John Barrasso

Mr. BARRASSO

Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, I would like to take the opportunity to express my appreciation to Sam Tanner for his hard work as an intern in the Republican Policy Committee. I recognize his efforts and contributions to my office as well as to the State of Wyoming. Sam is a native of Utah and a sophomore at Central Wyoming College. He is studying business administration. He has demonstrated a strong work ethic, which has made him an invaluable asset to our office. The quality of his work is reflected in his great efforts over the last several months. I want to thank Sam for the dedication he has shown while working for me and my staff. It is a pleasure to have him as part of our team. I know he will have continued success with all of his future endeavors. I wish him all my best on his journey.

Mr. BARRASSO

Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, I would like to take the opportunity to express my appreciation to Elizabeth Walsh for her hard work as an intern in my Casper office. I recognize her efforts and contributions to my office as well as to the State of Wyoming. Elizabeth is a native of Glenrock, WY, and a graduate of Natrona County High School. She is currently in her second year of Casper College, where she studies international studies and world languages. She has demonstrated a strong work ethic, which has made her an invaluable asset to our office. The quality of her work is reflected in her great efforts over the last several months. I want to thank Elizabeth for the dedication she has shown while working for me and my staff. It is a pleasure to have her as part of our team. I know she will have continued success with all of her future endeavors. I wish her all my best on her journey.

Mr. BARRASSO

Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, I would like to take the opportunity to express my appreciation to James Willson for his hard work as an intern in my Washington, DC, office. I recognize his efforts and contributions to my office as well as to the State of Wyoming. James is a native of Cody, WY, and a graduate of Cody High School. He is a graduate of the University of Wyoming College of Law. He has demonstrated a strong work ethic, which has made him an invaluable asset to our office. The quality of his work is reflected in his great efforts over the last several months. I want to thank James for the dedication he has shown while working for me and my staff. It is a pleasure to have him as part of our team. I know he will have continued success with all of his future endeavors. I wish him all my best on his journey.

Mr. BARRASSO

Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, people ask for hope. They want hope and need hope. As a young doctor in my training, I worked at a children's hospital in the muscle disease clinic, and what I saw were families because muscular dystrophy, specifically Duchenne's, runs in families. Families come into the clinic, and you knew the day you were seeing that young person it was going to be the best day that person ever had because this is a progressive disease and they are looking for hope and they look to you as a physician for hope and they look to the researchers for hope. That is what this Right to Try legislation does. It provides hope. I believe it goes further than that. It is not just hope, it is also help because the research we have seen with this drug for muscular dystrophy, for Duchenne muscular dystrophy--and when you talk to the parents and talk with the patients, and I have met with the parents and met with the patients, what they are seeing is that day in the clinic is not their best day with declining after that, they have actually seen a reversal, which is miraculous. I am talking about working in a muscle disease clinic when I was in my twenties. We are talking a long time ago in my professional career working with people with muscle disease. This is the first thing I have actually seen that has actually reversed that declining trend that we see in young people with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, where they go from being able to walk to then walking more slowly, to then graduating to a wheelchair. So all we are asking for is hope, when we know there is hope that is available and it may provide help. The State of Wyoming passed the Right to Try law. The attorney general for the State of Wyoming is with us today. He knows about this. He knows it is bipartisan. There was nothing partisan about this, I would say to my colleague from Wisconsin. There was overwhelming bipartisan support by the legislature. It was signed by our Governor. Yet we see the minority leader come to the floor and object to a vote, which is something that would pass incredibly. He did it because his reasoning was something about a nominee of the President to be on the Supreme Court. We are talking about people who are dying today, such as the woman whom this legislation is named after with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis--Lou Gehrig's disease. People did the ice bucket challenge. We saw Bill Gates have somebody pour a bucket of cold ice water over his head in an effort to try to help someone with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. The minority leader came and named a couple of people who lost their lives. We all know people who lost their lives. The Senator from Alaska had a relative who lost his life to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Every time I go to mail a letter at the Post Office in Casper, WY, and drive down Randy Maxwell Boulevard, it is named after a postal worker who lost his life to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. He would have loved the right to try. So I come to the floor in support of my colleagues, in support of this legislation, and I am so sorry and sad to see the minority leader, the Senator from Nevada, stand and object to an opportunity to give the Senate the right to try, to give patients the right to try, at a time when we know there is actually potential cures available and there are people who are looking for the hope and looking for the help those potential cures provide. I would say to my friend and colleague from Wisconsin, thank you for your leadership. Thank you for bringing to the floor the beautiful face of the patient from your home State who lost her life in the fight, who didn't have a chance to try. Thank you for your leadership on the Duchenne muscular dystrophy front and for all people who are suffering around this country who need hope, who need help, and we know there is actually help available. Thank you for your caring and your work on this, and I continue to stand with you and your efforts, as do many Members of the U.S. Senate and many, many Americans. I thank you for your continued leadership and your determination. I thank the Senator from Wisconsin for his incredible efforts, and I say this with profound disappointment in the minority leader to see that he would come to the floor and object to people having a right to try to save their lives. Thank you, Mr. President.

Mr. BARRASSO

Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, the Senate minority leader, Senator Reid, came to the floor a couple of days ago and talked about health care. He said: If people would just look at the newspaper, they would see that ObamaCare has changed America--in his words--for the better. Well, millions of Americans do pick up the newspaper. I hope many of them saw the Presiding Officer's article in today's Wall Street Journal about some of the travel and things he has seen regarding our Nation's security. But I would like to point out to Senator Reid that there have been headlines in the papers repeatedly, including one in the Reno Gazette-Journal this month, that said his home State--``Nevada ranked 48th in healthcare by finance website.'' This from a finance Web site. They are talking about just how bad the health care law has been for the people of his home State of Nevada. It was about a new survey that looked at things such as health care costs and access to care and how it impacts people at home. So if ObamaCare is so great--at least as great as Senator Reid says it is--then why is his home State ranked almost dead last? Look, Americans are seeing headlines like the one that appeared on the front page of the Washington Times the day the Senator came to the floor. Had he picked it up and looked at it on the way to the floor, he would have seen the headline on the front page saying ``Failures of Obamacare. . . . '' This was on the front page the day he came to the floor and said: Check out the headlines. The article says: ``Democrats see need for fallback plan.'' They need a fallback plan because this health care law has been so devastating to people all across this country. If ObamaCare is so great, why do the Democrats need a fallback plan? Look, people across the country are seeing headlines like this every day. A Washington Post headline: ``Health-care exchange sign-ups fall short of forecasts.'' The New York Times: ``ObamaCare Options? In Many Parts of Country, Only One Insurer Will Remain.'' Another New York Times article: ``Cost of health law's plans set to rise more sharply.'' This is from the paper The Hill: ``Dems to GOP: Help us fix ObamaCare.'' They didn't turn to Republicans for solutions and ideas when they forced it through on a party-line vote. They didn't listen to us and our concerns about the impact of this law on the families of this country. Now they come to us and ask us to help them fix the mess they have made. USA TODAY--I would point out to Senator Reid--``Obamacare rate hikes rattle consumers, could threaten enrollment.'' The New York Times: ``The Incredible Shrinking Obamacare.'' Senator Reid came to the floor and made his statement just a couple of days ago. Let me point out a few other headlines that have arrived since then. Bloomberg, Friday: ``Failing Obamacare Nonprofit Co-Ops Add to `Death Spiral' Fears.'' You don't even have to turn to the newspapers; you could have turned on the radio--National Public Radio, just this past Friday, talking about people who are buying insurance for their insurance because the ObamaCare program is so bad for them personally. Sunday's New York Times, in the business section: ``Why Obamacare Markets Are in Crisis.'' I would suggest the minority leader look at today's newspaper in Indiana regarding Indiana University health plans. ``IU Health Plans quit Obamacare exchange, citing `heightened financial uncertainty.' '' Those are the headlines people are seeing all across the country. So I am not sure exactly what newspapers the minority leader is reading, but he is not reading the same papers Americans all across the country are reading. All across the country, people are hearing about their rates going up--in Georgia, 33 percent; Illinois, 45 percent; Tennessee, 59 percent--and people are feeling the pinch from this rising cost of the Obama health care law. It is hurting the people who buy insurance through ObamaCare exchanges, and it is hurting the people who get their insurance through their jobs. A new report by the Kaiser Family Foundation says that for people who get their insurance at work, the deductibles have risen four times faster than the premiums did. So it is not just the premiums going up, but the deductibles are going up. And all of those are new costs as a result of the health care law. The American people are feeling it in their wallets, and millions of Americans are rejecting ObamaCare insurance because they know it is not a good value for them personally. According to one article, 8 million people face tax penalties this year for not buying ObamaCare coverage. These are people who can't afford this expensive, second-rate insurance, or they do not think it is right for them or their family. The Democrats who wrote this law and who are now asking for help in ``fixing it'' do not really care; they just want people to write their checks to the IRS, their penalties because of the mandates of the law--the taxes, the fines. These are for people who have no options. No options is exactly the situation most Americans are facing. Major insurance companies have decided to leave most of the ObamaCare markets. Just look at the insurers who are fleeing the ObamaCare exchange. Humana is selling coverage in 19 States this year; it is going to be in just 11 States next year. Look at UnitedHealthcare--in 34 States this year but down to 3 next year. Aetna is going from selling ObamaCare plans in 15 States this year to just 4 States next year. On November 1, millions of Americans will go to sign up for ObamaCare and they will find their insurance plan has disappeared. Companies are running for the exits. The program is collapsing. It is in a death spiral. And so far, of the 23 co-ops under the health care law, 17 of them have failed, including the one in the home State of Senator Reid, Nevada, which went out of business at the end of last year. With all these companies shutting down and dropping out, people living in one-third of the country are going to be left with just one option for ObamaCare coverage in November. One option is no choice. It is not a marketplace, it is a monopoly. Under ObamaCare, we have seen medical costs skyrocketing and people losing their insurance. So it is no surprise that there is enormous anger and anxiety about the health care law, to the point that in a Gallup poll earlier this month, 29 percent of American families say they have actually been hurt personally by the health care law and only 18 percent say they have been helped. Mr. President, Republicans said this was what was going to happen. Democrats ignored them. They ignored our concerns to try to improve health care for all Americans. Democrats went into a back room, behind closed doors in Harry Reid's office, they wrote a law they passed with no Republican support, and this is the result. We have offered direct solutions to the problems. We have offered relief for the American people. My colleague from Arizona, Senator McCain, who is now on the floor, has offered a bill to provide that relief for people who are hit with mandates, taxes, fines, and penalties because of the mandates of a law that is too expensive, too costly, and hurting American families. I am proud to cosponsor Senator McCain's legislation to provide that relief. So when people say ``Will you work with Democrats?'' I will say this: If Democrats want to work on a plan that provides nothing but more ObamaCare and more Federal control, count me out, but if they want to work on a plan, such as the plan I have introduced with Senator Graham from South Carolina and Senator Ayotte to provide opportunity, freedom, choice, and flexibility at the State level, to empower individuals in States, then count me in. But, Mr. President, when you look at a program that is impacting America, with 29 percent of people having been hurt by the President and his law and only 18 percent helped, I would say to the President of the United States: You shouldn't have had to hurt so many good people while trying to help those who didn't have insurance. This is a law that needs to be repealed and replaced, and right now I am proud to stand with Senator McCain in his efforts to provide relief to the families who feel betrayed by this President and this law. Mr. President, I yield the floor.

Mr. BARRASSO

Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, I have about 8 minutes or 9 minutes of remarks, but I don't see the Senator from Iowa yet. If the Senator from Vermont wishes to speak----

Mr. BARRASSO

Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, Wyoming has lost a true giant. On September 18, 2016, Brian Scott Gamroth lost his life in a tragic motorcycle accident. It is hard to think of a more familiar and friendly voice in Wyoming than Brian Scott's. For the past 23 years, the Casper community woke up and went to work with the smiling voice of Brian Scott filling the airwaves on the K2 Morning Show. While his voice has been silenced, his impact on Wyoming will live on. Brian didn't stop at just reporting about the community, he lived it and loved it every day. If there was a charitable event in Casper or anywhere in Wyoming, Brian was either emceeing it or letting everyone in the Cowboy State know how they can help. Through his talents as an entertainer, master of ceremonies, and a community leader, Brian has raised millions of dollars for local and State charities. Brian's love for Wyoming was only eclipsed by his love for his family. He is survived by his wife, Tracy, and three sons: Josh and his wife, Heidi; Kyle and his wife, Whitney; and Corey. Brian cherished his four grandchildren, Lucy, Sarah, Reagan, and Owen. Brian Scott Gamroth was a friend to everyone. He has changed many lives for the better, and Wyoming will feel his loss for a long time. Bobbi and I are blessed to have called him our friend. We will miss him dearly.

Mr. BARRASSO

Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, I came to talk on a different topic, but it is interesting because I noticed the front-page story of the Washington Post about a for-profit college not too many weeks ago. Headline: ``Inside Bill Clinton's nearly $18 million job as `honorary chancellor' of a for-profit college.'' I just heard this Senator talk about somebody signing something, and this article refers to this for-profit college that signed Bill Clinton to a lucrative deal as a consultant and honorary chancellor, paying him $17.6 million over 5 years. It is very disturbing because it says: The guest list for a private State Department dinner on higher-education policy was taking shape when Secretary of State Hillary Clinton offered a suggestion. It says: In addition to recommending invitations for the leaders from a community college and a church-funded institution, Clinton wanted a representative from a for-profit college company called Laureate International University, which, she explained in her email to her chief of staff that was released just last year, was ``the fastest growing college network in the world.'' There was another reason Clinton favored setting a seat aside for Laureate at the August 2009 event: The company was started by a businessman, Doug Becker, ``who Bill likes a lot. . . . '' Nine months later, Laureate signed Bill Clinton to a lucrative deal as a consultant and ``honorary chancellor,'' paying him $17.6 million over 5 years. So when I hear another colleague from the Senate come to the floor and talk about for-profit colleges and make reference to the fact that something needs to be done about it, it seems obvious to me that Hillary Clinton, Bill Clinton, they had something to do with it as well, and a $17.6 million contract--consultant fee, honorary chancellor--to Bill Clinton. President Obama's Legacy Mr. President, I come to the floor to talk on a separate matter. We are just 4 months away from an inauguration of the next President. So President Obama is spending lots of time going around trying to polish his legacy. He is doing it today at the United Nations. The facts we see and Americans across the country see are very different than what President Obama is trying to paint as his legacy. The President's legacy of failure--we see it in the President's health care law. Many people feel deceived by the President when they find themselves paying much more for health care. Many people have been hurt by the law. Republicans are trying to provide relief for the damage the President has done. The President's legacy of failure continues in foreign policy. America's power, prestige, and respect around the world has declined, and in many places evaporated under President Obama. Today I want to talk about the devastating legacy the President has left in terms of failure regarding his economic policies. According to a recent Gallup poll, people say the economy is the biggest problem facing this country today. The No. 2 concern in the poll was a tie between unemployment and dissatisfaction with government. After 7\1/2\ years of a very poor recovery from the recession, it is easy to see why Americans are so concerned about their own jobs, their own economy, and their own future. It is also easy to see why there is a lack of faith with regard to the Obama administration, in terms of their ability to even know how to grow a strong and healthy economy. President Obama took office during a recession. The recession ended in June of 2009, just a few months after the President was in office so that was more than 7 years ago. America has an economy that has been crawling on its hands and knees ever since. Normally, after a recession, an economy bounces back, does it vigorously, with great strength--never happened this time. Under President Obama, the country has been struggling with the weakest recovery in the last 60 years. Millions and millions of Americans have been left behind, and they feel it. Going back to 1950, the average annual growth for our economy has been 3.25 percent a year. So over 3 percent growth a year, on average, since the year 1950. Through good times and bad, an average of 3 percent a year. President Obama's average the past 7 years has been less than half of that. For the past three economic quarters, it has been growing at a 1.1-percent annual rate, 0.9 percent, 0.8 percent, well below average when it comes to his economic policies. That is not a legacy of which to be proud. This nonexistent Obama recovery means too many Americans have gone too long without being able to find a job. There are still close to 16 million Americans who are either unemployed or underemployed who are seeking to find full-time work. Many of these are part-time workers who are trying to go and find full-time work. Many others have given up looking for work entirely. They have tried, they can't find anything, and they have quit actually looking so they are not even counted in the unemployment numbers. This is not a legacy for which anybody should be proud. I ask the President is he proud of this legacy. Last month, the Congressional Budget Office came out with some new numbers about Washington's debt. The American people know the President has added considerably to the debt of this country. He came into office, he immediately started running deficits of $1 trillion a year-- the President's so-called stimulus package. No one had ever seen deficits like that before. Of course, as each deficit gets added to the debt, the debt accumulates with deficit spending each year, but that wasn't enough for this President. Oh, no. Then, he pushes a health care law that burdens taxpayers with trillions of dollars of additional debt. According to this new report, Washington's deficit is going to be 35 percent higher this year than it was last year. That just keeps adding to our national debt. Is President Obama proud of this legacy? Is he proud he is impacting our children, our grandchildren, sticking them with a tax bill they will never be able to repay? There was another report that came out of the Census Bureau last week. It said the average family income actually did go up from 2014 to 2015 by 5 percent. That leaves us with an average family income that is still below the numbers from before the recession, from back in 2007. We are still below that level. Five percent may sound good for that year--until you realize that health insurance premiums under the Obama health care law are going up 20 to 30 percent all across the country. The Wall Street Journal came out last week with a piece that said: ``America Gets a Raise, Finally.'' A raise for American families is good news. It should happen every year. But why didn't it happen sooner? Well, because of the policies of the Obama administration--policies such as higher taxes, more regulations. The average family income is still $900 less than it was in 2007. There are still 43 million Americans living in poverty. If President Obama is proud of his legacy, let him stand up and say it. But is he really proud of a legacy of making America wait so long for so little? Here is how the Wall Street Journal put it in its editorial: Last year's encouraging progress doesn't obscure the reality that neither the economy nor workers are reaching their full potential. The next President can build on this late uptick by changing policy direction. That is what we need to do--change direction and policy. That is the key. These failed economic policies over the past 7\1/2\ years don't just belong to President Obama. They belong to Democrats in Congress who have been pushing--and continue to push--along this line of more government, more spending, more regulations, and less individual choice. These are the same ideas that have robbed Americans of opportunities every single time the Democrats have tried it. Although President Obama and the Democrats in Congress may think the pace of this recovery has been good enough, Republicans in the Senate know this is an economy which is nowhere near as good as it should be or could be. We are focused on policies that promote real job growth so Americans can get off the sidelines and back onto a career path. Republicans are focused on policies that free our economy--free the economy to grow like it should, not just hobble along with the lackluster pace of the last 7 years. We are focused on policies that will rein in Washington out-of- control debt and regulations. That is the way that our children and grandchildren can afford to live the lives they would like, not just paying for Democrats' mistakes. We are focused on policies that allow Americans to get paid what they deserve, not just one raise every 7 years or 8 years. Republicans are ready to move beyond the President's legacy of failure and to help the American economy really get moving again. I yield the floor.

Mr. BARRASSO

Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate be in a period of morning business, with Senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each.

Mr. BARRASSO

Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, as you hear in Montana and I hear in Wyoming weekend after weekend as we go home and we travel our States over the summertime, we are hearing from more people and seeing more articles in the newspaper about how the Obama health care law is falling apart. Every Member of this body--every Member of this body-- probably hears the same stories I hear and have heard again today visiting with people from Wyoming--stories from people who can no longer afford their health care premiums, their health care coverage, the copays, the deductibles, and all of the things that have happened because of the Obama health care law. I think it is interesting to reflect on that new survey done by the Gallup organization, a well-known pollster from around the country with a long history. They released numbers last week about what people are seeing around the country with regard to ObamaCare--the things we have been hearing at home every weekend. The first thing we found is that more Americans disapprove of ObamaCare than approve of it. Now, it is interesting because the Senate minority leader, Harry Reid, was on the floor yesterday saying repeatedly: Isn't ObamaCare great? Well, I would say to my friend and colleague from Nevada: No, as a matter of fact, more Americans disapprove--thumbs down--of the Obama health care law than people who approve. That is not what was supposed to happen--oh no. When the now minority leader--then the majority leader--came to the floor a number of years ago with a bill that was written behind closed doors in his office, when they forced this through the House and the Senate, they said it would be great. Senator Schumer, who may likely become the new leader of the Democrats in a new Senate after the minority leader retires, predicted from the floor--right over there--that the law was going to be much more popular as time went on. He said: ``When people see what is in the bill, and when people see what it does, they will come around.'' Well, it has now been 6 years. People have seen what is in the bill. Remember Nancy Pelosi saying: First you have to pass it before you get to find out what is in it. People have seen what is in it. They have not come around. People disapprove of the President's health care law-- thumbs down--by 51 percent. It is interesting that the numbers have actually gotten worse, in spite of what the Senate minority leader said yesterday repeatedly, when he said: Isn't ObamaCare great? So 4 years ago, when Gallup asked the same question, the numbers were actually only 45 percent. Now it is 51 percent who disapprove. So it is actually heading backwards. ObamaCare is becoming more unpopular as time goes on and as people see that it has actually hurt them personally. Yes, that is what I said: It hurt them personally. The President's signature law is hurting them personally. Let's take a look. How many people tell others the Obama health care law has hurt them personally--they and their families? A record number say that ObamaCare hurt their family--29 percent. Have people been helped by the health care law? Yes, but only 18 percent of people say they were helped by the health care law. What I hear repeatedly in Wyoming--and I assume the Presiding Officer hears in Montana--is that the President should not have had to hurt this many Americans to help people who didn't have insurance. Why should they have hurt people who had insurance to help those who didn't? That is why this law continues to be so unpopular. It is a record number. It is not what the President or the Democrats said would happen with the health care law. What does the President say about the law? He says: Forcefully defend and be proud. I think that is why we saw the minority leader on the floor yesterday saying: Isn't ObamaCare great? The minority party whip came to the floor on Tuesday, and he said the major aspects of the law are working. That is what he said. This doesn't look like a law that is working to me. More Americans have been hurt by the law than have been helped. The Senator from Illinois said that the major parts of the law, the major aspects of the law are working. Well, what are the major aspects? Premiums, what people have to pay--but premiums are going through the roof. In Senator Durbin's home State of Illinois, the average person in an ObamaCare exchange is going to be paying 45 percent more next year than this year. That is when they select their plans--November 1. When they go to the exchange to see what is available, they are going to find it 45 percent more expensive than this year. So it doesn't seem like the fundamental parts of the law are working. Why did the rates go up? It is because of ObamaCare and the mandates that come from a Washington that decides it knows what is better for the people than they know themselves. They have to buy insurance the President says they have to buy, not what they think might work best for them or their families. That is why record numbers say ObamaCare has hurt their family. They can't buy what they want. They are paying a price that is too high. The deductibles are too high. The copays are too high. So we hear the stories of what is happening with ObamaCare. There was one other question in this poll that I would like to point to. They asked all these American families about ObamaCare. They asked: In the long run--in the long run--how do you think the health care law will affect your family's health care situation? Will it make it better for your family, as the Democrats promised? Will it have no affect? Or will it actually make things worse for you and your family? Over one- third of Americans--36 percent--say the health care law will make health care for them and for their family worse. Less than one in four say it will make it better. So more say ObamaCare will make their family's health care situation worse. Now, that is an overwhelming margin. It is even a higher margin than last year. So as people see the impact of the health care law, as they see the impact on themselves and on their families, they are looking at this and saying: Things are going to continue to get worse because premiums have continued to go up, copays have continued to go up, deductibles have been continuing to go up, and the options are fewer and fewer. What does the administration say about that? Well, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, Sylvia Burwell, wrote an op-ed that appeared in CNN 6 days ago. It was entitled: ``The reality of the health insurance marketplace.'' That is what they called it: ``The reality of the health insurance marketplace.'' She said that all these higher prices people are experiencing around the country--the reason people are saying it is worse for them and their family and that they have been hurt by the health care law--are ``growing pains.'' That is what she said--``growing pains.'' Well, as a doctor who practiced medicine for 25 years, I can tell you that growing pains generally happen when something is growing. But that is not what is happening here. What is actually happening here is that ObamaCare is shrinking. The ObamaCare exchanges are shrinking. Millions of Americans will have fewer choices this year when they go to the ObamaCare exchanges than they had to buy insurance last year. In about one out of every three counties in America, people are going to be limited to only one single ObamaCare coverage choice in 2017. In her op-ed, the Secretary talked about the ``health insurance marketplace.'' When there is only one company selling insurance to one- third of the country, that is not a marketplace, that is a monopoly. That is why so many people say that they and their families have been personally hurt by the law and they believe it is going to make things worse for their families. This Democrats' health care law is turning the country into an ObamaCare wasteland--a wasteland without choices and without opportunities to make decisions about what is best for you and your family. That is why the American people are so worried about the future of their health care and why there has been an incredible spike in the number of people who think that in the future, their health care will get worse. People look at these unsustainable price increases and they say: What am I going to do? They can't afford the insurance now. Maybe they can make it through this year. What about next year? People want and need relief because even if you are down to one choice, even if there is a monopoly and you are down to one choice, you have to buy it because if you don't, President Obama and the Democrats say ``You must pay a fine. You must pay a penalty. You must pay a tax'' even though you have no choice. That is the Democrats' plan for health care--fine and penalize and tax them, but we are not going to give them any choice. There is no marketplace; there is a monopoly. People want and deserve relief, and Republicans are offering that kind of relief. We are offering relief by saying: If you live in one of those counties that have no choices, the penalties, mandates, and fines should not apply to you. The Democrats say: Pay up anyway. If you live in a location where the premiums have gone up over 10 percent, the Republicans say: You deserve relief from what President Obama and the Democrats have forced upon you. The Democrats say: Tough. Pay up anyway. Pay the fine. Pay the penalty. Pay the tax. The American people deserve relief. People around the country are frightened by what they are seeing. They are frightened by what is happening with the health care law and the impacts, and they can see it getting worse and worse. This didn't have to happen. It didn't have to happen. When the President wrote this law and had Harry Reid's office behind closed doors--had it written over in that area, ignoring the pleas of the Republicans, ignoring the pleas of the American people, who said ``Do not do this to us,'' the Democrats and the President said they know better than all of us. They said: If you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor. That turned out not to be true. They said: If you like your health care plan, you can keep your health care plan. That turned out not to be true. Premiums will drop by $2,500, they said, and that was per year. That turned out not to be true. This health care law has been very damaging to so many Americans. There are people who need help, but the Democrats should not have hurt so many Americans who had insurance, who had something that worked for them, who had something they could afford, in an effort to help others who didn't have insurance. That is why people are desperately asking for relief from a one-size-fits-all approach with Washington mandates, with unelected, unaccountable bureaucrats forcing more regulations on hospitals, on doctors, on nurses, and on nursing homes across the board. That is why the American people say the health care law is going to make things even worse. It is very distressing to hear a Democratic Senator come to the floor and say ``Isn't ObamaCare great?'' because the American people know it is not. They know they have been hurt, they have been harmed, they have been taxed, they have been penalized, and they have been forced to pay more. They have lost options, lost choices, and lost opportunities because of this law and this administration and the way this was passed--without listening to people from both sides. I think it is time for the Democrats to stop trying to spin this destructive law. It is time for them to work with Republicans to give the American people what they wanted from the beginning. They wanted the care they need from a doctor they chose at lower costs, not a health care law that so many Americans believe is going to continue to make health care in this country worse. Mr. President, I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. BARRASSO

Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. BARRASSO

Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, people all around the country know that the world is a very dangerous place. It has become more dangerous over the past 7\1/2\ years, and even over the course of this summer. As a member of the Foreign Relations Committee, I come here again to the floor because I have seen one example after another--examples of how the Obama administration seems to not know what is going on when it comes to foreign policy. I believe the Obama administration--and specifically Secretary Clinton as well as President Obama--have been embarrassingly naive with regard to the Russian reset. I think it has been awful, this disastrous Iran nuclear deal. This country has had an inadequate response to North Korea, which led to another nuclear test just last week. The President's foreign policy should secure America's national interests and demonstrate America's leadership around the world. The question is, Has the Obama foreign policy done that? It really has not. Look at what former President Jimmy Carter had to say. He said this about President Obama: ``I can't think of many nations in the world where we have a better relationship now than we did when he took over.'' He went on to say: ``The United States' influence and prestige and respect in the world is probably lower now than it was 6 or 7 years ago.'' So you have to ask yourself: Why is this happening? Well, I think it is clear that President Obama has really refused to stand up to the aggression of other countries. For more than 7 years, the President has followed the advice of his foreign policy team, and I think he has been very, very reluctant and hesitant to take threats seriously. Every time the President does this, he emboldens our adversaries around the world to be more aggressive. Every day the President allows these threats to go unanswered, he is endangering America and our allies. Our allies don't respect us. Our enemies no longer fear us. Let's take a look at Syria. It was 5 years ago that President Obama called on Assad to step aside--5 years ago. A few months later, Secretary Hillary Clinton said that it was only a matter of time-- almost 5 years ago--before the Assad regime would fall. It was her judgment, the Secretary of State, now running for President. The Obama administration's policy was to wait and hope for the best. It didn't back up its words with any meaningful support for the moderate opposition in Syria. In 2012, President Obama said that if Assad used chemical weapons, he would be crossing a redline. Well, Assad knew that when President Obama and his team make threats like that, they are empty threats. So the very next year, Assad used chemical weapons, and the President of the United States did nothing. The redline became a green light, and it remains a green light today. The common rule in terms of foreign policy and deterrence is if you make a statement, you have to back up those words with action or you will invite aggression by others, and that is the reason our friends no longer trust us and our enemies no longer fear us. Earlier this year, the State Department admitted that Syria has used chlorine as a chemical weapon systematically and repeatedly--not just once, not just twice--systematically and repeatedly against the Syrian people every year--every year since that redline was drawn. It wasn't just one time in 2013; it was every year since then. Did President Obama secure America's national interests with his weak response in Syria? Did he demonstrate American leadership? He did not. Let's move from Syria to Russia. Although Russia has been very involved in Syria, let's take a look at Russia. We all remember Secretary of State at the time Hillary Clinton going to Russia and pushing her ``reset'' button. We all remember in 2012, President Obama laughed off a suggestion that Russia was a serious threat to the United States. He did it during a Presidential debate. Russia responded to the reset--a reset in terms of what Russia has done--ignored it, sent troops into Ukraine and Crimea, annexed Crimea and invaded eastern Ukraine. President Obama again showed weakness in responding to a very aggressive military action by Russia. When President Obama shows weakness, which is repeatedly, leaders around the world who watch him move accordingly, and that is why Russia moved. That is why we have seen Vladimir Putin being so aggressive in using his military to keep Assad in power. Recently, President Putin even launched airstrikes from Iranian territory--from Iran--against opposition forces in Syria. What does this do? It props up Assad. The CIA Director told the Senate in June that Assad, in the CIA Director's words, ``is in a stronger position than he was last year.'' The CIA Director says that Assad is in a stronger position than he was last year. Hillary Clinton said he was going to fall almost 5 years ago. Why is Syria in a stronger position? The CIA Director said it was as a result of the Russian military intervention, and that is because Russia can act with impunity. Vladimir Putin knows that because he sees that President Obama continues to show weakness, and Vladimir Putin can smell the weakness. Despite this, the President continues his misguided obsession in negotiating with Russia, as if our two countries have the same goal in mind when it comes to Syria. Listen to what the White House says. The White House says it has negotiated a ceasefire with Russia in Syria. We have seen this before. Russia makes promises. Russia breaks promises. Russia makes new promises. Russia breaks new promises. Syria makes promises. Syria breaks promises. Syria makes other promises. Syria breaks other promises. We have seen it with chemical weapons. We have seen it with this so-called deal that was brokered to get the chemical weapons out of Syria, which Secretary of State Kerry boasts about as being so successful. For almost 8 years, this administration has been living in a cocoon of self-delusion with regard to Russia. Has President Obama, in any way, secured America's national interests with his weak response to Russia? Has he demonstrated American leadership globally? That is what the American people want. They want the United States to be the most powerful and respected country on the face of the Earth. It is not what they got with President Obama. What about Iran? The President likes to talk about his nuclear deal with Iran as if he thinks it is the greatest foreign policy success of all time. He believes this deal is paving the way for an Iran without nuclear weapons, but instead it is paving the way for a nuclear-armed Iran. The deal means the Iranian economy has already begun to benefit from access to more than $100 billion. Now we have learned that, just when that deal went into effect, President Obama went even further and arranged to send Iran another $1.7 billion in cash--euros and Swiss francs, piled up on pallets. He sent $400 million as a down payment in January, and within 24 hours of sending the cash to Iran, the Iranians agreed to release Americans who they had been holding hostage. The White House says it wasn't a ransom payment to free these American hostages. They want the American people to believe it was just a coincidence in timing. Well, you can bet the Iranians don't believe it is a coincidence, and, actually, they said it is not a coincidence. They said it was the money for the release of the hostages. We know from experience that the Iranians see hostage-taking as a valid way of conducting their own foreign policy. The President plays right into their hands. They have also gotten the message that for them it can be a very profitable approach as well. President Obama has been greasing the skids to give billions of dollars to Iran. He has done nothing to get Iran to pay the money it owes to U.S. victims of terrorism. Who are the victims of terrorism who are U.S. citizens? According to the Congressional Research Service, courts have awarded more than $55 billion in damages for victims of Iran's terrorism. Most of these include victims of the 1979 Embassy hostage crisis. They include victims in the 1983 bombing of the Marine barracks in Lebanon and the 1996 Khobar Towers bombing in Saudi Arabia. Has President Obama done anything to secure America's national interests by letting Iran think that we pay ransom for hostages? Is that a demonstration of leadership? Of course, it is not. We all know the world is a dangerous place and that there are countries that are headed by thugs and zealots, and when the President of the United States responds on behalf of the people of the United States and responds with weakness and desperation, other leaders interpret that fear and see it as fear and smell the weakness every time. We are going to keep seeing this kind of aggression and bullying by these macho men, if you will, who run Iran, Syria, Russia, North Korea, and China. These are the leaders around the world who, through the President's actions, do not respect or fear him. He has brought this on himself and the American people due to the way he has reacted and led the country. These are leaders who smell weakness. We need a foreign policy aimed at securing America's national interests and demonstrating America's leadership. Under President Obama, American power has declined, respect around the world has evaporated, and the Obama foreign policy has been a complete failure. Jimmy Carter said: ``I can't think of many nations in the world where we have a better relationship now than we did when [President Obama] took over.'' I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. BARRASSO

Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, I come to the floor after having seen the minority leader and then the minority whip on the floor this morning talking about the President's health care law. It is a law that the President said people should forcefully defend and be proud. What I heard was a defense of a bill--now a law--that was passed solely along partisan lines a number of years ago. It is very hard to be proud or defend that law based on what the American people are experiencing. I come to the floor noting that the President is from the home State of Illinois, the minority whip is from the home State of Illinois, and there have been a number of stories in the press recently from that State about just how horrendous the impact of the law has been on the people of the President's home State, to the point that just yesterday there was a story in the Washington Examiner with the headline ``Illinois gets ready for huge Obamacare rate hikes.'' People say: Well, what is not to like about ObamaCare? According to a Crain's Chicago Business report dated August 27--the headline is ``What's not to like about ObamaCare? Plenty in Illinois.'' There is plenty in Illinois not to like about ObamaCare, but it is not just Illinois and it is not just Nevada, where the minority leader is from; a Gallup poll of the entire country that recently came out showed that more Americans are negative than positive about the health care law. Have there been some people who have been helped? Absolutely. But overall, most Americans in this case have said the impact has been more negative than positive. It is interesting because the way the question was asked--they asked: Has this health care law helped you personally or has it hurt you and your family? I was astonished to see that 29 percent of Americans say ObamaCare has hurt them and their families personally. Three out of ten Americans say this law has hurt them and their families personally. Well, how does that happen? Maybe they lost their doctor. The President said: If you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor. Many people couldn't, in spite of what the President told them. The President told them their insurance premiums would drop by $2,500. Instead, people are noticing premiums going up around the country. The President said: If you like your plan, you can keep your plan. We know that has not been true. And then what I found additionally astonishing and should be concerning to all of us as Americans--and as a doctor most concerning to me--is the question, How will this health care law affect your family in the future? More Americans expect the health care law to make their family's health care situation worse in the long term. These are people talking about their own families, not the minority leader or the minority whip or the President of the United States coming to the floor and talking about this and that--the theoretical aspects. I am talking about American families--men, women, children-- all trying to live a healthy life and finding it has been impeded, hurt by the President's health care law. It is amazing that 36 percent--more than one in three Americans-- expect this health care law to make their family's health care situation worse. Did we hear about that during the debate on the Senate floor when the bill was written behind closed doors in Harry Reid's office or when Nancy Pelosi said: First you have to pass it before you find out what is in it. Did the American people understand that 6 years later, over one in three would say personally their health care and the health of their own family would be worse because of this law? The State of Illinois. This is the headline yesterday: ``Illinois gets ready for huge Obamacare rate hikes.'' The first line of the story: ``Half the insurers selling plans in Illinois' Obamacare marketplaces are hiking prices by 50 percent on average, according to the final rates the State published Wednesday.'' These are rates approved by the State of Illinois. Remember, the President said: Oh, we will not let them go up that high. The State of Illinois says that is the only way they can stay in business. Another headline: ``Illinois Obamacare rates could soar as state submits insurance premium increase to the feds.'' Rates could increase by an average--and we know what the approval rate is--over half will be increasing by over 50 percent. So with that impact, it is interesting that for a 21-year-old nonsmoker--we are talking about somebody who is healthy, who doesn't smoke, and who probably goes to the gym--if they are buying the lowest price silver plan in Cook County, IL--we are talking Chicago, talking about the President's hometown--next year, that 21-year-old healthy individual, nonsmoker, could pay a premium of $221 a month, up from $152 a month. That is a $70 higher premium every month--$840 for the year--for a 21-year-old who is just trying to get health insurance because the law says they have to buy it. The President says: You just can't get what works for you, you have to buy what I say works for you. You have to listen to the President on this. You can't choose what makes sense for you. The President says: Don't worry. Taxpayers will subsidize it. If you are not receiving a taxpayer subsidy, you are paying the subsidy for that person, but a lot of people don't get the subsidies. According to the situation in Chicago, about 25 percent of the people who buy insurance on the exchange--the customers there, which is about 84,000 people--do not receive tax credits. They don't receive the subsidy. So they are feeling this in their pocketbooks because the President says they have to buy it because he thinks he knows better, and it sounds like the minority leader and the minority whip have that same opinion. So the headline comes out, ``What's not to like about Obamacare?'' And then the answer to the question is: ``Plenty in Illinois.'' It talks about Illinois residents who buy health insurance through the ObamaCare exchange should brace themselves for steep premium increases, but it is not just the premiums. They also have to brace themselves for fewer doctors to choose from--less choice in doctors, less choice in hospitals to go to when they enroll, and the enrollment opens on November 1. The big national health insurance companies have pulled out of Illinois because of substantial losses. There is actually a co-op in Illinois called the Land of Lincoln co-op. It lost $91 million and they closed their doors. Is it only Illinois, is it only Nevada where they are down to just one choice in most of the State? The President promised a marketplace, but instead it is a monopoly. Companies have pulled out. People have very few choices, if any. The article says: While people buying insurance coverage through the Illinois exchange may howl, premiums are jumping even higher in other States. For instance, the insurance commissioner of Tennessee, declaring the state's exchange market ``very near collapse.'' Very near collapse in Tennessee. Yet they approved an increase--the one insurance company--of 62 percent. A 62-percent increase. Is that what the President means when he says ``forcefully defend and be proud''? The President and Senators on the floor today talked about the issues, and the President pointed to this, and he said: Oh, well, people aren't going to have to go to the emergency room after the ObamaCare health care law has been passed because they will only have to use it for emergencies and not for routine care. Well, what came out in the Chicago Tribune, the President's hometown newspaper, on August 30 of this year? ``Illinois emergency room visits increased after Obamacare.'' They increased. The article says: ``Emergency visits in Illinois increased . . . by more than 14,000 visits a month on average, in 2014 and 2015 compared'' to before the President's health care law was signed. This is from the Annals of Emergency Medicine. They follow these things. The article in the Chicago Tribune says one of the goals of expanding coverage to all was to reduce the use of pricey services such as emergency department services. That is what the President said. That is what the Democrats said when this bill was being debated. The emergency room was the area of last resort for people who didn't have doctors and who didn't see them regularly, so with the health care law, they wouldn't need to go to the emergency room, but the study's authors noted that this spike of visits in Illinois runs contrary to what the President promised and the President's goal. The co-ops have been especially troubling and certainly in Illinois the Land of Lincoln co-op, but it is not just Illinois. Co-op after co- op after co-op has failed, including one yesterday in the State of New Jersey--gone. What does Crain's, the Chicago business newspaper, say about Illinois? ``Illinois Obamacare plan to fold after 3-year run.'' ``Land of Lincoln Health, an Obamacare insurer that launched three years ago to bring competition''--the idea of the President, saying he wanted to bring competition--``to the online exchange, is liquidating among big financial losses.'' In location after location, State by State, people who have relied upon the President's promises have been bitterly disappointed. What is so distressing about what happened in Illinois with the co-op is that because it failed during the middle of the year--done--people then need to find new insurance. We have talked before about the issues of high copays, high deductibles. When a co-op fails and you have to buy new insurance, you have to start over from scratch with paying the copays, paying the deductibles. So somebody who actually bought insurance through the President's idea of this co-op--a co-op that has now failed--finds themselves not only having to find a new insurance company--if they can find one--because the law says they have to buy it, but they also have to start over. So the Land of Lincoln--the so-called co-op health insurer on the State exchange--is going to shut down the end of September--in a couple weeks. Its 49,000 Illinois members--this is according to the Chicago Tribune--its 49,000 Illinois members have to get new insurance coverage for October, November, and December because it is done at the end of this month. They will likely have to start from zero again on their deductibles and out-of-pocket maximum payments, in some cases costing them thousands of additional dollars. Is that what President Obama means when he says forcefully defend and be proud? There is very little to be proud about what this President has brought upon the American people, which is why we see so many families concerned. The final issue I bring up is the fact that so few people are signing up in spite of the fines, in spite of the taxes, and in spite of the mandates, to the point that the Washington Post had a front-page story entitled ``Health-care exchange sign-ups fall far short of forecasts.'' At this point, they expected 24 million people signing up. They are at 11 million. So they are 13 million short. There are still almost 30 million people in this country uninsured, but it is not because they are making it hard to sign up. Oh, no, Mr. President. You may have seen this story that came out yesterday on CNBC news: ``Obamacare marketplaces remain vulnerable to fraud, new government audits find.'' The article says: ``Two new government audits reveal that the nation's Obamacare marketplaces remain `vulnerable to fraud,' after investigators successfully applied for coverage for multiple people who don't actually exist.'' They made up people, they applied, and the ObamaCare exchange sold them the insurance and counted them as good. It says: ``In several cases this year, fake people who hadn't filed tax returns for 2014 were still able to get Obamacare tax credits. . . .'' They were not just able to get insurance but got subsidies from hard-working American taxpayers. They were still able to get ObamaCare tax credits to help pay their monthly premiums for coverage right now. Continuing to quote from the article: ``This year is the first year in which applicants for those subsidies had to have actually filed their federal tax returns from prior coverage years. . . .'' But they had not filed them. That didn't matter to the ObamaCare exchange people. They are so desperate to get people to sign up because so few people are signing up that they will sign up people who don't exist. They put up 10 fictitious applications, with 8 of them failing the initial online identity checking process, but all 10 were successfully approved, according to the Government Accountability Office. It is amazing that people all around the country know how poorly this law is working for them in terms of their lives and their families. I heard one of the Senators today say Republicans have no options. The Republicans have offered plenty of responses to what is happening with the Obama health care law. The State health care CHOICE Act allows States to make a lot of decisions that are now being made by unelected, unaccountable Washington bureaucrats. We have plans working toward patient-centered care to allow people to get the care they need from the doctor they choose at lower costs. These are things that have been rejected by the Democrats because the President has said ``forcefully defend and be proud.'' Hillary Clinton has said defend and build upon. She wants to do it with additional taxpayer subsidies--subsidies that go to people who do not exist, subsidies that don't deal with the cost of care, subsidies that don't deal with the fact that people are facing high deductibles, high copays, and can't keep their doctors. In spite of what the President and the Democrats may say, and in spite of what candidate Clinton may say, a huge number of American people have considerable fears their life will be made worse by the President's health care law. Almost 3 in 10 Americans today--29 percent of Americans today--say they and their families have been personally harmed by the President's health care law. That is a sign of failure, Mr. President. It is not a sign of success. It is not something people should forcefully defend and be proud of. It is a sign we need to take a different path--a path that is not the Obama approach, not the one- size-fits-all, and it is not the Washington knows better than the people at home. We need to get the decisions out of Washington and being made at home so the American people--people who just want to get up, go to work, take care of their family, and get affordable care when they need it-- can get the care they need, from a doctor they choose, at a lower cost. Mr. President, I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. BARRASSO

Mr. BARRASSO. Senator Graham from South Carolina and I introduced a bill called the Health Care Choice Act to let the States have much more of a say in this. The State Health Care Choice Act provides freedom, flexibility, choice. So much of the reason prices have gone up so high is, the President has decided what kind of insurance people need to buy instead of letting the people themselves decide what they need, what is best for them and their families. I have gotten letters, and I know you have as well, where families had insurance that worked for them, but it wasn't good enough for President Obama because he feels he knows better than the people know about themselves and their families. We want to provide the freedom and the flexibility of choice to let States decide whether they want to comply with the mandates of ObamaCare. States have much more involvement than Washington's one- size-fits-all that I know sure doesn't work for Wyoming and I suspect doesn't work in Arizona either.

Mr. BARRASSO. ObamaCare has actually made that worse because if you take a look at the numbers in the deductibles and copays, people who get insurance through ObamaCare have found out in the last several years that they have paid twice as much out of pocket for prescription drugs as people who got insurance through work because at work the copays are lower, the deductibles are lower, and there is coverage for medications which are expensive because of medical breakthroughs. The life expectancy of human beings continues to go up because of the advances in medicine and technology. All of these advances have been very helpful for us as citizens of this country and as people living on this planet, but the costs are there, and with ObamaCare we are finding that those people who have to get prescriptions filled through ObamaCare are paying over twice as much as what people are paying who get insurance through work, which is why we need to get away from ObamaCare and repeal it and replace it with patient-centered care, which we are not getting under the ObamaCare law.

Mr. BARRASSO. That was the front page story in the Washington Post on Sunday, August 28, ``Health Exchange Sign-Ups Fall Short.'' The Congressional Budget Office expected 24 million people to sign up, and less than 11 million have signed up. So less than half of the people they predicted would sign up have done so, and the reason is, so many people looked at it and didn't sign up. Why don't people sign up? Because they believe it is a bad deal for them personally. They looked at the high copays, the high deductibles, as the Senator from Arizona made reference to, and the high premiums. They decided it was cheaper to pay a fine than to buy the insurance. They find they cannot use it anyway because the deductibles and copays are so high.

Mr. BARRASSO. Well, it is so interesting that the Senator would bring this up because the entire State of Wyoming has found itself in exactly the same situation where there is only one choice. Remember, the President promised a marketplace. What the American people have gotten is a monopoly. In one-third of all the counties in the country, they are down to a single--and it is not really a choice; it is a take-it- or-leave-it situation. I call all of these places falling into what is called the ``ObamaCare wasteland.'' It is unfortunate to see it happening in county after county. I know you have been talking about the headlines: 31 percent, one in three counties, one choice. That is not what the President promised. One broken promise after another. I don't know if you saw the most recent polling today out from Gallup. It said a couple of things: The number of people who disapprove of the health care has gone up and the number who approve has dropped. The headlines are telling the true story about how bad this is. People are finally seeing the truth, in spite of all the things the Obama administration and the Democrats who passed these things have been saying for a number of years.

Mr. BARRASSO. Interestingly enough, President Obama has made it pretty easy to do that. What we found in watching some of these testimonies from around the country, in one State, you had over 250 people who signed up, got treatment, over $100,000 worth of treatment, and then dropped the insurance. They are gaming the system left and right because that is the way President Obama has it set up. Look, it was written behind closed doors in the office of the then- majority leader, Harry Reid, but because it has become such a disaster, the Democrats have lost the majority and are now in the minority because so many people are bothered by the way the President and the believers in his process have said: It is all right. We have the votes. We are going to do it. We are not going to listen to Republicans. We are not going to listen to doctors who have practiced medicine their whole lives. We know what is better for the American people. That is exactly what we have happening. That is why so many people are saying: It is not a good deal for me. I don't want any part of it. Now we see this Gallup poll where 49 percent of Americans believe this health care law has hurt them personally. Today we are seeing that a greater number of Americans believe this law is going to hurt health care for them and their families into the future. So that is not a good projection about what we need as Americans in a time when we have more people who are living longer and older and want to lead healthier lives.

Mr. BARRASSO. Well, that is it. The deductibles and the copays are one of the reasons that people are saying they are disapproving of the health care law. The premiums have continued to go up, but on top of that, even if you get a subsidy that President Obama says is helpful, it doesn't touch it that first time or the second or the 5,000th because people, before they actually get to use the so-called insurance, have to come up with, for families, sometimes up to $10,000 out of their own pocket before that. So the insurance is not really useful. It is interesting when we listen to the President say they have coverage--but not if they can't get care. It is useless coverage. It is empty coverage. It is not what people want, which is affordable care.

Mr. BARRASSO. That is very often the case, and we are seeing more and more of that across the country. Emergency room doctors are saying they are swamped. The President says that when they get ObamaCare, they will find family doctors. That is not what is happening. What is happening is the emergency rooms are being more and more included and involved, and that is where patients are turning today, which is why the Gallup poll today says 29 percent of Americans say they have personally been hurt by the health care law, and this may also be true in Arizona, or worse. So to help people who didn't have insurance, the President and the Democrats and those who voted for this bill should never have had to hurt so many Americans, and today about one in three Americans says they have been personally hurt by this law. Those are the numbers that are out today.

Mr. BARRASSO

Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Special Committee on Aging be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on September 7, 2016, at 2:30 p.m., in room SD-562 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building to conduct a hearing entitled ``Securing America's Retirement Future: Examining the Bipartisan Policy Center's Recommendations to Boost Savings.''

Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Foreign Relations be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on September 7, 2016, at 10 a.m. to conduct a hearing entitled ``The Administration's Proposal for a UN Resolution on the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty.''

Mr. BARRASSO

Mr. BARRASSO. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate stand in recess as under the previous order.

Mr. BARRASSO

Mr. BARRASSO. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.