John Yarmuth

Mr. YARMUTH

Mr. YARMUTH. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Washington (Ms. DelBene), a distinguished member of the Committee on the Budget.

Mr. YARMUTH. Mr. Chairman, I remind my colleague that his vote today to repeal the Affordable Care Act will result in 664,000 people from his State of Ohio losing their healthcare coverage; 126,000 workers losing their jobs; and an economic loss of $69.5 billion in gross State product for the State of Ohio. Ohio's Republican Governor is begging us not to repeal the Affordable Care Act. Mr. Chairman, I now yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Krishnamoorthi), a distinguished member of the Education and the Workforce Committee.

Mr. YARMUTH. Mr. Chairman, I will remind the Speaker that his vote today to repeal the Affordable Care Act will result in 211,000 people from his State of Wisconsin losing their healthcare coverage, 46,000 workers losing their jobs, and an economic loss of $25.7 billion in gross State product over 5 years in Wisconsin. It gives me great pleasure now to yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Pelosi), the distinguished Democratic leader and architect of the Affordable Care Act.

Mr. YARMUTH. Mr. Chairman, I will remind the gentlewoman that her vote today to repeal the Affordable Care Act will result in 552,000 people from her State of North Carolina losing their healthcare coverage, 76,000 workers losing their jobs, and an economic loss of $39.4 billion in gross State product, over 5 years, for North Carolina. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Oregon (Ms. Bonamici), a distinguished member of the Education and the Workforce Committee.

Mr. YARMUTH. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Vermont (Mr. Welch), a distinguished member of the Energy and Commerce Committee.

Mr. YARMUTH. I yield the gentleman an additional 15 seconds.

Mr. YARMUTH. Mr. Chairman, I remind my colleague that his vote today to repeal the Affordable Care Act will result in 250,000 people from his State of Minnesota losing their healthcare coverage; 53,000 workers losing their jobs; and an economic loss of $32.9 billion in gross State product over 5 years. Mr. Chairman, it now gives me great pleasure to yield 1 minute to the gentleman from California (Mr. Thompson), a distinguished member of the Ways and Means Committee.

Mr. YARMUTH. Mr. Chairman, I will remind my colleague that his vote today to repeal the Affordable Care Act will result in 618,000 people from his State of Michigan losing their healthcare coverage, 101,000 workers losing their jobs, and an economic loss of $54 billion in gross State product, over 5 years, for Michigan. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Levin), who is a distinguished member and former chairman of the Ways and Means Committee. (Mr. LEVIN asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. YARMUTH. Mr. Chairman, I will remind my colleague that his vote today to repeal the Affordable Care Act will result in 327,000 people from his State of Virginia losing their healthcare coverage, 52,000 workers losing their jobs, and an economic loss of $31 billion over 5 years in gross State product for Virginia. Mr. Chairman, how much time remains?

Mr. YARMUTH. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Washington (Ms. Jayapal), a distinguished member of the Committee on the Budget.

Mr. YARMUTH. Mr. Chairman, I will remind my colleague that his vote today to repeal the Affordable Care Act will result in 939,000 people from his State of New York losing their healthcare coverage, 131,000 workers losing their jobs, and an economic loss of $89.7 billion in gross State product over 5 years in New York. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Maxine Waters), the distinguished ranking member of the Financial Services Committee.

Mr. YARMUTH. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Cohen), a distinguished member of the Judiciary Committee.

Mr. YARMUTH. Mr. Chairman, I will remind my colleague that his vote today to repeal the Affordable Care Act will result in 137,000 people from his State of Kansas losing their healthcare coverage, 19,000 workers losing their jobs, and an economic loss of $10.5 billion in gross State product, over 5 years, for Kansas. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Rhode Island (Mr. Cicilline), who is a distinguished member of the Judiciary Committee.

Mr. YARMUTH. Mr. Chairman, I will remind my colleague that his vote today to repeal the Affordable Care Act will result in 269,000 people from his State of Louisiana losing their healthcare coverage; 37,000 workers losing their jobs; and an economic loss of $21.5 billion in gross State product over 5 years for the State of Louisiana. Mr. Chairman, I now yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from New Mexico (Ms. Michelle Lujan Grisham), a distinguished member of the Budget Committee.

Mr. YARMUTH. Mr. Chairman, I will remind my colleague that his vote today to repeal the Affordable Care Act will result 234,000 people from his State of Arkansas losing their healthcare coverage, 28,000 workers losing their jobs, and an economic loss of $15.8 billion in gross State product over 5 years for the State of Arkansas. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Illinois (Ms. Schakowsky), a member of the Energy and Commerce Committee.

Mr. YARMUTH. Mr. Chairman, the Republican rush to eliminate the Affordable Care Act, to take health insurance from 30 million Americans, introduce chaos into the health insurance market, and give millionaires and billionaires a giant tax cut is misguided and does not reflect the values of the American people. On top of that, it can significantly damage our economy. Repeal will upend our Nation's healthcare system. Hospitals will see a spike in uncompensated care, leading to reduced services, job cuts, or higher prices for every one. It will cost the Nation 2.6 million jobs in 2019 alone, including 44,000 jobs in Kentucky. The hit to the economy will be in the trillions of dollars, and it will give corporations and the wealthy hundreds of billions of dollars of tax cuts. Repeal isn't about what is best for the American people. It is solely about politics and what is in the financial interest of the well-off and the well-connected. There is absolutely no logic to this. That said, if Republicans are determined to rush something through Congress right now using the budget process, we would suggest a totally different approach. Let's look at areas where this Congress and this incoming administration can work together to address a pressing challenge facing the country. Members of both parties and the President-elect have expressed support for repairing our Nation's failing infrastructure, investing in our roads, bridges, ports, and other transportation needs to create jobs and build a stronger economic future. The substitute I have offered today provides the budget procedures needed for such a bill to be considered. Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to support this alternative budget so we can move our Nation forward together. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. YARMUTH. Mr. Chairman, I will remind my colleague that his vote today to repeal the Affordable Care Act will result in 1.8 million people from his State of Texas losing their healthcare coverage, 175,000 workers losing their jobs, and an economic loss of $107 billion in gross State product over 5 years for the State of Texas. I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Washington (Mr. Larsen), a distinguished member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

Mr. YARMUTH. Mr. Chairman, I will remind my good friend that his vote today to repeal the Affordable Care Act will result in 1.8 million people from his State of Texas losing their healthcare coverage, 175,000 workers losing their jobs, and an economic loss of $107 billion in gross State product, over 5 years, in Texas. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Castor), who is a distinguished member of the Energy and Commerce Committee.

Mr. YARMUTH. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Velazquez), the ranking member of the Committee on Small Business.

Mr. YARMUTH. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. YARMUTH. I am prepared to close, and I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Chairman, everybody in this room wants the same thing. We want the best quality of care available to the most people at the lowest price. That is what every American wants. That is what Republicans and Democrats alike want. We have put our plan to do that on the table. We recognize that there are ways it could be improved. But the idea that there is a plan competing on the other side is just hilarious. Last night, I testified at the Rules Committee before Chairman Sessions. Chairman Sessions introduced a bill last year. He had one cosponsor. That gentleman is no longer in the House, so he has no cosponsors as of now. His plan is called the World's Greatest Healthcare Act. I like the name, but I don't know how that relates to any of those other plans. I know that probably some of the elements are similar. This is the problem with the exercise we are going through. We are heading down a road with no final determination or destination. We are going to repeal the Affordable Care Act, eliminating all the protections that we have provided for 300 million Americans--expanded coverage, expanded guarantees, benefits, and quality--and we don't know what the alternative is. Waiving around a bunch of papers does not mean there is a plan. It does not mean that the Republicans can say to the American public: ``Here is what your health care is going to look like when we get finished with our repeal and replace.'' They just can't do that. That is why only 18 percent of the American people, according to a Kaiser survey, want this course of action, want a repeal without a replacement. All I have to say is, if we go down this path, we won't have repeal and replace. What we will have is repeal and repent because we are going to owe a huge apology to the American people for the damage that we have caused. I urge my colleagues to reject this resolution. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. YARMUTH. Mr. Chairman, I yield the gentleman an additional 15 seconds.

Mr. YARMUTH. Mr. Chairman, I will remind my colleague that his vote today to repeal the Affordable Care Act will result in 850,000 people from his State of Illinois losing their healthcare coverage, 114,000 workers losing their jobs, and an economic loss of $66 billion in gross State product over 5 years for Illinois. I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Neal), the distinguished ranking member of the Ways and Means Committee.

Mr. YARMUTH. Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment in the nature of a substitute.

Mr. YARMUTH. Mr. Chairman I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Scott), the distinguished ranking member of the Education and the Workforce Committee.