On the recordJuly 10, 2018
Mr. President, I come to the floor to talk for just a few, quick moments about what the stakes are as we begin this debate over a new swing vote on the U.S. Supreme Court. This is a fairly simple chart listing off a number of preexisting conditions that tens of millions of Americans have. What it says is, the Supreme Court could take away your healthcare if you have a history of cancer, diabetes, heart disease, strokes, cerebral palsy, mental illness, ALS, lupus, epilepsy, Parkinson's--the list goes on. The reason for this is, the new priority for those who oppose the Affordable Care Act and the protections that are built in it for Americans who are sick or have ever been sick--their new strategy is to use the court system as a means to try to invalidate the protections in the law for people with preexisting conditions--protections, by the way, Republicans said they supported during the debate over the Affordable Care Act. The case currently before the district court level, Texas v. United States, has drawn interest because of an exceptional decision by the Trump administration. The Trump administration has decided to weigh in on behalf of the petitioners, abandoning the traditional role of the executive to defend a statute. Traditionally, an executive will defend a statute regardless of whether they politically support it because who else will defend a statute if not the Department of Justice and the U.S. Government?…





