Leader Schumer Floor Remarks Calling On Republicans To Work On A Bipartisan Deal To Fund The Government And Avoid A Republican Shutdown
Washington, D.C. – Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) today spoke on the Senate floor to urge Republicans against careening into a GOP shutdown, blasting Donald Trump and his allies for inflicting ‘carnage’ on America’s healthcare system, blocking critical funding, and refusing to engage in bipartisan negotiations to keep the government open. Below are Senator Schumer’s remarks, which can also be viewed here:
The clock is ticking to keep the government open. And Republicans are sleepwalking their way through another critical week.
A government shutdown, once again, hangs over this chamber and this country like an ugly shadow.
So what are we going to do about it? Well, it’s up to our Republican colleagues to decide – they’re in charge.
Democrats know where we stand.
We want bipartisan negotiations, input from both sides of the aisle, and we want to undo much of the damage Donald Trump has inflicted on the American people, particularly when it comes to healthcare.
Leader Jeffries and I have asked Leader Thune and Speaker Johnson on multiple occasions to sit down and talk so we can have a bipartisan agreement and avoid the Republican shutdown. But we’ve heard nothing for weeks.
The Republican silence is concerning, because if they think Democrats are going to show up at the last minute to bail them out with the clock approaching zero, that would be a big mistake on their part.
Democrats don't want to see a Republican shutdown.
What we want is a bipartisan negotiation, a bipartisan bill, where Democrats have input to tangibly undo a lot of the carnage Donald Trump has done to America.
Make no mistake: the carnage Donald Trump has unleashed upon this country over the last nine-or-so months is devastating.
He has savaged America’s democratic institutions.
He has defied the rule of law, defied the order of judges, and directed Russell Vought – the evil man who came up with Project 2025 – to steal or cancel Congressionally approved funding.
Hundreds of billions of dollars illegally blocked for things that Americans want for cancer research, for programs that aid kids after school, for veterans, that and so much more.
Gone. Cancelled. Dead. All because of Russell Vought's whim and Donald Trump's desire to do what Vought wants.
And, of course, let’s talk about healthcare. It is people’s livelihoods. Thanks to Donald Trump, the livelihood of tens of millions is being stolen from them in broad daylight, all so Donald Trump can pay for tax breaks for the mega-rich.
Donald Trump’s signature achievement – the one he calls great, he calls it the “Big, Beautiful Bill,” which they won’t even name anymore – is so bad that they're so afraid of the people knowing what's in it.
It is a systematic starvation of our healthcare system.
Let me repeat that: the so-called “Big, Beautiful Bill” is systematic starvation of our healthcare system.
That's what Russell Vought has always stood for. That's what he said he would do, and that's what Trump is aiding and abetting him to do.
Republicans want to rebrand their bill. You know, Trump said maybe it was a mistake to call it the “Big, Beautiful Bill.” That's because they're seeing that the American people hate it. They can change the name, but it is not going to change anything. You're not going to get your healthcare back because they change the name of a bill that was so mislabeled to begin with. Because it sure ain’t beautiful. It’s ugly.
Well, maybe Donald Trump can call it the “Starve and Die” Act. That would be more accurate than big and beautiful.
That’s what happens when health insurance is taken away from you. People starve. And it's estimated that people will actually die, because if you can't get healthcare and you can't get prevention, life expectancies go down.
And alarmingly soon, America, the “Big, Beautiful Bill” is going to get even worse for you.
In just a few weeks, unless Congress acts, millions of Americans will start getting letters in the mail telling them their health insurance costs are about to go through the roof – hundreds of dollars, thousands in some cases.
That’s because the ACA premium tax credits will expire by the end of this year.
People who get covered through the ACA, and there are tens of millions, will see their premiums spike by an average of 18%.
Health insurance premiums going up by 18% because of Republican inaction.
We tried three times to get them to repeal it in the so-called “Big, Beautiful Bill” and three times they refused.
This would be a nightmare scenario for the American people – on October 1st, getting notice that your healthcare costs will go up 18%. Especially for the millions who are on ACA at a time of risings costs, as you are seeing, and at a time of a weakening job market.
And to then compound the injury by making you pay a lot more for healthcare? It's outrageous. And Republicans blocked it three times.
We’ve heard plenty of lip service from Leader Thune and the other side about doing something to preserve these tax credits.
But now Leader Thune says Republicans will walk away from the table and sit on their hand as Americans’ health insurance shoots up by 18%.
Every Republican in this Senate chamber will be responsible, because all we need is a handful of them to join with us in making sure that's extended and these costs don't go up.
And it also points to a larger theme: the Republican agenda is a profoundly broken agenda.
It is a stunning betrayal of the trust the American people put in Donald Trump to fight for their interests.
So, I want to be clear that Republicans, Republican senators, in the face of so much damage to our country, they cannot expect Democrats to just bail them out and sign on the dotted line.
What we will do is stand ready to meet Republicans, and Republican leaders, face to face and negotiate a way to undo so much of Donald Trump’s carnage.
That means we need to have some real input in undoing a lot of the carnage that's been done by this administration.
It’s clear Democrats don’t want a shutdown.
But Republicans who say they want to keep the government open need to show they’re serious through their actions, not just craft a bill in the dark of night in a room and say take it or leave it, because that will mean there will be a Republican shutdown.
They need to show up and work with us Democrats.
That's the only way it'll get done and avoid a government shutdown.
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