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Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell made the following remarks on the Senate floor regarding another round of cuts by the Obama Administration to a Medicare program used by millions of seniors:

“Late last week, the Obama Administration proposed yet another round of drastic cuts to a popular Medicare program used by millions of American seniors.

“Not surprisingly, they did it quietly, in the hopes that these latest cuts to Medicare Advantage would somehow get lost in what folks around here like to call the ‘Friday news dump.’

“But the American people aren’t easily fooled.

“The Far-Left has always hated Medicare Advantage. It’s a program that offends them ideologically, because it offers more market-based choices to seniors than traditional Medicare.

“But the Left’s prodding is not the only reason the Obama Administration has already cut this successful program so deeply – and why it now plans to cut it even deeper.

“The hundreds of billions of dollars’ worth of cuts that Washington Democrats want to impose on Medicare Advantage – cuts that will cause millions of seniors to lose access to doctors and face higher premiums – are basically all to fund Obamacare.

“Some folks might describe this as ‘robbing Peter to pay Paul.’

“But I’ve got a better analogy: it’s like ripping parts off a Cadillac to patch up a Pinto.

“America’s seniors understand this.

“Our constituents like the choices Medicare Advantage offers. And they don’t like Obamacare.

“And that’s why seniors from all across Kentucky have written to protest this misguided policy.

“Jack and Alda Rice from Fairdale wrote that Medicare Advantage has been there for them when they needed it, and that it’s ‘tough for seniors to have to find new doctors, especially for those who live in rural areas. It means travelling greater distances and spending more on gas.’

“’It is a sad thing,’ they wrote, ‘when good doctors leave a plan because of funding cuts.’

“Ronald and Linda Baynum from Edgewood wrote that they ‘[found] it appalling’ that money that was put away for senior citizens is now being used for things like Obamacare. ‘It seems like most politicians are only working for themselves instead of the people,’ they wrote.

“They have every right to be frustrated.

“I mean, why on Earth would we want to ruin one program that’s helping people in order to fund another that’s causing them so much pain?

“The question answers itself.

“And that’s why I, along with Senators Cornyn, Thune, Barrasso, Moran, and Blunt sent a letter to the Administration today – to express our deep concerns with these proposed cuts to Medicare Advantage and other proposals that would increase premiums, reduce choices, and cause America’s seniors to lose access to the health plans they were promised they could keep. Our letter asks the Administration to act within the bounds of the law to limit the negative impact these misguided policies would have on seniors.

“Now, it’s notable that even some of our friends on the other side of the aisle seem to understand the pain that all this is causing.

“That’s why 19 Senate Democrats recently signed a bipartisan letter with 21 Republicans that called on the Administration to mitigate the impact of these cuts to Medicare Advantage.

“We appreciate Democrat support on any issue. It’s good when they acknowledge the senselessness of cutting one successful program to fund a failed one – of cuts that will make it even harder for America’s seniors to keep the benefits, plans, and doctors of their choice. But frankly, it’s hard to believe they’re really being serious on this one.

“That’s because nearly every one of these Senators voted for Obamacare – the very law that imposed the same cuts they’re now railing against, and nearly every single one of them voted later to keep these cuts in place. Senator Hatch proposed an amendment that would have reversed Obamacare’s cuts to Medicare Advantage. And it only failed because nearly every Democrat senator voted against it.

“So Washington Democrats had their chance for a mulligan. And they took a pass. They can’t have it both ways.

“And signing onto some letter won’t absolve them of responsibility now. It won’t erase the fact that even when given a second chance to help America’s seniors, many voted a second time to take a whack at Medicare.

“And let’s not forget: these folks and their allies are basically the same ones who promised up and down that Americans could keep the health care plans they had and liked under Obamacare – a promise that was voted the ‘Lie of the Year’ in 2013.

“So Americans aren’t about to be taken in on the latest Obamacare spin.

“Let’s be honest: the only realistic solution is to undo the damage altogether by starting over with real reform.

“That means replacing Obamacare and its more than $700 billion in Medicare cuts – cuts imposed solely to fund Obamacare – with bipartisan reforms that can actually help struggling middle-class Americans.

“I urge Democrats to follow the lead of the prominent Senate Democrat who said just the other day that he would ‘vote tomorrow’ to repeal Obamacare.

“If he’s serious about what he said, that means he’s finally listening to the American people instead of the party bosses in Washington. If more of his colleagues on the other side of the aisle would only do the same, we could finally move forward with real patient-centered health reform.

“We could finally do away with the practice of raiding Medicare to fund Obamacare. We could finally be done with the hurt this law is imposing on men and women across our country: college graduates, Moms, Dads, small businesswomen, constituents who struggle every day just to get by, and millions of seniors.

“Republicans are on their side.

“We agree with them that Obamacare is a law that just doesn’t work. And we agree with them that now is not the time to impose higher costs and reduced choices for senior citizens, as the partisan Obamacare law proposes.

“I know the authors of this law may have had good intentions. But now is the time for them to admit past mistakes – and to work with Republicans in a bipartisan fashion to remedy those errors before even more people get hurt by Obamacare.”

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell made the following remarks on the Senate floor regarding job-destroying EPA regulations that were the subject of a U.S. Supreme Court argument earlier today:

“I spent the morning over at the Supreme Court.

“I was there to support the plaintiffs in a very important case against overreach by the Environmental Protection Agency.

“And here’s why I say this case is important — not only for Kentucky but for all Americans.

“First of all, it involves the all-important question of whether elections still matter in this country.

“I say that because four years ago, President Obama tried to push far-reaching energy-regulating legislation through a Congress that was dominated by his own party: the cap and trade bill.

“But even with then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi and a Democrat Majority Leader in the Senate on his side, he couldn’t do it.

“A Democrat-controlled Congress beat back the President’s plan to radically upend energy regulation in this country. They stopped his national energy tax.

“Just a few months later, the American people rendered a harsh verdict on the Obama agenda in an electoral wipeout that the President himself referred to as a ‘shellacking.’

“Others have described the November 2010 midterm elections as a national restraining order.

“My point here is that this should have been the end of the story on the President’s energy regulation plan.

“Instead, it was just the beginning.

“The President’s base wasn’t about to back off from divisive policies just because they couldn’t achieve them legislatively. So the Far-Left fringe pressured the White House to push similar regulations through the back door, to achieve through presidential fiat what they couldn’t achieve through legislation.

“And that’s just what the Obama Administration has done.

“The Administration has attempted to use statutes like the Clean Air Act to regulate things those laws were never intended to regulate.

“And the Administration itself effectively acknowledges that if it actually followed the plain language of the Clean Air Act in regulating carbon emissions – that that would lead to ‘absurd results.’

“So here’s what the Obama Administration decided to do about the absurdity: just unilaterally rewrite the parts of the law it didn’t like. On its own. Without the input of Congress – the branch of government that’s supposed to write our laws.

“This kind of presidential overreach is something that should concern every member of this body, regardless of party.

“And from a constitutional perspective, this is a wholly troubling practice that needs to be rectified by the court.
“But this case is about more than just constitutional theory: it’s also about people’s lives.

“Regardless of their constitutionality, the energy regulations imposed by this Administration are just bad policy.

“Coupled with cheaper natural gas, the Administration’s regulations have helped foster hardship in many of America’s coal communities.

“Hardship that’s ruined lives and that’s hurt some of the most vulnerable people in our country.

“And in Kentucky, these regulations have helped devastate families who haven’t done anything wrong, other than to be on the wrong side of a certain set of liberals who don’t seem to approve of the hard work they do to support their families.

“When Obama took office there were more than 18,000 coal jobs in Kentucky. At last count, that figure has dropped to less than 12,000 – with Eastern Kentucky coal employment dropping by 23.4 percent just this past year alone.

“So let’s be clear: these regulations are unfair. And they represent the conquest of liberal elites imposing their political will on working class Kentuckians who just want to feed their families.

“That’s why I’ve filed an amicus brief in this case. It’s on behalf of the Kentuckians who are voiceless in this debate – the families that find themselves on the losing end of a quote-unquote ‘War’ that’s been declared upon them by their own government.

“I held a listening session on these EPA regulations with coal miners in December, and many of their stories were heart-breaking.

“Just listen to what Howard Abshire of Fedscreek had to say:

‘I say to you, Mister President of the United States… We're hurting. You say you're the president of the people? Well we're people too. No one loves the mountains…more than we do. We live here. We crawl between them. We get up every morning and we go on top of a mountain in a strip job in the cold rain, snow, to put bread on the table … Come and look at our little children, look at our people, Mr. President. You're not hurting for a job; you've got one. I don't have one.’

“I hope the President is listening.

“As far as the Supreme Court is concerned, it now has the opportunity to end this latest abuse of the Constitution by the Obama Administration

“I hope the Justices will make the right decision in this case.

“Either way, I’m going to keep fighting.

“I’ve already filed a proposal that would allow Congress to have its say on the Administration’s job-killing regulations.

“And it’s time for Washington elites to think about ways to help, instead of hurt, the hard-working people of Eastern and Western Kentucky.”

‘Today, it is America’s seniors who are feeling the brunt of Obamacare’s tax increases and cuts to Medicare. And while some Senate Democrats may now have second thoughts, these are the same Democrats who voted to impose these cuts on seniors in the first place—and when given a second chance, actually voted to keep the cuts in place.’

LOUISVILLE, KY—Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell today released the following statement after the Obama Administration announced new cuts to Medicare Advantage, which will make it even harder for America’s seniors to keep their health plans and doctors under Obamacare:

“Nearly every week we hear about another group of Americans harmed by Obamacare – whether it’s people losing their plans, paying higher premiums, or confronting an uncaring bureaucracy. Today, it is America’s seniors who are feeling the brunt of Obamacare’s tax increases and cuts to Medicare. And while some Senate Democrats may now have second thoughts, these are the same Democrats who voted to impose these cuts on seniors in the first place—and when given a second chance, actually voted to keep the cuts in place. The best solution would be to recognize Obamacare for the historic mistake that it is, repeal it, and replace it with commonsense reforms that will protect America’s seniors and families from the seemingly never-ending consequences of this terrible law.”

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