Schumer: We Should Call This Gargoyle Of A "Big Beautiful Bill" The "We're All Going to Die Act"
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer makes his case against the "Big, Beautiful" bill pushed by President Trump and Republicans:
SENATOR CHUCK SCHUMER: Mr. President, let me begin this morning with a sobering headline from The New York Times: "Millions Would Lose Their Obamacare Coverage Under Trump's Bill." That is exactly what Democrats have been warning about for weeks--what Republicans call their "Big Beautiful Bill" is really repeal and replace by another name. It is a big, beautiful betrayal, not a big, beautiful bill.
Yesterday, we learned that the devastation potentially has only worsened. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has now grown the number of impacted Americans to 16 million--16 million will lose their Medicaid and Affordable Care Act coverage. So the more you look at this bill, the worse things keep getting. The CBO now says not 13.7 million, but 16 million will lose coverage. The number of impacted people grows the more you look at this bill, and things keep getting even worse.
We learned yesterday that Republicans may want to even go after Medicare. Medicare is on the chopping block. That's right--at yesterday's lunch, Republicans raised the possibility of Medicare cuts to pay for their billionaire tax cuts. The junior senator from North Dakota reportedly said, "Why don't we go after that? I think we should." For Republicans to even suggest Medicare be cut to bankroll billionaire tax breaks is frightening and revolting. And there's more: the junior senator from Louisiana said, "I'm not worried about people losing their health care." You know what happens when people lose their health care, when they can't afford it? People die.
But what do Republicans have to say about that? Well, the junior senator from Iowa said this: "Well, we're all going to die." That quote tells you everything you need to know about this plan--callous, clueless, careless. That's right: this plan is callous, clueless, and careless. But that's the Republican Party for you these days. They don't get it, or more likely, they don't care--as long as billionaires can pay less in taxes.
Republicans should forget calling this gargoyle of a bill their "Big Beautiful Bill." They might as well call it the "We're All Going to Die Act," given what the senator from Iowa said. At least that name would be more honest. "We're All Going to Die Act." Donald Trump may claim this bill won't cut anyone from coverage, but he's lying. Sixteen million people will lose coverage. Eleven million people will lose affordable care. Costs will spike, hospitals will close--people will die. And why? For a tax break for billionaires.
Now let me finish with this: on a separate note, in order to make the ultra-rich even richer, their bill, according to the CBO, would add over $2.4 trillion to the debt. Even Elon Musk calls this thing "an abomination"--his word. As the old saying goes, a broken clock is right twice a day. Republicans pride themselves on being the supposed party of fiscal responsibility. But this bill they have belongs on the Mount Rushmore of fiscally irresponsible bills. So I close with a warning to Republicans in the Senate: if you proceed with this big, ugly bill--this big betrayal of the American people--it won't be Donald Trump's soothing words that will be enacted in your states, but rather deep and devastating cuts. Millions of job losses--you'll rip health care for millions, you'll explode the debt, and you'll shower billionaires with tax breaks. That's what you'll be doing no matter what Donald Trump tells you on the telephone. I say to our Republican Senate colleagues: tread carefully. Tread carefully.
Now on the courts: we all know that Donald Trump sees himself as a king more than he does a president. He said it himself. Well, the Republicans' so-called "Big Beautiful Bill" would effectively place a crown on Donald Trump's head. Buried deep in the Republican bill is a nasty provision that would restrict the power of judges to hold government officials in contempt for violating court orders. The goal of this provision is very obvious: Republicans want to codify Donald Trump's attacks on our judiciary into law. When Senate Republicans include this lawless provision in their bill, Democrats will use every procedural hurdle in existence to kill it, including the "Byrd Bath" process, because this type of draconian provision is a better fit for a dictatorship than for a democracy. Republicans want to defang the power of the courts; they want to make it easier, in effect, for the Trump administration to defy court rulings. If judges can't hold intransigent public officials in contempt, a judge's rulings are basically meaningless. Why bother having courts if you're just going to ignore them? This is a naked attack on the separation of powers--a very serious and damaging one if ever enacted. If Republicans think they can pull a fast one on our courts by slipping this devious provision into their bill, they're dead wrong. Democrats will fight with every tool we have to stop this provision from ever, ever becoming law.
And finally, on Mr. Putin: yesterday, Donald Trump posted online that Vladimir Putin "very strongly said he will have to respond to the recent attacks on Russian airfields by Ukraine." Here's what President Trump should have said to Vladimir Putin: he should have said, "Vladimir Putin, end this war now. Stop killing Ukrainian civilians; stop your illegal invasion." But instead, Donald Trump is busy announcing Putin's military plans like a press secretary. Why is he acting like a bystander? He's the President of the United States. Donald Trump should show some backbone. Here's what the president needs to do: his administration has the power to help Ukraine defend itself with air defense systems--specifically, ammunition for its Patriot systems that the U.S. or our European allies can provide. Ukraine has said these air defense systems are the best tools for protecting civilian life from Russian military strikes. We ought to do all we can to get them these very-needed air defense systems, ASAP.
