Remember that your purposes will prevail and that your justice cannot be thwarted. Answer the prayers of our senators as they daily seek your wisdom, guidance, and protection. Lord, sustain them with your unfailing love, rescuing them from the Destructive Forces that go contrary to your will. Instruct our legislators even in the night seasons, so that your will may be done on earth even as it is done in heaven. We pray in your great name. Do for them exceedingly, abundantly above all that they can ask or imagine according to your power working in and through them. We pray in your great name. Amen. The president pro tempore please join me in reciting the pledge of allegiance to our flag. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of america, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Mr. Mcconnell mr. President. The presiding officer the majority leader. Mr. Mcconnell the senate, as i said yesterday, has a full schedule of work before it this fall. Its what the president , the Vice President and i discussed at our working lunch down at the white house yesterday. This week the senates advancing one of the most important items on our agenda with consideration of the comprehensive budget for fiscal year 2018. Its a good budget that reflects the hard work of chairman enzi and the Budget Committee. It will help rein in federal spending. It will help our country achieve balance. It will also help our economy grow. One of the ways this budget will do so is by providing legislative tools to advance tax reform. After a lost decade of missed economic opportunities, americas middle class deserves an economy that reaches for its full potential again, and tax reform is the singlemost important thing we can do today to get there. Now its not hard to see why our current tax code is archaic, arduous and often just plain bizarre. It holds our economy back. It can hold workers wages down. It actually incentivizes companies to shift jobs and profits overseas and it makes the easier for the wealthier and well connected to game the system. Yet, it is almost impossible for anyone else to understand it. The constituents from harrisburg, kentucky, wrote to my office exasperated about the unfair tax code. This is what he said. Im writing today to express my complete and total disgust for the complex, completely unfair and completely messed up tax system in this country. This constituent who has worked for nearly three decades as a cpa and has helped countless kentuckians navigate the system describes some of the hardships faced by clients, and then continued by saying that the honest, hardworking folks cant get ahead. The cheaters dont get caught. And the rich just keep on getting richer. That was my constituent from harrisburg, kentucky, summing up todays tax code. The story underlines the systemic problems of our tax code and it is often or nations workers including those in kentucky who continue to bear the burden. Recently the kentucky state treasurer wrote an oped calling on congress to provide muchneeded relief from our tax code. We need tax reform, she wrote, to increase kentuckys Economic Growth and for greater middleclass prosperity throughout the commonwealth. I agree. So does President Trump, his team, and our colleagues here in congress. Were all in agreement that delivering relief to working families should be at the heart of our plan, and thats what we continue to work toward in developing tax reform. For families and individuals in kentucky and across the nation, we think taxes should be lower, simpler and fairer. Our plan calls for doubling the standard deduction and significantly increasing the child tax credit. Well eliminate loopholes that are primarily used by the wealthy while protecting incentives that benefit the middle class. Our plan also reforms the tax code to provide relief to our nations Small Businesses and make it easier to keep jobs here in america. In an increasingly competitive global economy, were working to put American Workers on a level playing field. Above all, our goal is this, we want to take more money out of washingtons pockets and put more money into the pockets of the middle class in kentucky and across our country. This sounds like a place where we should all be able to agree. Republicans and democrats alike. In fact, our friends on the other side of the aisle have often supported the idea of tax reform and bringing jobs back to america. I hope they will again in the course of this important effort. I hope they wont fail, wont just fall into blind partisanship and reject any collaboration simply because they dont like the president. Instead, they can work with us in a serious way on an overhaul of the tax code that can truly help the people of kentucky, help the people of the states, and help americans all across the land. I look forward to continuing to work with colleagues here in congress and the administration to pass a responsible budget and to deliver tax reform for the American Workers and families who deserve an economy that reaches its True Potential once again. I suggest the absence of a quorum. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call mr. Schumer mr. President. The presiding officer the democratic leader. Mr. Schumer i ask unanimous consent the quorum be dispensed with. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Schumer well, first, mr. President , a brief word on health care. Senators alexander and murray continue to negotiate a bipartisan package of legislation to stabilize our Health Care Markets and lower premiums, a process that began over the summer. From what i have heard, they are down to a few final issues and are hopefully close to an agreement that can be taken back to both of our caucuses. Congress ought to show through the work started by senators alexander and murray way back in july, that congress can work in a bipartisan way on health care, that we have no intention of going along with President Trumps reckless sabotage of the Nations Health care law. Last week, President Trump showed that hes willing to take a wrecking ball to our Nations Health care for the sake of politics without any regard for the people it would hurt veterans, Senior Citizens, kids, folks struggling to afford insurance. President trump was so angry that they couldnt repeal and replace that he instead said im going to wreck the system. The problem is it hurts millions of innocent people, all for pique and politics. Hes shown that hes willing to put at risk the health care of millions of americans. President trumps decision to end the costsharing program was an act of impulsive malice with no benefit and no end. Now, this seems to be his m. O. , mr. President. He throws red meat to his rightwing base, whether its on health care, immigration, iran, disaster aid, and then he says to congress you fix it up. Thats not the way to lead. Thats following. Thats an act that exhibits no strength, no strength. We want our president to be a strong leader, every american does, regardless of ideology, but when the president plays so Many Political games that are not just harmless, that hurt people and then says to congress you clean it up and then blames congress for the mess he created, it doesnt work, its not fair, its not right, and its the reason that except for his base, President Trumps numbers keep sliding. They are flat now and theyre down, below 40 . No president has had such low numbers. And by the way, its not helping the Republican Party. Numbers today showed a record difference between whether people prefer democrats or republicans. So i would urge we stop this these shenanigans. Harmful, almost malicious shenanigans, and all Work Together for the good of our country. On health care, we in congress should continue to shore up the Health Care Markets, lower premiums in a bipartisan way. We ought to reject the path of President Trumps sabotage and destruction and instead a path of consensus and compromise. No side wins everything they want. That is not how the Founding Fathers set up this country. Otherwise, we would be a dictatorship or a country without checks and balances. We ought to Work Together, together to improve our health care system, to lower costs for people and ensure that more people will have access to health coverage. Now, we democrats have been pushing that for several months now. I want to salute senators alexander and murray for understanding that. They have been in careful negotiations, and that represents the best first step forward on health care. So i hope we hear more about them on the status of negotiations. I hope they can come to an agreement, an agreement that includes curtailing the sabotage that i spoke of, that the president is doing. I hope leader mcconnell and i can support this bill together, and then maybe even the house might pass it. The president has said, i think you dont know, it changes from day to day, but i think the most recent pronouncement is he might sign it. Now, on taxes, the g. O. P. Plan. So, as soon as today, well vote on the motion to proceed to the g. O. P. Budget resolution which includes instructions to increase the deficit by 1. 5 trillion, slash medicare and medicaid by 1. 5 trillion, and sets up unfortunately, very unfortunately for everybody the same destructive partisan process on taxes that the g. O. P. Used for health care. Its called reconciliation. It says we dont need you. Were just going to rush it through just with our votes. It didnt work on health care. Its not going to work on this either. Tax reform, if its real reform, or even just tax cuts, are very complicateed, and if you dont have a you dont have the center coming together, everyone can pick it apart. And theyre setting themselves up to do just that. So while the and the republican tax plan is little more than principles at the moment. Weve talked a lot about these principles. The budget is the first real legislative aspect of the republican plan, and it is so far away from what the American People think, and thats because of the process they decided to use. X you student x when you dont want democrats and just republicans, the Majority Party can push the debate so far over and say water not voting for and say were not voting for this unless you do it our way. We have a bill that is so out of touch and harmful to all but the wealthiest americans that it is hard to believe that republicans are putting it forward with a straight face. Its going to be the first time, my friends, that republicans in congress will vote to increase our nations deficit by 1. 5 trillion, which is spelled out clear as day in the budget. I hope, given this increase in the deficit, dramatic, all the republican deficit hawks are out of their nests for this one. For the sake of ideological consistency, the same folks who cried debt and deficit under president obama ought to denounce them under President Trump. But we havent heard much of a peep from a whole lot of republicans on this side, with a few notable, brave, and leaderlike exceptions. Heres what representative walker, a conservative member of the house said lamenting what was going on. The deficit is a great talking point when you have an administration thats democrat led. Its a little different now that republicans have both houses in the administration. Theres been less talk about it this year with a republicanled administration than there has in the last seven or eight years. Hes exactly accurate, representative walker. And the republican leader, may 16, bloomberg tv said, quote, tax reform will have to be deficitneutral. His words. Thats a principle he advanced for years, but were not hearing much from republicans about deficits now, and yet, i repeat, this budget instructs the committees to increase the deficit by 1. 5 trillion. It will be difficult for many of my republican friends to say they care about deficits and still vote nor budget. The g. O. P. Budget resolution will also be the first time that my republican colleagues vote to slash medicare. The budget spells out over 400 billion in medicare cuts as well as 1 trillion in medicaid cuts, even more than the Health Care Bill and probably probably the number one reason for its demise was the huge slash to medicaid. So its going to be difficult for my republican friends, and this Republican Party, to say they want to protect medicare and medicaid and still vote for this budget. And, unfortunately, mr. President , this will not be the first time republicans vote to advance a major piece of legislation changes to our tax code through a hyper partisan process known as reconciliation. Reconciliation as was just documented in i believe politico was never intended for thiep of purpose. Type of purpose. With this vote, though, republicans are saying from the very outset they dont really want democratic input on this bill because they are setting up a process in which they dont really need democratic votes. Its honestly a shame. And just as the partisan reconciliation process portended failure for the republican Health Care Bill, its likely to portend portend failure here as well. Its difficult to pass major legislation in the senate, as it should be, thats what the Founding Fathers intended. Thats the are true conservatism of our government, checks and balances, no rush. Its even more difficult if you only work with the votes of one party. As i said, that allows a small few, usually on the hard right, to dictate whats on the bill. My guess is that the vast majority here didnt want to vote for medicare and medicaid cuts, but because they couldnt get enough votes in the house without putting that in because 30 or 40 members insisted on it, its in there. It will not serve you well. If anybody thinks that it will not have an effect, look at the paygo rules. Paygo will insist on slashes in medicare. Thats a law, not a rule. So i would hope that this that our colleagues would vote down this bill and then i promise you, just as were doing on health care, we can come together in a partisan way. That doesnt mean you get everything you like. It probably means more of the tax cuts go to the middle class and fewer to the wealthy, but there are those who want to see people get a tax cut and see money come over here and be use pd for jobs an who used for jobs and who want to see a middleclass tax break. We want to see a bill that will make this body shine, but the Republican Congress, at least at the moment on the path that its on, has abandoned the tradition of bipartisanship, working together, that has made this chamber great through the decades and centuries. Now, we cant when republicans need democratic votes, they come to us, and, you know, the president and the leader have said, come vote with us, make it bipartisan. Thats not what bipartisanship is. You dont craft a bill just within your party and then say, you voting with us is bipartisan. Bipartisanship means you sit down together and you come out with a proposal that a majority of both parties can support. They are not doing that. So republicans will spend the entire first year of this congress trying to pass their major agendas through reconciliation or similar vehicles, first with c. R. A. s, then health care, now taxes. The majority leader said himself in a speech in restoring the senate, quote, when the senates allowed to work the way its designed to, it arrives at a result acceptable tole people all along to people all along the political spectrum. If it is an Assembly Line for one agenda, it creates instability and strife rather than good, stable law. The American People want to see us Work Together. Woo may not always succeed we may not always succeed. It may not be easy, but we can try. I say this to my colleagues, there are areas we can agree on taxes, lower middleclass tax, dont raise them. Give relief to small business, try to bring the money overseas from overseas and put it into infrastructure and job creation. We can Work Together but not in this process and not with this awful bill which favors the wealthy dramatically, raises taxes on the middle class, hurts the deficit, increases the deficit dramatically, and is a partisan process. I hope my republican friends deep that in mind when they vote today. If you vote this down, i promise you we will come together in a bipartisan way and work something that actually could pass instead of what happened with health care. Try it. Try it. Reconciliation, working with one party failed miserably for you on health care and now were coming together. Lets not repeat the same mistake on taxes. Finally, mr. President , i just heard that the nomination of representative marino to lead the office of National Drug control policy has been withdrawn. That is the right decision and the fact that he was nominated in the first place, it is evidence that the Trump Administration talks the talk but refuses to walk the walk. The bottom line is this congressman support President Trump but is the wrong person for the job, and im glad they saw it and withdrew. I want to salute two of my colleagues who were way out front on this, senator manchin whose state has been ravaged by opioids and senator mccass mccaskill. She has the kind of legislation that will be something that we can support in a bipartisan way. The Opioid Crisis demands that the next drug czar is solely focused to get communities across the country the help they desperately need. We hope that the administration nominates someone who fits the bill so we can pass that nominee quickly and in a bipartisan way.