Chris Van Hollen: “I thank the Presiding Officer, and I want to start by thanking my friend and our colleague, Senator Joe Donnelly, for…”

“I thank the Presiding Officer, and I want to start by thanking my friend and our colleague, Senator Joe Donnelly, for standing up for Hoosiers and, in standing up for Hoosiers, standing up for all Americans whose healthcare is threatened if we continue to proceed down this very dangerous road in the Senate. He talked about the opioid epidemic. Just last week I met with a dad by the name of Rick Warner and the brother and sister of a young man by the name of Jamie Warner who had recently graduated from the University of Maryland. He was a Terp. Jamie died of an opioid overdose. He was part of the opioid epidemic that is sweeping the country. Rick Warner and his family were here in the Senate asking Senators--in fact, pleading with Senators, Republicans and Democrats alike--not to pass this healthcare bill. He had lost his son Jamie, and he is determined that other moms and dads not lose their children to opioid overdose. This bill--make no mistake--will make those tragedies much more likely by taking away access to care in the way Senator Donnelly just mentioned. Yesterday, with the tie-breaking vote of Vice President Pence, the Senate began down a very dangerous path, but we can get off that path. We can make sure we do not reach the end of that very dangerous journey.…”