Floor SpeechBipartisan2026-01-13

PROVIDING FOR CONGRESSIONAL DISAPPROVAL UNDER CHAPTER 8 OF TITLE 5, UNITED STATES CODE, OF THE RULE SUBMITTED BY THE CENTERS FOR MEDICARE & MEDICAID SERVICES RELATING TO "PATIENT PROTECTION AND...

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Context

On 2026-01-13, Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) delivered a floor speech titled "PROVIDING FOR CONGRESSIONAL DISAPPROVAL UNDER CHAPTER 8 OF TITLE 5, UNITED STATES CODE, OF THE RULE SUBMITTED BY THE CEN" in the Senate. The speech addressed healthcare and also covered the economy, taxes. It referenced legislation including S147, S152, S148, among other bills.

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PROVIDING FOR CONGRESSIONAL DISAPPROVAL UNDER CHAPTER 8 OF TITLE 5, UNITED STATES CODE, OF THE RULE SUBMITTED BY THE CENTERS FOR MEDICARE & MEDICAID SERVICES RELATING TO "PATIENT PROTECTION AND...

Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 9 (Tuesday, January 13, 2026) [Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 9 (Tuesday, January 13, 2026)] [Senate] [Pages S147-S152] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] PROVIDING FOR CONGRESSIONAL DISAPPROVAL UNDER CHAPTER 8 OF TITLE 5, UNITED STATES CODE, OF THE RULE SUBMITTED BY THE CENTERS FOR MEDICARE & MEDICAID SERVICES RELATING TO ``PATIENT PROTECTION AND AFFORDABLE CARE ACT; MARKETPLACE INTEGRITY AND AFFORDABILITY''--Motion to Proceed Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I move to proceed to Calendar No. 293, S.J. Res 84. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report. The legislative clerk read as follows: Motion to proceed to Calendar No. 293, S.J. Res. 84, a joint resolution providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services relating to ``Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act; Marketplace Integrity and Affordability''. Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I rise today because I think it is painfully clear that we need to do something to address the growing healthcare crisis in this country. Let me be clear at the outset that when we talk about the CRA that the clerk just reported, it is not directly related--it is not the tax credit issue that has been the subject of an enormous amount of other debate and, frankly, action in the House but a CRA that will be voted on later today that will overturn a rule that the Trump administration has put forward that will result in 1.8 million Americans being thrown off their health insurance. It is beyond the tax credit issue. It is beyond the Medicaid changes. This is a rule that the administration set forward last year that adds enormous amounts of regulatory burden for any American who chooses to access the so-called ObamaCare Marketplace. The truth is, this administration's attack on the Marketplace, ObamaCare, the Affordable Care Act didn't start with this rule. As we all know in this Chamber, this is just another step in a now close to 15-year crusade by many of my Republican colleagues to undermine the ACA, which, at the end of the day, is just going to--as we have seen already--is going to increase healthcare costs for everybody. We know that at the end of last year, as the expiration of the ACA enhanced premium tax credits approached, Democrats in Congress worked hard to try to extend them. We put forward a strong, compromised proposal to extend the credits and keep health insurance affordable for the close to 24 million Americans who access their healthcare through the Marketplace. Unfortunately, time and again, Republicans voted against it, ensuring that when the clock struck midnight on January 1, millions of Americans were priced out of that coverage. Families across the country have now been hit with premium increases of $800, $900, and even over $1,000 per month. Somebody in my State of Virginia--Kathleen, a mother of two and a small business owner living in Newport News, saw her premium for her family of four increase from 544 bucks a month to over $1,500 a month. That is a yearly increase of about $11,500 a year--a pricetag that her family just can't afford. She told me she came up to the Hill before New Year's hit and that she hoped and prayed for a solution. Frankly, I wish all of my Republican colleagues who helped block that solution could have explained to her why blocking that solution, which we offered as a straightforward extension of the ACA premium tax credits--why they blocked that, because Kathleen and so many other families desperately needed it. I will have to say I have to give some rare congratulations to at least 17 Members of the House, Republican Members of the House, which had actually taken action recently to address this crisis. Seventeen House Republicans finally said enough is enough and voted with Democrats in the House to extend the credits, which will again lower the costs for millions. I hope that we can get a similar type of compromise through in the Senate. I know there are colleagues on both sides of the aisle working hard on that issue right now. While the credits have taken up most of the space around the debate, what I rise today on--the CRA that will be voted on this afternoon-- will provide an even more immediate solution to at least take away another barrier to healthcare accessibility and affordability. I am asking my colleagues--and I will be joined by other colleagues to talk about this over the next hour or so--I am asking my colleagues to join me in disapproving a harmful rule that the Trump administration finalized last year that was set to kick in at the end of 2025. As I mentioned, that would take about 1.8 to 2 million people off their healthcare because of the enormous administrative burdens that are put in place by this administrative rule to try to get access to the Marketplace. This is at least a chance today--not at some future date--to come together to do the bare minimum and address at least a small part of the emergency straining our healthcare system. Now, I will acknowledge that because this administrative burden is so burdensome, the courts have paused its enactment, but at any moment, that pause could be taken away. So let's just use the CRA, which has been used by both sides of the aisle repeatedly, to get rid of this additional burden because, simply put, this harmful Trump rule makes it harder to enroll in a Marketplace plan, harder to stay on a Marketplace plan, and harder and more expensive for States to run a Marketplace. The rule requires increased paperwork for families, reduces open and special enrollment periods, and allows insurers to push more healthcare costs on Americans by allowing plans to cover less care. That also adds a ton more paperwork and burdens on the marketplaces all across the country. Again, according to the Trump administration's own document, these added barriers and higher premiums will lead to that estimate of at least 1.8 million people losing coverage if this rule--which is, again, scheduled to go into effect but has only not gone into effect in 2026 because of a current pause by the courts. But I think we ought to avoid this cliff and just act today as a Senate and say: Let's not have this rule take effect. I think most of us would agree that 2025 was not a great year for healthcare in this country. Medicaid cuts, which are going to be enormous, which, frankly, were not scheduled to kick in until after the 2026 elections, interestingly enough--although I can tell you we have already seen rural healthcare clinics close in Virginia because of that expectation--and my colleagues' refusal to extend the enhanced premium tax credits are all weighing down on our healthcare system, and we are seeing rural hospitals and rural healthcare centers really bear the brunt of this. The truth is, the Trump administration and congressional Republicans have jammed through healthcare policies that, combined with the rule and the tax premiums--minimum, looks like about 15 million Americans will get kicked off their health insurance. So let's go back. My Republican colleagues and the President won in 2024 because they said they are going to lower costs. We can actually take action on lowering costs today. So let's join together, use the CRA tool, and end this policy. All you have to do is vote for the Congressional Review Act resolution making sure the number--not my number; the Trump administration's number--the 1.8 million Americans will actually get to keep their healthcare. All you have to do is vote for this CRA resolution so that folks don't have to deal with enormously burdensome paperwork and the higher costs that result. Now, I think we can get this done. We have seen my Republican colleagues stand up to the President on the Epstein files, on war powers, and just in the last day or so, the attack on [[Page S148]] the independence of the Federal Reserve. Let's have that pushback extend now to healthcare costs. Let's help millions keep their healthcare today and then work together toward a long-term, sustainable plan to keep healthcare costs stable for the next decade. Before I yield the floor, I want to also acknowledge--this is something a lot of us have been working on. Senator Klobuchar does such a great job on so many issues. Senator Wyden, the leader on the Finance Committee--they and others will come today to speak on this issue as well. I hope my colleagues are listening, and I hope they will actually acknowledge that we have to bring healthcare costs down today. This isn't a full solution, but at least it is an action that we can take today. I yield the floor. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Minnesota. Ms. KLOBUCHAR. Mr. President, I want to thank Senator Warner for his tremendous leadership on this important issue that is just really tormenting so many Americans right now--as well as Senator Wyden. This involves tens of millions of Americans who are facing a healthcare crisis. Their premiums are doubling or tripling, and it is completely in our hands to do something about it. Open enrollment is ending in 2 days. Americans across the country are looking at their budgets and facing this difficult choice of whether to pay double or triple for coverage or go uninsured. Why are tens of millions of Americans facing this reality? Well, because congressional Republicans failed to act, to come to the table to negotiate an extension of the enhanced Affordable Care Act tax credits before the end of last year. Last Thursday, the House passed legislation to extend these healthcare tax credits for 3 years. Seventeen Republicans joined Democrats. You think about it, they could have done that months ago-- months ago. We were willing to negotiate with them 3 years, 2 years, 1 year at the time. They wouldn't do anything. And now they have realized--I guess they didn't understand what was h

Referenced legislation: SJRES84, SJRES84

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PROVIDING FOR CONGRESSIONAL DISAPPROVAL UNDER CHAPTER 8 OF TITLE 5, UNITED STATES CODE, OF THE RULE SUBMITTED BY THE CENTERS FOR MEDICARE & MEDICAID SERVICES RELATING TO "PATIENT PROTECTION AND... Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 9 (Tuesday, January 13, 2026) [Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 9 (Tuesday, January 13, 2026)] [Senate] [Pages S147-S152] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] PROVIDING FOR CONGRESSIONAL DISAPPROVAL UNDER CHAPTER 8 OF TITLE 5, UNITED STATES CODE, OF THE RULE SUBMITTED BY THE CENTERS FOR MEDICARE & MEDICAID SERVICES RELATING TO ``PATIENT PROTECTION AND AFFORDABLE CARE ACT; MARKETPLACE INTEGRITY AND AFFORDABILITY''--Motion to Proceed Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I move to proceed to Calendar No. 293, S.J. Res 84. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report. The legislative clerk read as follows: Motion to proceed to Calendar No. 293, S.J. Res. 84, a joint resolution providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services relating to ``Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act; Marketplace Integrity and Affordability''. Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I rise today because I think it is painfully clear that we need to do something to address the growing healthcare crisis in this country. Let me be clear at the outset that when we talk about the CRA that the clerk just reported, it is not directly related--it is not the tax credit issue that has been the subject of an enormous amount of other debate and, frankly, action in the House but a CRA that will be voted on later today that will overturn a rule that the Trump administration has put forward that will result in 1.8 million Americans being thrown off their health insurance. It is beyond the tax credit issue. It is beyond the Medicaid changes. This is a rule that the administration set forward last year that adds enormous amounts of regulatory burden for any American who chooses to access the so-called ObamaCare Marketplace. The truth is, this administration's attack on the Marketplace, ObamaCare, the Affordable Care Act didn't start with this rule. As we all know in this Chamber, this is just another step in a now close to 15-year crusade by many of my Republican colleagues to undermine the ACA, which, at the end of the day, is just going to--as we have seen already--is going to increase healthcare costs for everybody. We know that at the end of last year, as the expiration of the ACA enhanced premium tax credits approached, Democrats in Congress worked hard to try to extend them. We put forward a strong, compromised proposal to extend the credits and keep health insurance affordable for the close to 24 million Americans who access their healthcare through the Marketplace. Unfortunately, time and again, Republicans voted against it, ensuring that when the clock struck midnight on January 1, millions of Americans were priced out of that coverage. Families across the country have now been hit with premium increases of $800, $900, and even over $1,000 per month. Somebody in my State of Virginia--Kathleen, a mother of two and a small business owner living in Newport News, saw her premium for her family of four increase from 544 bucks a month to over $1,500 a month. That is a yearly increase of about $11,500 a year--a pricetag that her family just can't afford. She told me she came up to the Hill before New Year's hit and that she hoped and prayed for a solution. Frankly, I wish all of my Republican colleagues who helped block that solution could have explained to her why blocking that solution, which we offered as a straightforward extension of the ACA premium tax credits--why they blocked that, because Kathleen and so many other families desperately needed it. I will have to say I have to give some rare congratulations to at least 17 Members of the House, Republican Members of the House, which had actually taken action recently to address this crisis. Seventeen House Republicans finally said enough is enough and voted with Democrats in the House to extend the credits, which will again lower the costs for millions. I hope that we can get a similar type of compromise through in the Senate. I know there are colleagues on both sides of the aisle working hard on that issue right now. While the credits have taken up most of the space around the debate, what I rise today on--the CRA that will be voted on this afternoon-- will provide an even more immediate solution to at least take away another barrier to healthcare accessibility and affordability. I am asking my colleagues--and I will be joined by other colleagues to talk about this over the next hour or so--I am asking my colleagues to join me in disapproving a harmful rule that the Trump administration finalized last year that was set to kick in at the end of 2025. As I mentioned, that would take about 1.8 to 2 million people off their healthcare because of the enormous administrative burdens that are put in place by this administrative rule to try to get access to the Marketplace. This is at least a chance today--not at some future date--to come together to do the bare minimum and address at least a small part of the emergency straining our healthcare system. Now, I will acknowledge that because this administrative burden is so burdensome, the courts have paused its enactment, but at any moment, that pause could be taken away. So let's just use the CRA, which has been used by both sides of the aisle repeatedly, to get rid of this additional burden because, simply put, this harmful Trump rule makes it harder to enroll in a Marketplace plan, harder to stay on a Marketplace plan, and harder and more expensive for States to run a Marketplace. The rule requires increased paperwork for families, reduces open and special enrollment periods, and allows insurers to push more healthcare costs on Americans by allowing plans to cover less care. That also adds a ton more paperwork and burdens on the marketplaces all across the country. Again, according to the Trump administration's own document, these added barriers and higher premiums will lead to that estimate of at least 1.8 million people losing coverage if this rule--which is, again, scheduled to go into effect but has only not gone into effect in 2026 because of a current pause by the courts. But I think we ought to avoid this cliff and just act today as a Senate and say: Let's not have this rule take effect. I think most of us would agree that 2025 was not a great year for healthcare in this country. Medicaid cuts, which are going to be enormous, which, frankly, were not scheduled to kick in until after the 2026 elections, interestingly enough--although I can tell you we have already seen rural healthcare clinics close in Virginia because of that expectation--and my colleagues' refusal to extend the enhanced premium tax credits are all weighing down on our healthcare system, and we are seeing rural hospitals and rural healthcare centers really bear the brunt of this. The truth is, the Trump administration and congressional Republicans have jammed through healthcare policies that, combined with the rule and the tax premiums--minimum, looks like about 15 million Americans will get kicked off their health insurance. So let's go back. My Republican colleagues and the President won in 2024 because they said they are going to lower costs. We can actually take action on lowering costs today. So let's join together, use the CRA tool, and end this policy. All you have to do is vote for the Congressional Review Act resolution making sure the number--not my number; the Trump administration's number--the 1.8 million Americans will actually get to keep their healthcare. All you have to do is vote for this CRA resolution so that folks don't have to deal with enormously burdensome paperwork and the higher costs that result. Now, I think we can get this done. We have seen my Republican colleagues stand up to the President on the Epstein files, on war powers, and just in the last day or so, the attack on [[Page S148]] the independence of the Federal Reserve. Let's have that pushback extend now to healthcare costs. Let's help millions keep their healthcare today and then work together toward a long-term, sustainable plan to keep healthcare costs stable for the next decade. Before I yield the floor, I want to also acknowledge--this is something a lot of us have been working on. Senator Klobuchar does such a great job on so many issues. Senator Wyden, the leader on the Finance Committee--they and others will come today to speak on this issue as well. I hope my colleagues are listening, and I hope they will actually acknowledge that we have to bring healthcare costs down today. This isn't a full solution, but at least it is an action that we can take today. I yield the floor. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Minnesota. Ms. KLOBUCHAR. Mr. President, I want to thank Senator Warner for his tremendous leadership on this important issue that is just really tormenting so many Americans right now--as well as Senator Wyden. This involves tens of millions of Americans who are facing a healthcare crisis. Their premiums are doubling or tripling, and it is completely in our hands to do something about it. Open enrollment is ending in 2 days. Americans across the country are looking at their budgets and facing this difficult choice of whether to pay double or triple for coverage or go uninsured. Why are tens of millions of Americans facing this reality? Well, because congressional Republicans failed to act, to come to the table to negotiate an extension of the enhanced Affordable Care Act tax credits before the end of last year. Last Thursday, the House passed legislation to extend these healthcare tax credits for 3 years. Seventeen Republicans joined Democrats. You think about it, they could have done that months ago-- months ago. We were willing to negotiate with them 3 years, 2 years, 1 year at the time. They wouldn't do anything. And now they have realized--I guess they didn't understand what was h Referenced legislation: SJRES84, SJRES84