Schumer Floor Remarks on Investigating the Questionable Stock Purchases Made by Rep. Price and the Validity of the Congressional Budget Office Report
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Schumer Remarks on Investigating the Questionable Stock Purchases Made by
Mr. President, following my friend, the Republican Leader's Remarks, we received sad news yesterday. We lost a dear friend to many of us here in the
You know, Mr. President, every organization has what they call "unsung heroes." On the battlefield, they are the soldiers, our infantrymen and women. In the automobile plant, they are the assembly line workers. In the hospital they may be the nurses. Those organizations can't go on without these people. They're the heart and soul of these organizations. They do their work quietly but proudly.
Well, if you had to pick someone who personified the "unsung hero" of this body, it would be Tim.
He did his job every day. When you talked to him, you could see the pride and the knowledge he had in doing his job and doing his job well.
He will be sorely missed by every member here today, Democrat and Republican. So let's take a moment to remember Tim and send our best wishes and prayers to his family and loved ones. Thank you, Mr. President.
Now, Mr. President, I'd like to address a troubling report about the President-elect's nominee for Secretary of
We learned that
His legislation wasn't broad legislation, it didn't affect the health care industry in general...it specifically blocked a regulation on medical device companies that do hip and knee implants, including the very business he bought stock in.
According to CNN, the company that Price bought stock in was one of two companies that would have been hit hardest by the new regulation. One of two, and he puts in legislation to repeal it just after buying stock in it. Again, this is not someone who has Johnson &
These revelations, Mr. President, come on top of a reports late last year by
Yesterday's report makes it clear that this isn't just a couple of questionable trades, but rather a clear and troubling pattern of
Our President-elect claims he wants to drain the swamp, but
So I've asked the
Mr. President, it may well be that this trade was illegal.
Now, this isn't a witch hunt. These are serious and disquieting allegations. The American people deserve to know if their potential Secretary of HHS violated a law against insider trading in
Mr. President, when the public faith in government is as low as it is today; when politics and campaigns are as saturated by money as they are today; when folks feel that their representatives are beholden to special interests before their constituents...reports like the one that just came out about
So, Mr. President, we need to get to the bottom of these allegations.
The only way to restore faith in our government is as low as it is today, when politics in campaigns are saturated by money, as they are today, when folks feel their representatives are beholden to special interests before their constituents, reports like the one that just came out about congressman Price perpetuate that distrust. They add fuel to the fire. So Mr. President, we need to get to the bottom of these allegations and get to the bottom of them quickly. The only way to restore faith in our government and our most important democratic institutions is to insist upon transparency and ethical behavior by those in positions of the highest public trust.
Until a Congressional Ethics investigation can be completed, this report and his previous trades cast serious doubt on whether
Now, Mr. President, I'd like to turn to the C.B.O. Report that just came out today. The
Remember, Mr. President, the CBO is a nonpartisan entity.
The numbers don't lie.
And try as they might, our Republican colleagues can't discredit them.
The numbers are even worse than experts could have imagined: Repealing the Affordable Care Act will mean tens of millions will lose their health insurance and individuals will see their premiums double. Let me repeat that, if the Republican Bill passes, according to C.B.O., nonpartisan, tens of millions will lose their health insurance and individuals will see premiums double.
32 million Americans would lose their health insurance; 18 million within the first year of repeal.
The report makes it crystal clear that the Republican effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act will increase health care costs for millions of Americans and kick millions more off of their health insurance.
No wonder President-elect Trump realizes that repeal without replace is the real disaster. No wonder he's admonished the congress not to do plain repeal.
Some
It isn't "meaningless," it's your plan.
Now that "repeal" is real and not just a political exercise, the tide is turning.
The American people are becoming roused by the prospects of dismantling health reform and leaving chaos in its wake.
This is exactly why Republican members of
I would urge my Republican colleagues to listen to the growing outcry before it's too late.
One final issue, Mr. President, hearings that we've been having. As the hearings continue this week on the President-elect's cabinet nominees, cabinet nominees, I want to make a few points.
As I've mentioned here on the floor several times, we
And yet, the HELP Committee today will hold a hearing on Education Secretary nominee
And then we have
And then there's the fact that tomorrow there are four hearings. We've asked the Majority to space out the hearing schedule so that members, who all sit on multiple committees can have the time to prepare and attend all the hearings. That's going to be very difficult for many members tomorrow.
We have tried to cooperate with my friend, the Majority Leader. These are not good signs. They don't bode well and you can see why the president -elect and
The President-elect promised to change the way America operates; to oppose elites and the "rigged system," to clean the swamp, and pay attention to working families.
But now he's rigging his
It's exactly the opposite of what the President-elect campaigned on, so they're trying to get it done as quickly as possible.
The Less scrutiny, the better. They don't want these people exposed for who they are and what they represent. Oh no. That's not fair to the American people.
They deserve the chance to get a good look at these nominees.
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