Floor SpeechNeutral2026-01-05

COST OF LIVING

HealthcareTaxesForeign PolicyTradeHousing

Context

On 2026-01-05, Senator Roger Marshall (R-KS) delivered a floor speech titled "COST OF LIVING" in the Senate. The speech addressed healthcare and also covered taxes, foreign policy. It referenced legislation: S5.

Full Text

COST OF LIVING

Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 2 (Monday, January 5, 2026) [Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 2 (Monday, January 5, 2026)] [Senate] [Page S5] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] COST OF LIVING Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, now, on cost of living, if Donald Trump refuses to focus on the one thing Americans want most, which is to lower the cost of living, Democrats are happy to do it for them. As we begin 2026, Democrats enter the new year on our front foot. The cost of living will remain the No. 1 focus for this week, this month, this year, and beyond. The tip of the spear for so many people when it comes to costs, of course, is healthcare. It is now January 5, 2026. For tens of millions of people, the reality of sky-high premiums has now been locked in, thanks to Republicans who let the ACA premium tax credits expire last year. Millions more no longer have healthcare at all. Many others have switched to lower quality plans and can no longer see the doctors they have gone to for years and years and years or afford the medicines that their children have been taking to cure deadly diseases. Parents without insurance now don't know what to do if their kids get sick. Every Democrat in the Senate voted to extend the premium tax credits at the end of last year. And a number of Republicans--a small number, unfortunately, of Republicans--in both Chambers say they want to do it. But instead of listening to the vast majority of Americans who want these tax credits rendered, Leader Thune and Speaker Johnson have sided with rightwing extremists who are happy to see these credits die. The result: higher premiums, more uninsured Americans, greater uncertainty for the people back home--especially people, actually, in the red States. Democrats will not relent on the issue of the cost of living, of how difficult it is for Americans to pay the bills for things they need. The topic is not going to go away anytime soon. In fact, it will only grow in intensity over the year. But, as everyone knows, healthcare is not the only part of the story when it comes to lowering the cost of living. In the coming weeks and months, Democrats will lay out cleanly and comprehensively how we can lower costs for the American people on a number of different topics-- from health to housing, to groceries, to childcare, to energy costs, and beyond. In the coming weeks, for example, I will work with a number of my colleagues, including Senator Warren, on the many options we have to help Americans pay for housing. We also need to look at lowering grocery costs. We need to end Donald Trump's destructive tariffs. We need to help families afford daycare. These are the things that Americans care about, not invading Venezuela, not attacking Colombia, or dreaming of invading Greenland. The Democrats are focused on the things that matter to the American people, and we will focus on these like a laser--the high cost of living; affordability. Just like Democrats are dialed in on healthcare and brought the Nation's attention to this important issue, we are also focusing on costs as they relate to housing and groceries and energy and childcare and so much more. We show the contrast that, while Donald Trump and Republicans are spending all of their time on foreign wars, on ballrooms, on private jets, Democrats are the ones focused on helping people pay the bills for the things they need every day to live their lives decently. I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll. The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll. Mr. MARSHALL. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded. The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mrs. Britt). Without objection, it is so ordered. The Senator from Kansas. ____________________

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COST OF LIVING Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 2 (Monday, January 5, 2026) [Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 2 (Monday, January 5, 2026)] [Senate] [Page S5] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] COST OF LIVING Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, now, on cost of living, if Donald Trump refuses to focus on the one thing Americans want most, which is to lower the cost of living, Democrats are happy to do it for them. As we begin 2026, Democrats enter the new year on our front foot. The cost of living will remain the No. 1 focus for this week, this month, this year, and beyond. The tip of the spear for so many people when it comes to costs, of course, is healthcare. It is now January 5, 2026. For tens of millions of people, the reality of sky-high premiums has now been locked in, thanks to Republicans who let the ACA premium tax credits expire last year. Millions more no longer have healthcare at all. Many others have switched to lower quality plans and can no longer see the doctors they have gone to for years and years and years or afford the medicines that their children have been taking to cure deadly diseases. Parents without insurance now don't know what to do if their kids get sick. Every Democrat in the Senate voted to extend the premium tax credits at the end of last year. And a number of Republicans--a small number, unfortunately, of Republicans--in both Chambers say they want to do it. But instead of listening to the vast majority of Americans who want these tax credits rendered, Leader Thune and Speaker Johnson have sided with rightwing extremists who are happy to see these credits die. The result: higher premiums, more uninsured Americans, greater uncertainty for the people back home--especially people, actually, in the red States. Democrats will not relent on the issue of the cost of living, of how difficult it is for Americans to pay the bills for things they need. The topic is not going to go away anytime soon. In fact, it will only grow in intensity over the year. But, as everyone knows, healthcare is not the only part of the story when it comes to lowering the cost of living. In the coming weeks and months, Democrats will lay out cleanly and comprehensively how we can lower costs for the American people on a number of different topics-- from health to housing, to groceries, to childcare, to energy costs, and beyond. In the coming weeks, for example, I will work with a number of my colleagues, including Senator Warren, on the many options we have to help Americans pay for housing. We also need to look at lowering grocery costs. We need to end Donald Trump's destructive tariffs. We need to help families afford daycare. These are the things that Americans care about, not invading Venezuela, not attacking Colombia, or dreaming of invading Greenland. The Democrats are focused on the things that matter to the American people, and we will focus on these like a laser--the high cost of living; affordability. Just like Democrats are dialed in on healthcare and brought the Nation's attention to this important issue, we are also focusing on costs as they relate to housing and groceries and energy and childcare and so much more. We show the contrast that, while Donald Trump and Republicans are spending all of their time on foreign wars, on ballrooms, on private jets, Democrats are the ones focused on helping people pay the bills for the things they need every day to live their lives decently. I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll. The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll. Mr. MARSHALL. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded. The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mrs. Britt). Without objection, it is so ordered. The Senator from Kansas. ____________________