Ron Wyden: “there has been a lot of talk here on the Senate floor about this so-called skinny health package, and if you believe the…”

“there has been a lot of talk here on the Senate floor about this so-called skinny health package, and if you believe the reports, the skinny health package was going to be written today at the Senate Republican lunch. On the day that the Senate is supposed to vote, the future of American healthcare may have gotten an overhaul between the salad course and the entree. I would like to talk a little about where things are and really contrast these reports about the skinny health package with the process that brought together the Affordable Care Act. Our colleague, the Presiding Officer, now serves on the Finance Committee. There were dozens of hearings in the Finance Committee about the Affordable Care Act, and there were dozens of hearings in the HELP Committee. Both committees had markups that lasted longer than a week and incorporated ideas from both sides. I was a pretty junior member of the Finance Committee at that time, and I remember a flock of Republican amendments being added, in the Finance Committee, to the Affordable Care Act. When the bill came to the floor, the Senate debated it for 25 legislative days. It was the second-longest consecutive debate in history. We are not seeing anything that resembles that today. You have a rush job.…”