Heidi Alexander: “Thank you, Mr. President. I congratulate the Senator from Missouri for his comments. Sometimes I think Republican…”

“Thank you, Mr. President. I congratulate the Senator from Missouri for his comments. Sometimes I think Republican Senators especially should begin and end every speech with an answer to the question, What would the Senator do if he were in charge? And the Senator from Missouri has said that very eloquently. It is not the first time what Republicans would do has been said on this floor. He mentioned that the law was passed 3\1/2\ years ago. We counted it one time. We mentioned 173 times on this floor the Republican step-by-step proposal for a different approach to health care in this country. We said: Don't expect Senator McConnell or any other Republican to come in with a 3,000-page Republican bill in a wheelbarrow. We don't believe in that. We believe in a different direction, a different approach. We don't believe we are wise enough in Washington to write 3,000 pages of rules to govern every aspect of our health care system in America that takes 18 or 19 percent of the economy. We live in the iPhone age, where we want to increase the personal freedom of Americans to live longer, better, safer, and healthier. We want people to be able to do these things for themselves. We want to increase choice, competition, and in that way lower costs. If we lower costs, then more people will be able to afford to buy health insurance. That is the real way to expand health insurance in America--make it more affordable; make it so people can afford it.…”