Schumer Floor Remarks on Trumpcare, Russia Sanctions, and the President’s Actions on China and North Korea

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today delivered remarks on the Senate floor regarding the GOP health care bill currently being crafted behind closed doors by Senate Republicans, the effort in the House to block the bipartisan Russia sanctions amendment and the president’s policies in dealing with China and North Korea. Below are his remarks:

Madam President, we are only a little more from a week away from having to vote on a secret Republican healthcare bill, according to the timelines given by the Majority Leader to the press.

…Just one week away from voting on legislation that will reorder one-sixth of our economy and impact every single American in this country, and not a soul in America has seen it.

I’ve never seen a more radical or reckless legislative process in my time in politics. Write the bill in secret, discuss it in secret, send it to CBO in secret, and then rush it to the floor with no committee hearings, no amendments in committee, and just 10 hours of debate for the minority.

That’s not how America ever got big things done. That’s not how we do big things like healthcare here in the Senate. That’s hardly how we do small things.

And my Republican friends – they know it.

Republican Senator Bill Cassidy said, “I’ve always said I would have preferred a more open process.”

Republican Senator Murkowski from Alaska said, “If I’m not going to see a bill before we have a vote on it, that’s just not a good way to handle something that is as significant and important as health care.” Couldn’t have said it better myself.

Republican Senator Moran said, “My hope is that we treat the bill seriously, that we have hearings, that we have witnesses. I want regular order to work.”

In addition, Republicans Senators Rubio, Corker, Gardner, McCain, Collins, Paul, Daines, Fischer, Johnson and Lee have all complained about the lack of transparency in the process.

Why do they flatly refuse to say to the Majority Leader: ‘Let’s have a hearing, let’s accept amendments in Committee, let’s have regular order and a real debate on this bill, it’s too important?’

If they don’t want to say it to the Majority Leader directly, I hope they express their frustration with this process with their votes on the Motion to Proceed. We Democrats had all the things they asked for. They didn’t vote for our bill, those who were here, but at least they had input. They could offer amendments on the floor, or on the committees if they were in the relevant committees. They could debate. Not today. Not next week.

Now why Madam President, why is it my Republican friends have resorted to such secrecy? There’s only one reason – they’re ashamed of their bill.

They must think they’re better off not talking about their bill publicly.

We all know – if my Republican friends had a good healthcare bill -- one that lowered costs and improved care and helped more Americans afford insurance -- they’d be preaching it from the mountaintops. There’d be a brass band down every Main Street in America announcing this new legislation.

But no, they are afraid to even whisper – whisper – about their bill. They want it out in the open for as little time as possible, to receive as little scrutiny as possible.

They don’t want the American people to see that their healthcare bill is a little more than a vehicle to give another tax break to the wealthy, made possible by cutting care and raising costs on middle-class Americans and those struggling to get to the middle class.

They don’t want the American people to know that their healthcare bill is MEAN, like President Trump said it was, because they don’t think it could survive an open process.

So they’re keeping it secret and leaving almost no time for review.

Madam President, if a bill cannot survive scrutiny or public debate, if a bill cannot survive a committee process or threat of a single, open hearing -- it should never become law. Plain and simple.

Now for months, Democrats have tried to reach out to Republicans to bring an end to this dangerous game and move towards a more bipartisan process. We want to improve our nation’s healthcare system. If Republicans were serious about wanting to improve our healthcare system too, they’d get the President to guarantee the cost-sharing payments, stop sabotaging our healthcare system, and come talk with Democrats about bipartisan solutions. But instead, they are just sabotaging the bill. The insurance companies who are pulling out of some of the exchanges and raising premiums – ask them, the number one reason – no permanent cost-sharing. Who is standing in the way of permanent cost-sharing? The President and our Republican colleagues. They are the reason that people are pulling out of exchanges, that premiums are going up. They can’t escape that.

We Democrats were willing to try to work with our colleagues. We asked to have a bipartisan meeting in the Senate chamber so we could discuss this, just 100 Senators among one another. We were rejected for that. We’ve been rebuffed overall, but the invitation and the sentiment remains. And I’d remind my Republican colleagues: time is getting short for them to change their minds.

Now, Madam President, on another matter – Russia sanctions.

Just last week the Senate approved a package of Russia sanctions that would lock in existing sanctions, give Congress the ability to review any sanctions relief, and implement tough new sanctions to punish Mr. Putin and his allies for meddling in our election.

The importance of this legislation is reflected in the overwhelming bipartisan vote of 98-2.

Now we’re hearing that the House of Representatives, under pressure from the White House, might issue a “blue slip” on the bill which could delay or prevent the bill from passing.

Never mind the fact that the Senate bill was written to avoid such a problem, as my friend the Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, Senator Corker, said when he heard the news. Never mind that.

Make no mistake about it – the “blue slip” threat is nothing more than a procedural excuse by House Republicans who dredged it up it to cover for a president who has been far too soft on Russia.

This Administration has been far too eager to put sanctions relief on the table, that’s what this is about. Many people from one end of America to another have been asking, why?

Just yesterday, the White House spokesman said that he had NEVER spoken to the President about Russia’s interference in our election.

What has Russian concluded from all this? Putin now knows that he will not suffer any consequences for disinformation campaigns, buzzing our ships and planes, for threatening our European allies, for cyber-attacks, energy coercion, or his ongoing support for Russian separatists in Ukraine.

Now, in a short time, the Trump Administration is sending one of our most senior diplomats to Russia to meet with his Russian counterpart.

Is the White House encouraging House Republicans to delay this bill so they can offer the Russians something in their upcoming talks?

We don’t know, it sure seems possible. Even likely. And it’s a flat-out-wrong approach. As Democrats and Republicans in this chamber agree.

The United States should not be afraid to engage with Russia, but we cannot look the other way, or worse yet, reward Putin after he directed an assault on our democratic institutions.

That’s why the Senate passed this package of sanctions, sending a powerful message to President Trump that he should not lift sanctions on Russia.

Responding to Russia’s assault on our democracy should be a bipartisan issue that unites both Democrats and Republicans in the House and in the Senate. The House Republicans need to pass this bill as quickly as possible.

Their “blue slip” excuse does not hold water.

Finally, Madam President, a word on China and North Korea.

Yesterday, the President tweeted: “While I greatly appreciate the efforts of President Xi & China to help with North Korea, it has not worked out. At least I know China tried!”

We will wait to see if this tweet actually signals a shift in U.S. policy – you never know with these tweets. But no doubt it is a confession that the President’s conciliatory approach towards China has failed.

Just months after he was elected, President Trump said that he was willing to offer China a “better” trade deal if China worked with us on North Korea – going back on years of campaign rhetoric about getting tough on trade with China – something I have fully supported, and opposed both President Bush and President Obama as too weak on trade with China. When I heard that President Trump in the campaign was tough on China, I was glad. I thought this was an area we could work toghether on.

But the minute he sits down with President Xi, President Xi sort of wins him over and says we will get something out of North Korea. I told the President on the telephone China will not back off and help us with North Korea unless they feel the sting of economic sanctions for their illicit, unfair trade practices which rob millions of American jobs.

The idea that China would suddenly start to cooperate with the United States after President Trump dropped his threats to get tough on China was always unrealistic and misguided. China has been unwilling to cooperate with the U.S. in the economic or foreign policy spheres for decades. China puts itself first. And that’s what it’s doing now.

Let’s not forget that millions of American workers have been hurt by China’s rapacious trading practices over the past two decades. Selling out those American workers and simply hoping that China, out of its good graces, would start working with us on North Korea never made sense.

The best approach to dealing with China is to be clear and consistent and tough about America’s foreign policy and economic interests. President Trump, rather than going soft on trade with, China should get tough on trade with China. That’s the best way to get China to work with us on North Korea, and it’s the right thing to do for the American worker.

I have some hope the President’s tweet means that he has come to that realization and will work with us to get tough on China on trade.