Majority Leader McConnell: ‘We Can’t Let This Moment Slip By’

WASHINGTON, July 25 -- Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., issued the following floor remarks regarding the Senate Republican effort to repeal and replace Obamacare:

"Seven years ago, Democrats imposed Obamacare on our country. They said costs would go down. Costs skyrocketed. They said choice would go up. Choice plummeted. Now, Obamacare's years-long lurch toward total collapse is nearing a seemingly inevitable conclusion -- and it will hurt even more Americans on the way down. This is the Obamacare status quo. We had to accept it for a long time. We don't have to accept it any longer.

"The American people elected a House with a vision of a better way on health care, then a Senate, then a president. Now, we have a duty to act. The president is ready with his pen. The House has passed legislation already. Today, it's the Senate's turn.

"That starts with the vote we'll take momentarily, the critical first step in that process, the Motion to Proceed. It's the vote that determines whether this debate can proceed at all. Whether we'll even take it up after four straight elections in which this was a huge commitment to the American people. It's the vote that determines whether Senators of both parties can offer their amendments and ideas on health care.

"Well, I told the people of my state over this period that I would vote to move beyond Obamacare, and that's what I'm going to do today -- by voting yes. I ask all of my colleague to join me in doing so. We've already shown that it's possible to put legislation on a president's desk that moves us beyond Obamacare and its years of failures. We did that two years ago.

"President Obama vetoed what we passed before, President Trump will sign what Congress passes this time. I want to thank the president and the administration for all they've done on this issue already. They've worked with us every step of the way. And they, like us, know the consequences of failing to act. We can't let this moment slip by. We've talked about this too long. "We've wrestled with this issue. We've watched the consequences of the status quo. The people who sent us here expect us to begin this debate. To have the courage to tackle a tough issue. They didn't send us here just to do the easy stuff. They expect us to tackle the big problems. And obviously we can't get an outcome if we don't start the debate. That's what the Motion to Proceed is all about.

"Many of us on this side of the aisle have waited years for this opportunity and thought it would probably never come. Some of us were a little surprised by the election last year. But with a surprise election, comes great opportunities to do things we never thought were possible. So all we have to do today is to have the courage to begin the debate with an open amendment process. And let the voting take us where it will. So that's what's before us, colleagues. Will we begin the debate on one of the most important issues confronting America today? It's my hope the answer will be 'yes.'"