Amy Klobuchar: “I thank the Senator from Virginia for his leadership. He recently led a letter which a number of us joined in on to…”

“I thank the Senator from Virginia for his leadership. He recently led a letter which a number of us joined in on to suggest that we make reforms to this bill. I said the day it passed that the Affordable Care Act was not an end but a beginning. But we have not had opportunity, save for just a few examples where we changed some tax-reporting provisions under 1099. I was one of the people who led the successful efforts to suspend the medical device tax--something the Presiding Officer cares a lot about in his home State--but in truth, we have not had the opportunity that Senator Kaine suggested to make changes to this bill. Instead, we have been faced with the thought of just simply repealing this bill, with no replacement, with no plan in place. So we would all say to our colleagues across the aisle: Show us the plan. Show me the plan. Once we see that, we can start talking, but that is not what is happening today. Additional changes could be made to the act, including increasing the amount of subsidies available to exchange enrollees, something important in my State; establishing perhaps State-based reinsurance programs; doing something about the pharmaceutical prices, something I have long advocated for. I have been ready and willing to work with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle and to find additional commonsense improvements to the law, but repealing without a replacement plan is simply unacceptable. It is chaos.…”