often late at night when the Senate passes a piece of legislation by unanimous consent, people often don't get a chance to understand what it really means, and usually there is a sense of, well, this maybe won't be the most important thing…

I ask unanimous consent that Scott Litzelman, a legislative fellow in my office, be given floor privileges for the remainder of this Congress. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. ____________________

today is a big day in the ongoing effort to update and strengthen Medicare's guarantee to seniors. Senate passage of the Finance Committee's chronic care bill means seniors with multiple chronic illnesses will have their individual needs…

the Nation's senior citizens who have counted on a guarantee, under this program they effectively are seeing that guarantee hollowed out.

The fact that it's the last Republican repeal plan standing doesn't make it acceptable. It'll be a nightmare for tens of millions of Americans.

the ironclad, loophole-free, guaranteed protection for those with pre-existing conditions under the Affordable Care Act will be gone.

As the group of 10 Governors, both Republicans and Democrats, wrote earlier this month, Graham-Cassidy is not the answer.

This Trumpcare bill is a health-care lemon, a disaster in the making.

I want the American people to understand the consequence of that statement.

Proposals like Graham-Cassidy to cap Medicaid would dramatically reduce Federal funding for the program.

There is no way--there is no way--that we will not see people's health care, nursing home care, children's health care, cut as a result of this bill.

We are grateful to have such passionate and wonderful Senators join us today to share their views.

I really look forward to killing this flawed bill and then going back to kind of positive work...

My message to the American people is that it is going to be critical to keep fighting this deeply flawed bill, especially until Saturday, which is when the next procedural window closes.

I think I have the scars to prove it from previous actions where I was willing to take on entitlement reform. But this current process is a travesty.

I expect we are going to hear a lot today from Senator Cassidy about flexibility.

The Graham-Cassidy bill would radically reshape the American health-care system.

I will hold the record open for your views on that because that, to me, seems like a threshold question.

Not a single State overall will do better?

Is this what we will actually be voting on?

Mr. Chairman, one of our past great chairmen, Pat Moynihan, said everybody is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts.

I would like to hear your thoughts on it.

It would create chaos and uncertainty, new levels of marketplace instability, higher premiums and out-of-pocket costs for many.

everybody is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts.

Do you continue to believe as of today they are wrong?