Sen. McConnell Issues Floor Remarks on Graham-Cassidy Health Care Reform Bill

WASHINGTON, Sept. 19 -- Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., issued the following floor remarks on the health care reform bill proposed by Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Bill Cassidy, R-La.:

"The men and women we represent have suffered a lot under Obamacare. Skyrocketing costs. Plummeting choices. Collapsing markets. Many of us thought our constituents deserved better. That's why we did as we promised and voted to repeal this failed law so we could replace it with something better. The forces of the status quo went all out to defeat our every effort to improve health care. Thus far, they have succeeded. Thus far, they have yet to offer truly serious solutions of their own.

"Last week, our colleague from Vermont rolled out health-care legislation that would quadruple down on the failures of Obamacare. It envisions what is basically a fully government-run 'single-payer' system -- the kind of system that would strip so many Americans of their health plans and take away so many decisions over their own health-care, that would require almost-unimaginably high tax increases, and that already collapsed in the Senator's home state when Vermont tried to implement it.

"This is a massive expansion of a failed idea, not a serious solution, but Democrats are coalescing around it anyway. They apparently think this massive expansion of a failed idea is what America's health-care future should look like. You can be sure they'll do everything in their power to impose it on our country. But we don't have to accept it as our future.

"That's certainly what Senators Graham and Cassidy believe. They rolled out a health-care proposal of their own last week. It would repeal the pillars of Obamacare and replace that failed law's failed approach with a new one: allowing states and governors to actually implement better health-care ideas by taking more decision-making power out of Washington.

"Governors and state legislators of both parties would have both the opportunity and the responsibility to help make quality and affordable healthcare available to their citizens in a way that works for their own particular states. It's an intriguing idea and one that has a great deal of support.

"As we continue to discuss that legislation, I'd like to thank Senator Graham and Senator Cassidy for all of their hard work. They know how important it is to move beyond the failures of Obamacare. They know that our opportunity to do so may well pass us by if we don't act soon."