Floor SpeechUrgent2026-09-29

PROVIDING FOR CONGRESSIONAL DISAPPROVAL UNDER CHAPTER 8 OF TITLE 5, UNITED STATES CODE, OF THE RULE SUBMITTED BY THE CENTERS FOR MEDICARE & MEDICAID SERVICES OF THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN...

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On 2026-09-29, Senator John Barrasso (R-WY) 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.

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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 OF THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN...

Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 154 (Tuesday, September 29, 2026) [Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 154 (Tuesday, September 29, 2026)] [Senate] [Pages S5139-S5140] 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 OF THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES RELATING TO ``PATIENT PROTECTION AND AFFORDABLE CARE ACT, HHS NOTICE OF BENEFIT AND PAYMENT PARAMETERS FOR 2027; AND BASIC HEALTH PROGRAM''-- Motion to Proceed Ms. BALDWIN. Madam President, I move to proceed to Calendar No. 456, S.J. Res. 197. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the resolution by title. The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows: Motion to proceed to Calendar No. 456, S.J. Res. 197, 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 of the Department of Health and Human Services relating to ``Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, HHS Notice of Benefit and Payment Parameters for 2027; and Basic Health Program''. The PRESIDING OFFICER. There will now be 10 minutes of debate equally divided. Ms. BALDWIN. Madam President, I rise today to ask my colleagues to join me in stopping President Trump from terminating healthcare for up to 2 million Americans on the Affordable Care Act. Let's back up for a second. President Trump has made it clear that he does not like the Affordable Care Act. He has vowed and tried to repeal it for over a decade with absolutely no plan to replace it. That would leave 23 million Americans without insurance. We are talking about hourly employees and contractors in the gig economy. We are talking about small business owners on our Main Streets. And we are talking about the one in four farmers who are already being pummeled from every side by higher costs brought on by President Trump. Americans banded together and, so far, we have stopped President Trump and congressional Republicans from completely repealing the Affordable Care Act. But that hasn't stopped the President from doing everything he can to chip away at, and hollow out, marketplace coverage. Republicans and President Trump refuse to keep tax credits that help working families afford their coverage. This alone is causing premiums to double for 22 million Americans and has pushed more than 2\1/2\ million Americans off their care because they simply could not afford it. They have slashed the funding by 90 percent for navigators, the very experts who help people find affordable health insurance. Just last week the Trump administration kicked hundreds of thousands [[Page S5140]] of Americans off their insurance with no details as to why. That brings us to this rule that undermines Americans' healthcare, jacks up cost, terminates coverage for millions more Americans. President Trump's policy will promote catastrophic health plans with extremely high deductibles and out-of-pocket costs, luring Americans into selecting plans that cover next to nothing when they get sick or injured. We call these junk plans. The effort will also loosen physician network requirements, leaving Americans with fewer providers who will take their insurance. And it will allow insurers to offer nonnetwork plans to make it easier for insurers to raise out-of-pocket costs, sell new kinds of junk insurance coverage, increase deductibles, cover fewer services, and kick more providers out of network. The result will be more Americans buying worse care that does not cover necessary services, from routine checkups to life-threatening emergencies. It will leave working families holding the bag for medical expenses. The Trump administration itself says that this will kick 2 million Americans off their Affordable Care Act coverage while jacking up costs on millions more. Benefits could be reduced for tens of millions of Americans, meaning folks could lose access to coverage for addiction treatment, hearing aids, or other critical services. Plus, the rule would pile on redtape, increasing the paperwork burden of nearly 5 million Americans. Americans understand what a lifeline this program is for a cancer patient, Americans with disabilities, working families, and entrepreneurs. On behalf of the 23 million Americans who rely on the Affordable Care Act for their health insurance, we cannot allow this administration to continue the attack, raise their costs, and undermine their ability to access quality care. Right now, Americans are unequivocal: they cannot bear the high costs of life. The war in Iran is causing gas and grocery prices to skyrocket, our farmers are struggling from needless trade wars, and now the President is raising the costs of healthcare for millions of Americans. I urge my colleagues to stand with the vast majority of Americans who support the Affordable Care Act and stop this misguided rule that would jeopardize care for millions of Americans. I yield the floor. Mr. TILLIS. Madam President, Republicans yield back all time. Vote on Motion The PRESIDING OFFICER. All time is yielded back. The question is on agreeing to the motion to proceed. Ms. BALDWIN. I ask for the yeas and nays. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second? There appears to be a sufficient second. The clerk will call the roll. The senior assistant legislative clerk called the roll. Mr. BARRASSO. The following Senator is necessarily absent: the Senator from Alaska (Mr. Sullivan). The result was announced--yeas 48, nays 51, as follows: [Rollcall Vote No. 251 Leg.] YEAS--48 Alsobrooks Baldwin Bennet Blumenthal Blunt Rochester Booker Cantwell Collins Coons Cortez Masto Duckworth Durbin Fetterman Gallego Gillibrand Hassan Heinrich Hickenlooper Hirono Kaine Kelly Kim King Klobuchar Lujan Markey Merkley Murphy Murray Ossoff Padilla Peters Reed Rosen Sanders Schatz Schiff Schumer Shaheen Slotkin Smith Van Hollen Warner Warnock Warren Welch Whitehouse Wyden NAYS--51 Armstrong Banks Barrasso Blackburn Boozman Britt Budd Capito Cassidy Cornyn Cotton Cramer Crapo Cruz Curtis Daines Ernst Fischer Graham Grassley Hagerty Hawley Hoeven Husted Hyde-Smith Johnson Justice Kennedy Lankford Lee Lummis Marshall McConnell McCormick Moody Moran Moreno Murkowski Paul Ricketts Risch Rounds Schmitt Scott (FL) Scott (SC) Sheehy Thune Tillis Tuberville Wicker Young NOT VOTING--1 Sullivan The motion was rejected. The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Banks). The Senator from Missouri. ____________________

Referenced legislation: SJRES197, SJRES197

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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 OF THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN... Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 154 (Tuesday, September 29, 2026) [Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 154 (Tuesday, September 29, 2026)] [Senate] [Pages S5139-S5140] 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 OF THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES RELATING TO ``PATIENT PROTECTION AND AFFORDABLE CARE ACT, HHS NOTICE OF BENEFIT AND PAYMENT PARAMETERS FOR 2027; AND BASIC HEALTH PROGRAM''-- Motion to Proceed Ms. BALDWIN. Madam President, I move to proceed to Calendar No. 456, S.J. Res. 197. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the resolution by title. The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows: Motion to proceed to Calendar No. 456, S.J. Res. 197, 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 of the Department of Health and Human Services relating to ``Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, HHS Notice of Benefit and Payment Parameters for 2027; and Basic Health Program''. The PRESIDING OFFICER. There will now be 10 minutes of debate equally divided. Ms. BALDWIN. Madam President, I rise today to ask my colleagues to join me in stopping President Trump from terminating healthcare for up to 2 million Americans on the Affordable Care Act. Let's back up for a second. President Trump has made it clear that he does not like the Affordable Care Act. He has vowed and tried to repeal it for over a decade with absolutely no plan to replace it. That would leave 23 million Americans without insurance. We are talking about hourly employees and contractors in the gig economy. We are talking about small business owners on our Main Streets. And we are talking about the one in four farmers who are already being pummeled from every side by higher costs brought on by President Trump. Americans banded together and, so far, we have stopped President Trump and congressional Republicans from completely repealing the Affordable Care Act. But that hasn't stopped the President from doing everything he can to chip away at, and hollow out, marketplace coverage. Republicans and President Trump refuse to keep tax credits that help working families afford their coverage. This alone is causing premiums to double for 22 million Americans and has pushed more than 2\1/2\ million Americans off their care because they simply could not afford it. They have slashed the funding by 90 percent for navigators, the very experts who help people find affordable health insurance. Just last week the Trump administration kicked hundreds of thousands [[Page S5140]] of Americans off their insurance with no details as to why. That brings us to this rule that undermines Americans' healthcare, jacks up cost, terminates coverage for millions more Americans. President Trump's policy will promote catastrophic health plans with extremely high deductibles and out-of-pocket costs, luring Americans into selecting plans that cover next to nothing when they get sick or injured. We call these junk plans. The effort will also loosen physician network requirements, leaving Americans with fewer providers who will take their insurance. And it will allow insurers to offer nonnetwork plans to make it easier for insurers to raise out-of-pocket costs, sell new kinds of junk insurance coverage, increase deductibles, cover fewer services, and kick more providers out of network. The result will be more Americans buying worse care that does not cover necessary services, from routine checkups to life-threatening emergencies. It will leave working families holding the bag for medical expenses. The Trump administration itself says that this will kick 2 million Americans off their Affordable Care Act coverage while jacking up costs on millions more. Benefits could be reduced for tens of millions of Americans, meaning folks could lose access to coverage for addiction treatment, hearing aids, or other critical services. Plus, the rule would pile on redtape, increasing the paperwork burden of nearly 5 million Americans. Americans understand what a lifeline this program is for a cancer patient, Americans with disabilities, working families, and entrepreneurs. On behalf of the 23 million Americans who rely on the Affordable Care Act for their health insurance, we cannot allow this administration to continue the attack, raise their costs, and undermine their ability to access quality care. Right now, Americans are unequivocal: they cannot bear the high costs of life. The war in Iran is causing gas and grocery prices to skyrocket, our farmers are struggling from needless trade wars, and now the President is raising the costs of healthcare for millions of Americans. I urge my colleagues to stand with the vast majority of Americans who support the Affordable Care Act and stop this misguided rule that would jeopardize care for millions of Americans. I yield the floor. Mr. TILLIS. Madam President, Republicans yield back all time. Vote on Motion The PRESIDING OFFICER. All time is yielded back. The question is on agreeing to the motion to proceed. Ms. BALDWIN. I ask for the yeas and nays. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second? There appears to be a sufficient second. The clerk will call the roll. The senior assistant legislative clerk called the roll. Mr. BARRASSO. The following Senator is necessarily absent: the Senator from Alaska (Mr. Sullivan). The result was announced--yeas 48, nays 51, as follows: [Rollcall Vote No. 251 Leg.] YEAS--48 Alsobrooks Baldwin Bennet Blumenthal Blunt Rochester Booker Cantwell Collins Coons Cortez Masto Duckworth Durbin Fetterman Gallego Gillibrand Hassan Heinrich Hickenlooper Hirono Kaine Kelly Kim King Klobuchar Lujan Markey Merkley Murphy Murray Ossoff Padilla Peters Reed Rosen Sanders Schatz Schiff Schumer Shaheen Slotkin Smith Van Hollen Warner Warnock Warren Welch Whitehouse Wyden NAYS--51 Armstrong Banks Barrasso Blackburn Boozman Britt Budd Capito Cassidy Cornyn Cotton Cramer Crapo Cruz Curtis Daines Ernst Fischer Graham Grassley Hagerty Hawley Hoeven Husted Hyde-Smith Johnson Justice Kennedy Lankford Lee Lummis Marshall McConnell McCormick Moody Moran Moreno Murkowski Paul Ricketts Risch Rounds Schmitt Scott (FL) Scott (SC) Sheehy Thune Tillis Tuberville Wicker Young NOT VOTING--1 Sullivan The motion was rejected. The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Banks). The Senator from Missouri. ____________________ Referenced legislation: SJRES197, SJRES197