEADER TIME do just that. The Senate’s agenda also the Senate’s fall agenda. The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mrs. includes completing work on the budg- The PRESIDING OFFICER. If no one ERNST). Under the previous order, the et resolution and advancing tax re- yields time, the time will be charged leadership time is reserved. form—two things that are critical to equally. f helping our economy finally realize its RECOGNITION OF THE MINORITY LEADER true potential after the stagnation of The Democratic leader is recognized. CONCLUSION OF MORNING the last decade. HEALTHCARE BUSINESS This budget will be the next step to Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, The PRESIDING OFFICER. Morning spurring growth in our economy. It first, on the issue of healthcare, last business is closed. provides a pathway to balance, it reins week, President Trump committed two ∑ This ‘‘bullet’’ symbol identifies statements or insertions which are not spoken by a Member of the Senate on the floor. S6383 . VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:35 Oct 17, 2017 Jkt 079060 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A16OC6.000 S16OCPT1 S6384 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE October 16, 2017 acts of pointless sabotage of our Na- been asking for this for a long time. We tive that companies already have the tion’s healthcare system. He signed an hope that our colleagues on the other cash reserves but do not use them to Executive order that would give insur- side of the aisle, in their realizing the boost wages. ers more latitude to sell temporary, damage the President has done, will To assert the opposite, which is that junk plans that are not only incredibly join us in strengthening, not in sabo- giving corporations and the wealthy a risky to the consumer but undermine taging, the healthcare system. tax cut leads to higher middle-class the rest of the healthcare market by TAX REFORM AND THE BUDGET wages, belies the facts and the history, drawing healthy Americans out of the Madam President, now a word on the and it is a blatant attempt to fool pool. Even worse, President Trump de- Republican tax plan. Americans into thinking that the GOP cided to stop the cost-sharing program, This week, the Republican majority plan would benefit them when in re- which reduces premiums, deductibles, will likely move to pass a budget reso- ality it is a sop to the rich. No wonder and copays for 7 million Americans a lution that includes reconciliation in- our Republican friends cannot talk year. There is literally no upside to the structions to increase the deficit by about what the plan does—cuts taxes President’s decision to end the cost- $1.5 trillion. Amazingly, it also in- for the wealthy and powerful. They sharing program. cludes a total of $1.5 trillion in cuts to have to hide it and say that this is job Because of the President’s actions, Medicare and Medicaid. Cutting taxes growth. Those are fake numbers, and I premiums will go up between 20 and 25 on the wealthy to be paid for by cut- would like my friends on this side of percent, according to the CBO. Just ting Medicare and Medicaid? How the aisle to admit that they believe in today in Pennsylvania, we saw pre- many Americans want that—Demo- trickle-down economics, because that miums rise by 30 percent as a direct re- crat, Republican, Independent, liberal, is what their plan is all about. sult of the President’s actions. conservative? The GOP budget makes Rather than helping the biggest cor- Deductibles and out-of-pocket costs it as clear as day that the Republicans porations avoid paying their fair share, will go up by thousands of dollars. will try to pay for a massive tax cut for tax reform ought to reward those com- Deficits will rise by $194 billion because the wealthy by cutting Medicare and panies that create jobs and raise wages the government will have to pay more Medicaid. It is the same formula they here at home. Similarly, tax reform in subsidies to make up for the lack of used for TrumpCare—cutting ought to directly benefit the middle the cost-sharing program, and the mar- healthcare to pay for tax cuts for the class, but the Republican tax plan ketplaces will become less stable be- rich. The American people rose up slashes a key middle-class deduction in cause more people will go uninsured. against that plan, and it failed. This the form of the State and local deduct- The Republican Governor of Nevada, plan should fail for the same exact rea- ibility. Brian Sandoval, may have said it best: son. Now let’s talk about Vice President It’s going to hurt people. It’s going to hurt Now the White House is out with a PENCE. He is visiting Buffalo, NY—a kids. It’s going to hurt families. It’s going to new report today, which reads that a city I love in my home State. Since hurt individuals. It’s going to hurt people giant tax cut for big corporations will Vice President PENCE is traveling to with mental health issues.