Kevin McCarthy

Mr. McCARTHY

Mr. McCARTHY. It seems as though the gentleman has a little short- term memory of how they brought the Affordable Care Act and the CBO report when it came before us. It was not brought before us until it came right before the floor. But let me follow through on all your questions because my response back was, I was actually excited to hear that Democrats wanted to work with us, that their attitude has changed from when we were in committee and they had amendments going forward, that it was no longer going to be hashtag amendments, it was actually going to be productive amendments; and I thank you for having that change of attitude. Mr. Speaker, I am proud of the transparent process we have taken in the House, and I think this needs to be reminded to all the American public. As I mentioned last week, our healthcare bill is the result of 113 hearings. I know the gentleman on the other side of the aisle, he is proud of the 72 hearings they had before they did the Affordable Care Act. We have now marked up this bill in three separate committees, with over 18 hours of debate in Ways and Means, and over 27 hours of debate in Energy and Commerce, and the countless amendments from both Republicans and Democrats. By the time we vote on the floor, this bill will have been publicly available online for 3 weeks. Now, it is only 127 pages. That is a far contrast to the 2,700-plus pages, if you want to compare it to ObamaCare. So far, nearly 590,000 people have visited our website, and over 200,000 have downloaded this legislative text. So, Mr. Speaker, that means more people have read our healthcare bill than went to Woodstock. I call that transparency. Republicans have been committed to repealing and replacing ObamaCare for years, and so now I think it is time to act. The gentleman also commented about the CBO. Well, I am actually excited that you had another person who confirmed what the CBO said because what the CBO says about this bill is it will lower the deficit by $337 billion. It will also reduce premiums by 10 percent by 2026, and it will secure major entitlement reform by capping Medicaid spending, giving States certainty and flexibility, saving taxpayers $880 billion, and making the program solvent for future generations, because that was a concern in one of the letters. Now, Mr. Speaker, those are the facts. With regard to the coverage numbers, the CBO reports that most of that increase would stem from repealing the penalties associated with individual mandates. Let me repeat that. Most of the increase would stem from repealing the penalties associated with the individual mandate. Now, that makes sense to me, because if we no longer force Americans to buy something they do not want, one-size-fits-all health care, they will naturally choose not to buy it. But, Mr. Speaker, I know the gentleman across the other side of the aisle argues with me about the knowledge that everybody knows ObamaCare is failing. I would ask the gentleman to visit one-third of the counties in this country that only have one option. Or why don't you go to Tennessee, where the President just was because, you know, 16 counties in Tennessee have no option. But ObamaCare will penalize you for not having health care when you can't even buy it. But if ObamaCare was working so well, why do more people accept the penalty or the exemption than actually buy ObamaCare? That is a number that is quite interesting. That is why I am encouraged to see our plan will decrease the average premiums that people have been asking for. Now, our goal is not just to sign up people for insurance. Our goal is to get America better health care. Now, the gentleman also commented and had letters--and I love to read letters. I love to listen to constituents because that is what our work should be. And you read a letter when it came to Medicaid. And I would not scare people, I would actually talk to that individual. Medicaid is on an unsustainable path. In one 10-year window, it will cost $1 trillion. Mr. Speaker, the gentleman on the other side knows what $1 trillion is because that is about the entire amount we spend on discretionary spending. From all of the appropriations that we go through, that would take up everything we have. Well, we know that is not sustainable, so we should do something about it. That is why we had a meeting with 18 Governors, Republicans and Democrats. And the number one thing they told us, give us flexibility to be able to manage. That is exactly what this bill does. But I like to read some letters. Here is one from Colleen from Annapolis: I just received the notice for my 2017 health insurance policy. It will skyrocket, not by the advertised Maryland State average of 20 to 25 percent but, rather, by 60 percent. In addition, my deductible is going up 45 percent. Since the inception of ObamaCare, my policy has increased 75 percent. I am a 63-year-old female in excellent health who takes no medication. My only benefit from the ACA has been two mammograms, which I paid $12,600 in premiums to get. What a disaster of a program. I will be voting Republican this year, in the hope of finally getting the ACA repealed. I just hope it happens before my checkbook goes on life support. Or the letter to the editor from Carl in Lusby, Maryland: I can't afford my health insurance now under ObamaCare. It's been a burden on our joint income, which is just above the limit for qualifying for subsidies; and for 2017, I am facing a 61 percent rate increase. I'm faced with either paying a premium that will bankrupt me and my wife, or paying the tax penalty at the end of the year, which will also be unaffordable. And there are probably several million Americans who are in the same boat as I am. You know what, Carl? We listened to you. We listened, and now we are going to lead. We have moved a bill from the legislative process to the rules, what it says, for reconciliation. We have done hours of debate in three other committees. We will continue the process, as the rules say. We will go to the Rules Committee and then we will come to this floor. And for those who have written, change will come. Yes, the Republican-appointed CBO Director and the Democratic CBO Director, as the gentleman, Mr. Speaker, from across the aisle says, agree that the premiums will go down, as so many Americans have asked for. We will put Medicaid on a sustainable path. We will give Republican and Democrat Governors flexibility so they can manage their States in a better form. And most importantly, we will give America exactly what they asked for, the freedom to choose their own health care, the options of having more so they can direct what they want and desire, at the same time, having a lower cost. So I welcome the gentleman for his questions. I know that wasn't about scheduling, but I think this is too important, because those 113 hearings we listened to the people before us, and we promised we would act, and we are keeping that promise as we move forward.

Mr. McCARTHY. But you are not willing to help with it, then?

Mr. McCARTHY

Mr. McCARTHY. Mr. Speaker, I have a motion at the desk.

Mr. McCARTHY

Mr. McCARTHY. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding. I have great trust in Chairman Frelinghuysen. I think you will continue to see that behavior.

Mr. McCARTHY. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding. I always look forward to these discussions. I know they are about the schedule, but I always look forward to what quotes you are going to bring up next. Let me see if I can answer all of those questions that you raised. First, my friend did inform me, last week and again today, that the Democrats have held 79 hearings over 2 years on ObamaCare. Well, we have spent the last 6 years. I promised you that I would see how many hearings we had. When I went back and checked, the Republicans have held 113 hearings on the ways to repeal and replace ObamaCare. We had expert witnesses on both sides of the aisle on everything from the individual mandate and Medicaid sustainability, to the medical device tax, and ObamaCare's failing co- ops. We have been committed to repealing and replacing this law for years, and I am sure you will find a lot of quotes from almost everybody on this side of the aisle saying that same thing. We have done the work, we have listened to the American people, and we believe now it is time to act. You did bring up about the committees. You brought up about reading the bill. So what we put forth is we put a website together for the patient-centered healthcare bill, and it is available online at readthebill.gop. Now, this is only 123 pages. That is a difference from your bill of 2,700 pages for ObamaCare. Now, we remember what the Democrats said when they were passing ObamaCare, that you had to pass the bill to see what is in it. So I went back and checked how many people were unable to visit the website. We had over 350,000 visitors visit our website in just 36 hours, and 100,000 downloaded the legislative text. Now, when you talk about dead of night, I was on this floor, you were on this floor, and I know people on both sides of the aisle have used it before, but the dilatory activity on the other side of the aisle to slow this process down put us into nighttime. And then let's think about how this process went. It was an open process. Why did it go so long? We debated hours of Democrats' amendments because we weren't going to shut it down. We never called the question. We kept going as long as people wanted to go. And we spent hours on one amendment that just wanted to change it to a hashtag of a different name. That was a Democratic amendment to somehow change the bill. We didn't stop with that. We let everybody talk, and we let everybody have their voice because we believe in regular order. Yes, we spent 27 hours on it because we were not going to deny anybody the ability to talk or offer their amendment. And that is exactly what we did, and that is what the American people expect to have happen. So, 113 hearings, I congratulate you on your 79; 123 pages compared to 2,700. I believe this is a great first step in three phases. For too long this health care of ObamaCare has failed. In that 2,700 pages they created 23 co-ops and provided more than $2 billion. In this short amount of time, 18 of them have collapsed. They had the quote that, if you like your health care, you could keep it, but millions of Americans found out that wasn't true. They said your premiums would go down. Millions of Americans have found out that is not true either. Now, across this country, one-third of the entire country only has one provider. And the very sad part of this, just within the last month, Humana announced that they are going to pull out. That is leaving 16 counties, and I see my good friends from Tennessee, with no provider at all. We can do so much better. That is why we spent the years; we spent the hearings; we have had the witnesses. And I know it is your right to come and ask to adjourn so somehow we couldn't get to the bill, it is your right to continue to ask to adjourn so Members can't offer their amendments, but you know what? If we had to spend through the dead of night and stay up so we made sure, even if it is on the other side of the aisle, a Democrat could offer an amendment, just a hashtag to change the name, that is your right, and we would spend the time and do it. And we spent hours at it. If you ask me, personally, I didn't think that amendment changed anybody's health care in America. But you have a right to do it, and we made sure we kept that right, and we had regular order. I thank the gentleman for his quotes.

Mr. McCARTHY. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding. I am pleased that we were able to pass the FY17 Defense Appropriations bill on a bipartisan basis this week. It is my hope that we can continue to pass the appropriation bills on a bipartisan basis as well. As for future legislation, I would refer my friend to the Appropriations Committee, and, as always, I will keep Members posted of any scheduling updates.

Mr. McCARTHY. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, on Monday, no votes are expected in the House. On Tuesday, the House will meet at noon for morning hour and 2 p.m. for legislative business. Votes will be postponed until 6:30. On Wednesday and Thursday, the House will meet at 10 a.m. for morning hour and noon for legislative business. On Friday, the House will meet at 9 a.m. for legislative business. Last votes of the week are expected no later than 3 p.m. Mr. Speaker, the House will consider a number of suspensions next week, a complete list of which will be announced by close of business today. In addition, the House will consider several important bills from the Veterans' Affairs Committee. First, H.R. 1181, the Veterans Second Amendment Protection Act, sponsored by Chairman Phil Roe, which ensures that the Second Amendment rights of VA beneficiaries are not restricted without due process. Next, H.R. 1259, the VA Accountability First Act, also sponsored by Chairman Roe, which grants the VA Secretary increased discretion to remove or suspend VA employees due to poor performance. Finally, H.R. 1367, sponsored by Representative Brad Wenstrup, which enhances the VA's ability to recruit and retain highly qualified employees. The failures of the VA are well-documented and completely unacceptable. These bills are a step in the right direction towards creating greater accountability at the VA, and keeping our promise to Americans' veterans who have sacrificed so much for us.

Mr. McCARTHY. I thank the gentleman for yielding, and I appreciate the gentleman's comments. Mr. Speaker, I do want to remind people, when you use reconciliation, what is the process? Well, the process states you have the authorizing committee post and they mark up. We did that. Budget Committee marks up. They will do that next week. Rules Committee will meet, then it comes to the House floor. I will never apologize for having 113 hearings on repealing and replacing ObamaCare. I will never apologize for having all the witnesses in. And I love that you bring a lot of quotes of people inside that are elected, but I will be very frank. The quotes I love and the quotes I care most about are the ones that come from my constituents. For some reason, this idea that this is a complex issue but you had hearings before so you are going to forget all about those hearings, why do we have committees? Why do you keep Members on your own side of the aisle on the same committees? To build expertise, to solve big problems. So, no, they don't forget what they learned in those hearings. But let me read you quotes from a few constituents. ``Dear Kevin, thank you for your diligence in these disruptive political times. I have several concerns. ``ObamaCare blew us out of the water. I retired early as an RN due to health problems, so I have to pay for my entire health insurance. I am not complaining about that, but I am tired of having premiums go through the roof. I lost my doctor and my plan. ``In 2017 there were few options without a $5,000 deductible. If I have to pay that much first, then why pay for insurance? Our income is not huge. We cannot afford this.'' Or from another constituent: ``Dear Kevin, I just wanted to convey that I strongly feel legislative action is needed to fix the ACA. ``My family deductible has increased over $3,000 a year--it used to be $1,000 8 years ago--and I practically only have health insurance in case a catastrophic accident were to occur. ``Also, my sister-in-law can no longer work more than 29 hours a week since her employer does not want to have to provide insurance. That is ridiculous.'' Or: ``Dear Kevin, I just got my 2017 health insurance renewal notice, $650 per month, up 20 percent. I am 60 years old, have worked and saved all my life, so I don't qualify for subsidies. I can't go without insurance, but I can't pay for it either. Something needs to be done. I am so upset that I am crying right now.'' But my friend, Mr. Speaker, on the other side of the aisle says to wait to help these people. Forget about the 113 hearings, even though it is more than the 70-some that ObamaCare had, or 123 pages is too much instead of 2,700. I will never apologize for having the wisdom to listen and, now, the courage to lead. But I will promise you this, Mr. Speaker, and my friend on the other side of the aisle: I have never come to this floor to offer to adjourn just to disrupt the process. And, yes, I had Members on our side of the aisle that would get frustrated that Democrats would offer an amendment that just dealt with a hashtag. No, let's let them have their say. If they feel that is important for American health care, to put a hashtag name change, then let's spend hours on it. Because we believe in the process, we will defend your right to have that process even though it will not help one constituent of mine or yours. But you want to spend your time doing that? We will do that. And we did do that. That is why we worked through the night. But we will not give up on the American people. That is why we are doing what we are doing, and I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Mr. McCARTHY

Mr. McCARTHY. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that when the House adjourns today, it adjourn to meet on Tuesday, March 14, 2017, when it shall convene at noon for morning-hour debate and 2 p.m. for legislative business.

Mr. McCARTHY

Mr. McCARTHY. Mr. Speaker, I have a motion at the desk.

Mr. McCARTHY

Mr. McCARTHY. It is not the exact same, but it reflects the work of the NDAA. It is a bipartisan agreement. It is also--you will find as soon as it is posted to read all the way through it--a reflection of the 2017 NDAA bill.

Mr. McCARTHY. This bill reflects the 2017 NDAA, which passed with 375 votes in the House and 92 votes in the Senate.

Mr. McCARTHY. It will come straight to the floor.

Mr. McCARTHY. I thank the gentleman for yielding. We passed this bill last year, working together with others. You will see the bill reposted, and we will vote on it next week.

Mr. McCARTHY. I thank the gentleman for yielding. Yes, Mr. Speaker, we did meet with a bipartisan group of Governors, and that was one of the discussions as well. It is not scheduled at this time, but we will continue to work on that in committee. Our hope is to be able to find a solution in committee and be able to move that forward.

Mr. McCARTHY. Mr. Speaker, if I could just tell my friend, when I refer to a poll, I mean the main poll of election day. If I look at what happened on 2010 and I look at what took place in this last election, you are correct, one side campaigned on repealing and replacing ObamaCare. This is only the third time since World War II that the American public entrusted that to a Republican Party who have a majority in the House, a majority in the Senate, and the Presidency. So, yes, that is the poll I was looking at; the same as what transpired in 2010. That was the cornerstone and the foundation of what people said in that last election. We are moving forward on that our promise. We have been working on this for more than 6 years with hearings, townhalls, and listening. We are going through reconciliation, the regular order. So the committees will mark up, send it in to the Committee on Budget, where they will do a markup, and then it will come to the floor. I thank the gentleman for his concern.

Mr. McCARTHY. I thank the gentleman for yielding. I just didn't know that 4 months later we were still going to litigate who won the election. It has always been the electoral college. I know the gentleman likes to make a lot of quotes, but I think if you take my quote and you look at the date and you want to go back in time and you look at the polling, I think my quote is right. I think the American people were at that exact same position. You talk about consequences. The ACA has a tremendous amount of consequences on the American public, and, unfortunately, they haven't been positive. Some have, but the majority have not. That is why a number of people today, one-third of this Nation of the counties, 1,022, only have one healthcare provider. I listened to our President just this week right down this well. I know you haven't commented about that or quoted anything he said there, but I listened to other people who commented about that, people who are on different sides of the aisle who I know did not vote for him. Mr. Speaker, Van Jones, I know the man well. He and I philosophically disagree. But he said that night, listening to President Trump, that he became America's President. So I just say to my friend across the aisle, Mr. Speaker, that I think 4 months is long enough to decide who won the race, and we don't have to come back to this. If we really want this country to come together, I don't think that type of questioning on this floor is productive. I think it is time to come together as one Nation and start solving these problems, but not try to bring back up and litigate who really won the election.

Mr. McCARTHY. I expect to follow regular order. When a bill goes through Energy and Commerce and a bill comes through Ways and Means, it will then go for markup inside the Budget Committee, and then come to the floor.

Mr. McCARTHY. I thank the gentleman for yielding. This is a matter for investigation by the House Intelligence Committee. For years, we have investigated Putin's hostile international actions. Just so the gentleman does know, Mr. Speaker, this week, Chairman Nunes and Ranking Member Schiff approved the scope of their committee's inquiry into Russia's measures of targeting in the 2016 election. I support this bipartisan investigation. I have great faith that the committee will fully investigate all of the evidence and follow the facts wherever they lead. I know the gentleman, Mr. Speaker, made comments in regards to the attorney general. Attorney General Sessions stated this morning that whenever it is appropriate, he will recuse himself. I agree with those remarks. As far as the ongoing investigation into Russia, I would, again, direct my friend to the bipartisan effort that is underway in the House Intelligence Committee.

Mr. McCARTHY. Will the gentleman yield for one moment? The gentleman understands that this is coming through reconciliation, and reconciliation is created through committee, not by submitting a bill. So this is regular order. I thank the gentleman for his concern, and I thank the gentleman for the last 6 years that we have had concerns about this. I will provide the gentleman with a number of hearings. In Energy and Commerce this year alone, they have had hearings and they have had votes on markups on improvements and changes to our healthcare system. If the gentleman would like, I will provide those to him at a later date. But when it comes to reconciliation, committees will move that. When it goes through the committees, it will then go to the Budget Committee, and then it will come to the floor. That is regular order, and that is what we are following.

Mr. McCARTHY. No.

Mr. McCARTHY. You are not on that committee, so you can look at it when we mark it up.

Mr. McCARTHY. Well, I would only like to end with this: I was here at the same time. I know you have your history, and I have the history that I remember. I remember seeing the Speaker at that time, now your leader, say we need to pass the bill to find out what is in it. I remember being here late that night. I remember a lot of people, citizens around this building complaining. You know what? The saddest part of all that, their fears became true. They didn't get to keep the doctor or the health plan that they were promised. The premiums they were told would go down $2,500, that didn't happen. They now find that they don't have the care that they were promised. We have spent our time. You did make a statement that there are a lot of new people in this building. I would argue that is a reason why there are a lot of new people in this building, the ACA and the way you carried it out. That is why we did not do that. You stipulated a little earlier, trying to state about a 3-day rule. That wasn't your rule. That is a rule we instituted and changed when we became the majority, Mr. Speaker. So we will have regular order. We will have regular order. We will take it through committee, we will have it open for debate, and we will bring it to the floor because we promised the American people, and we will keep our promise, just as the President, as you heard just this week, talked about the reform. We will protect preexisting conditions. We will make sure those who are 26 or younger can stay on their parents' plan. The bans or lifetime limits, we will protect those like we have always said we would. We will create a healthcare bill that actually empowers the individual, not more government. We will actually lower the premiums. That is the difference between us. We can have those debates, and I welcome them, because I think history will show your hearings and our hearings. But, at the end of the day, I want the history to show who actually did a better job of providing health care to the American people at a lower cost.

Mr. McCARTHY. If the gentleman yields, I will answer his question.

Mr. McCARTHY

Mr. McCARTHY. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that when the House adjourns today, it adjourn to meet at 4 p.m. on Monday, March 6, 2017.