Schumer Floor Remarks on the GOP Healthcare Bill and Special Counsel Robert Mueller
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today delivered remarks on the Senate floor regarding the GOP healthcare bill and special counsel Robert Mueller. Below are his remarks:
Well first, Madame President, before I begin, I want to express how glad we all were to hear that Representative Scalise is doing better. Over the weekend, his condition changed from “critical” to “serious.” It seems like he’s got a ways to go, but we’re all very happy to hear that the signs are more positive and moving in the right direction.
I’d also like to express my heartfelt condolences to the families of the seven U.S. Navy sailors who were lost in the crash of the U.S.S. Fitzgerald. The loss of these seven men -- in peacetime, in such a bizarre and rare accident -- is nothing short of a tragedy. I expect the Navy will conduct a full and thorough investigation to figure out what went wrong and hold all responsible parties accountable. For now, our prayers are with the families of the seven sailors who lost their lives in service to this great country.
Now, Madame President, on healthcare.
We are now only two weeks away from the July 4th recess, and my friends on the other side say that we’re going to vote on a healthcare bill before the break.
Democrats still have not seen the bill. The Republican Health and Human Services Secretary hasn’t seen the bill. The American people have not seen the bill. I’m sure many Republican Senators haven’t seen the bill either. The White House spokesman couldn’t even say if the President has seen the bill.
Now this is a bill that would likely reorder one-sixth of the American economy and have life-and-death consequences for millions of Americans…and it’s being discussed in secret, with no committee hearings, no debate, no amendments, no input from the minority.
This is the most glaring departure from normal legislative procedure that I’ve ever seen.
My friend the Majority Leader used to sing the praises of regular order, wax poetic about the wisdom of the committee process and an open amendment process. Republicans criticized Democrats vehemently for passing the Affordable Care Act with only Democratic votes – and that’s after we accepted dozens of Republican amendments during a robust hearing process.
Now that the shoe’s on the other foot and Republicans are in charge, all those concerns and criticisms have disappeared. No committee process, no hearings, nothing, quite the opposite of what they called four or five years ago. What gall!
Why are my Republicans friends engaging in this farce of a legislative process? Why are Republicans willing to engage in such blatant hypocrisy, contradicting all of the things they’ve said about good procedure in the Senate? What are they afraid of?
There’s only one reason why Republicans are doing this: they’re ashamed of their bill. The Republicans are writing their healthcare bill under the cover of darkness because they’re ashamed of it, plain and simple.
They’re ashamed that their bill will likely cause millions to lose their healthcare insurance, they’re ashamed that it will increase costs for older and sicker Americans, all to pass along a big, fat tax break for the wealthiest among us, the folks who need it the least. No wonder they don’t want to show anyone the bill; they are ashamed of it.
This radical departure from normal procedure on a bill of such consequence leaves the Senate minority little choice but to depart from normal procedure as well.
Starting this evening: Democrats will begin objecting to all unanimous consent requests in the Senate, save for honorary resolutions.
We will seek -- in as many ways as we can, as many times as we can -- to refer the House-passed healthcare bill to committee, where it can be vetted, debated, and amended in the open for the American people to see, as is their right.
And tonight, Democrats will hold the floor late into the evening in a series of speeches to highlight just how unprecedented this process is. If Republicans are not going to allow debate on their bill on the floor or in committee, Democrats will make opportunities to debate.
And these are merely the first steps we’re prepared to take in order to shine a light on the shameful Trumpcare bill and reveal to the public the GOP’s backroom deal-making.
Of course, there’s another way. On Friday, I sent a letter to my friend the Majority Leader requesting that we hold an all-Senators meeting in the Old Senate Chamber to discuss a bipartisan way forward on healthcare. We should all share common goals: improving the healthcare system by lowering costs, raising the quality of care, stabilizing the marketplaces. Let us sit down together – all 100 of us – and talk about how we achieve those results, together.
That option, I say to the Republican leader, is on the table, and I hope he won’t refuse it.
But if Republicans won’t relent and debate their health care bill in the open for the American people to see, they shouldn’t expect business as usual in the Senate.
Finally, Madame President, on another matter entirely.
I continue to be alarmed by the wave of criticism from the far right of Special Counsel Robert Mueller.
It seems obvious that because Mr. Mueller, one of the most respected and trusted men in Washington, is in charge of investigating Russian interference in our elections, and any other issues that arise out of that investigation, the far right partisans have set out on a despicable campaign to smear his character and muddy the waters of the investigation.
So I just want to remind them, and the American people, that there is no one, no one, more qualified or more trusted to do this job than Robert Mueller.
He has spent almost his entire adult life in service to his country: he’s a decorated veteran of the Vietnam War, served as US Attorney for twelve years.
He was appointed by a Republican President – President George Bush – to lead the FBI in 2001, serving his full ten-year term with distinction, and then he was asked for an additional two years under President Obama. Congress had to pass a special waiver to allow him to continue to in his FBI post. The vote to confirm Mr. Mueller was unanimous; every Republican in the Senate voted to confirm Robert Mueller. What an endorsement. A great endorsement. Mr. Mueller was the longest serving FBI Director since J. Edgar Hoover and the only FBI Director to serve under Presidents of both parties.
Madame President, Mr. Mueller represents the best of public service. He will pursue this investigation without regard to politics or pressure of any kind. And that’s exactly what America need.
The chorus of extreme commentators and media personalities, who seek to curry favor with the President by trying to tear down this man of great integrity, are only heaping dishonor on themselves. Worse yet, they are trying to discredit our most important democratic institution: the rule of law.
These critics know that Mr. Mueller is a straight arrow, and many of them said as much when he was appointed. But because he’s in a position to examine the president’s actions and perhaps take action, they’re attacking his character.
This is not, my colleagues, this is not a political game. This is a very serious investigation about foreign interference in our elections, something that eats at, that corrodes, the roots of our democracy, the very wellspring of our being and pride of our nation.
The man leading this investigation ought to be trusted by the American people; and over the course of his long career, he has certainly earned that trust.
So again I’d urge that these attacks on Mr. Mueller be ceased, and that my friends on the other side of the aisle join me in defending his reputation. The critics are going much too far here.
###
