Cory Booker: “Thank you. Thank you very much. I am going to continue elevating here, throughout the hours and hours of my speech, the…”

“Thank you. Thank you very much. I am going to continue elevating here, throughout the hours and hours of my speech, the voices of Americans from all backgrounds, all geographies, elevating the stories of leaders--Democrat, Republican, and Independent. I want to start with Matthew Cook, who is the president and CEO of Children's Hospital Association. Matthew Cook writes: The House budget resolution directive to the Energy and Commerce Committee to cut 880 billion in spending will almost certainly lead to deep reductions in Medicaid funding for children who rely on the program and destabilize the financial viability of the providers caring for them. To the point that my colleague from Delaware asked: Slashing funding would mean fewer healthcare providers, fewer services, and longer wait times for patients who already-- Who already-- face significant barriers to care. These cuts will impact the 37 million children on the Medicaid Program, including the nearly 50 percent of children with special healthcare needs. Three million children in military-connected families-- I am going to repeat that. Three million children in military-connected families, more than 40 percent of the children living in rural areas and small towns, patients in rural communities would be hit especially hard as hospitals and clinics in these areas rely heavily on Medicare funding to stay open.…”