Democratic Legislation

Floor Speech

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Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, now, on another matter, last week the Nation saw several pivotal moments that shed light on the current state of the Democratic Party. Here in the Senate, as I mentioned, Democrats chose to filibuster funding for our national defense for the second time in 2 months. This funding was agreed to in the bipartisan, bicameral deal that Speaker Pelosi and the Democratic leader signed onto just a few months ago, but now they have walked away from the agreement they signed and filibustered funding for our military commanders.

Yesterday, we saw the Iranian regime celebrate--celebrate--the 40th anniversary of the taking of the American Embassy and the beginning of the Iranian hostage crisis. The familiar slogan, ``Death to America,'' was on full display. It was especially sobering to watch this display and remember that our own U.S. military commanders do not have the certainty they need for strategic planning because Democrats here in Washington found it politically advantageous to block it.

Over in the House, Speaker Pelosi continues to stall the U.S.-Mexico- Canada Agreement. USMCA would bring tens of billions in new commerce and create 176,000 new American jobs, but House Democrats would rather pursue political theater. So American workers and farmers are still waiting.

However, while our Democratic colleagues block these bipartisan priorities, at least they are not shy about what they do support. We have seen what Democrats prioritize. We remember the Green New Deal, an effort to grab unprecedented control over American families' daily lives. Designing, building, or furnishing a home or business? Democrats want Washington to dictate how you do that. Commuting, traveling for vacation, mowing your lawn? They would like you to do that without gasoline or jet fuel sooner rather than later. Make a living producing, refining, or delivering affordable American energy? They want you to find another line of work whether you like it or not. That is the Green New Deal.

There is also the matter of Medicare for None. That is the scheme that would take the program that millions of American seniors rely on, throw away everything except the label, and paste that onto a new, one- size-fits-all, Washington-run insurance plan that would be mandatory for every American. Medicare, gone. Private plans and the popular Medicare Advantage Program, gone. Every health insurance plan that Americans get on the job, which over 180 million people depend on, gone.

This is literally what several of the leading Democratic Presidential contenders have endorsed--a new nationwide experiment in socialism. And every single American--man, woman, and child--would be the subject of this experiment, whether that is what we want for our families or not. From this mandatory one-size-fits-all insurance plan to new price controls that would limit lifesaving cures, our Democratic colleagues are rallying around policies that would leave American families paying more to wait longer for worse care. That is their prescription--paying more to wait longer for worse care.

Then, if these plans weren't bad enough on the merits, there is the small issue of the crushing new tax burden you would have to pile onto the U.S. economy in order to make some effort to pay for all of this. One leading Democrat released a breathtaking proposal last week that illustrates the road they would like to head down. This candidate's Medicare for None plan on its own, notwithstanding all the other socialist plans--just the healthcare plan--would cost $52 trillion over the first 10 years alone. That is the candidate's own estimate--$52 trillion over 10 years.

Even after cannibalizing everything the government currently spends on healthcare, the plan's author admits there would still be a staggering $20-plus trillion left over to finance. Other experts say it would be more. For some perspective, if you add up every cent that is deposited in every commercial bank across the United States of America, that is about $13 trillion. So you could literally seize--seize--every dollar that Americans have deposited in banks and you would have nowhere near enough money to pay for even the first decade of this crazy experiment. Democrats are confident they can produce this huge sum of money through historic tax increases on job creators and on the American people. It would be an enormous--enormous--new tax burden dumped on the U.S. economy that would kill jobs, depress workers' wages, and make America less competitive literally for generations to come.

At the exact time when Republican tax reform has made the United States more competitive and boosted prosperity here at home, Democrats want to take us backward and make our Nation a less attractive place to create jobs.

Here is what Larry Summers, a former Treasury Secretary under President Clinton, wrote about this far-left plan in the Washington Post:

[It] will discourage hiring, particularly of low-skilled workers. . . . There is . . . the real risk of an economic contraction following a sharp market decline.

That is Larry Summers, the Clinton Treasury Secretary. Particularly, it would discourage hiring, particularly of low-skilled workers, and a sharp market decline. So in order to take away employer-sponsored insurance from 180 million Americans, Democrats want to kill American jobs and bring the economy to a screeching halt.

Look, I would implore my friends across the aisle to put aside this destructive socialism and join us in the current work that needs doing right now for the American people. We have a landmark trade agreement that needs passing. We have U.S. Armed Forces that need funding. We are just waiting on our Democratic colleagues to show up.

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