I hope that Congress will continue to abide by the parity principle we have followed in bipartisan budget agreements.

Let me just say, veterans have really benefited from expanded access to affordable health insurance and the expanded Medicaid, in particular, under ACA.

He has implemented a hiring freeze that prevents VBA from hiring the staff needed to process veterans' claims.

I fear that if we don't we will find it very difficult to find the common ground that has characterized the work of this committee.

I have seen him, at the VA, leave almost every senior position in the department without a permanent official in place.

I am concerned and I just wanted to register that.

That progress is really in jeopardy as the American Health Care Act would effectively end the Medicaid expansion and eliminate the coverage that is helping so many of our veterans.

I come to the floor to once again urge my fellow Senators to vote against this resolution, which will weaken our bipartisan Every Student Succeeds Act and will hurt students and schools across the country. I wish to quickly run through the…

I ask unanimous consent to speak for 7 minutes. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection? Without objection, it is so ordered.

I come to the floor today on behalf of students, parents, teachers, and communities around the country to urge my colleagues to support our bipartisan Every Student Succeeds Act and to oppose this resolution today. This resolution will…

I come to the floor to once again urge my fellow Senators to vote against the pending resolution and support strong and accountable teacher preparation programs in America today. There are so many great teacher prep programs across the…

I ask unanimous consent that Dr. Mary Schuh, a fellow in my Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, be granted floor privileges for the remainder of the 115th Congress. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered…

I also want to thank the full Subcommittee for your work in providing substantial new resources for the National Institutes of Health.

Cutting non-defense spending by $54 billion would require devastating cuts to the education, health, and training programs that this subcommittee funds.

The NIH accounts for the largest share of our subcommittee's resource and its work is vital to all those efforts.

I would just say that the prevention fund money that is in the ACA is really critical.

Because it is designed specifically for that?

I come to the floor actually on behalf of students across the country, and for those who are so passionate about their education that they want to dedicate themselves to teaching, and to urge my colleagues to oppose this resolution and…

I come to the floor to take a few minutes to address the deeply harmful bill House Republicans announced yesterday to be put in place, TrumpCare. Since the election, I have had constituent after constituent come up to me with tears in…

Republicans are, as we speak, rushing to dismantle the Affordable Care Act, which expanded health coverage to 20 million Americans.

Wow. Well, what are the greatest barriers to finding an effective treatment for this, for the disease?

The investments that we make in this subcommittee help keep families and communities healthy by supporting programs that reduce infant mortality, train our doctors and nurses, provide care in rural communities, and prevent the spread of…

I look forward to working with this subcommittee and others to ensure that cuts are not made that would undermine our progress on medical research.

This is not only misguided policy, it flies in the face of the Budget Agreement which is meant to ensure parity between defense and non-defense spending.

I know members on both sides of the aisle agree on the importance of medical research--so this is not a partisan issue.