VIDEO: Blackburn Debunks Democrats’ Lies About Obamacare, Biden COVID Credits

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) delivered remarks on the Senate floor debunking Democrats' lies about the Biden COVID credits and laid out how Obamacare mandates and regulations have increased the cost of individual health insurance for Americans. Senator Blackburn called on her Democrat colleagues to stop lying to the American people and reopen the government.

Click here to download Senator Blackburn's remarks on the Senate floor.

REMARKS AS DELIVERED

Chuck Schumer Is Holding Government Hostage to Ram Through Reckless Spending

"Today marks nearly a full month since the Schumer Shutdown started. That's really a time where the Democrats decided to just go on strike and filibuster a clean C.R. And what has happened is our federal law enforcement is being forced to work without pay. Air traffic control towers are understaffed. Flights are delayed, and it has jeopardized nutritional programs for millions of low-income families. And this crisis is something that was entirely, completely unavoidable.

"Yet the Democrats have voted over and over to keep the government closed, and the reason that they are doing this is the Democrat doing this is the Democrat leader, Chuck Schumer, is holding government hostage to ram through hundreds of billions of dollars in inflationary spending. In other words, we're not spending enough. $38 trillion in debt is not enough. They want to run it up some more."

Democrats Are Lying About the Affordable Care Act, Putting Politics Over the American People

"He claims this action is needed to stop Republicans, in his words, and I'm going to quote him,' from taking health care away,' end quote, from Americans by allowing health care subsidies under the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, as it is known and more appropriately known because there's nothing affordable about this thing, and he's saying these subsidies would expire. The problem is that is a falsehood, and it shows you how our friends across the aisle are willing to put the American people and their lives and SNAP benefits and paychecks in jeopardy in order to achieve a goal.

"Now, one thing that needs to be understood is that the subsidies that are there for Obamacare, they're permanent. They're not going anywhere, and households that have incomes that fall between 100% and 400% of the federal poverty level are going to continue to get a credit without any interruption. That is in law. That subsidy is there, and this year the upper limit for these Obamacare subsidies was an income limit of $128,600 for a family of four. For the lowest income individuals, insurance premiums can never exceed 2% of the total household income. Now, that is something that is federal law."

Biden COVID Credits Enriched Insurance Companies and Making Them Permanent Would Cost Taxpayers $450 Billion

"Now, here is what is said to expire at the end of the year. It is President Biden's COVID-era bonus credits that were put in place. Now, this is something the Democrats did in 2021. The Biden COVID credits eliminated the 400% income cap, allowing households that are making over - get this - a half million dollars a year, $500,000 a year. They could benefit from this subsidy program.

"So, let's say you were buying health insurance on the health insurance on the Obamacare exchange and you were making over half a million dollars a year, you too could get a taxpayer funded insurance subsidy for Obamacare. Now, bear why mind the subsidy does not go to the individual. The subsidy goes directly to the insurance company.

"Now, my friends across the aisle choose to rant and rail against insurance companies, but you know what? They're enriching them every day and, Mr. President, they want to enrich them even more because now that these emergency subsidies are set to expire more than five years after the start of the pandemic, the Democrats are fighting to make these enhanced Biden COVID credit bonuses, they want to make them permanent. This would cost U.S. Taxpayers… $450 billion ."

Democrats Want to Bring America One Step Closer to Government-Run Health Care

"The reason behind this madness is really quite simple. Our friends across the aisle want to bring America one step closer to government-run health care. You know, Mr. President, when we were having all the debates about Obamacare, they kept saying, all right, we'll settle for Obamacare because that's a step toward government-run health care. That's one step toward a single-payer system, that's one step toward socialized medicine. That's what they want.

"It would be like Medicaid for all or the V.A. for all. They want control of your doctor, your health insurance, the kind of care you can get, where you're going to get it, when you're going to get it, think the V.A., think Medicaid because that is what they want."

Obamacare Is Rife with Waste, Fraud, and Abuse

"Now, our debt, as I said, is at $38 trillion, and so what they are trying to do is fund this program that is rife with waste and fraud is unbelievable. Now, the reality is the lowest-cost plan in 2026, the average marketplace premium after tax credits is projected to be $50 a month, $20 less than the average monthly premium in 2020. But we can't ignore the wasteful spending that exists within Obamacare.

"According to one estimate, there are 6.4 million people improperly reporting their income to benefit from fully funded plans under Obamacare thanks to the Biden COVID credits. Remember, I said there are some people, because of the Biden COVID credits, that have $0 premiums. So, the estimate is 6.4 million people improperly report their income in order to get that zero premium, and this abuse is costing the taxpayers $27 billion in 2025 alone. That is the cost of this. This is a cost of not verifying. This is a cost of a program that is run amok with waste and abuse.

"Another peculiar example of wasteful enrollment, close to 12 million enrollees in the program filed no claims last year. In other words, they didn't use the insurance, and that number is triple what the number was from 2021 because Democrats expanded the option of zero premium plans. Well, among those 12 million, many people don't even know that they have been enrolled in a taxpayer-funded program and others may have separate health insurance coverage that they have chosen to use, and taxpayers sent money directly to the insurers on their behalf.

"This is because an insurance agent, as long as he has name, address, and contact info he can enroll you in this and get that commission. Think about that. You don't even know you're in the program. You've got an insurance agent that has name, address, phone number, contact information, and all of a sudden they have enrolled you.

"While extending these Biden-era enhanced credits as the Democrats are demanding would be doing nothing to address the waste, the fraud, and the abuse that is running rampant in the program, and it wouldn't do anything to address the structural flaws that are there in Obamacare that have really sent premiums soaring over the last several years."

The Affordable Care Act Is Anything but Affordable

"You know, it's so interesting to me that Obamacare promised that it was going to lower the costs of premiums, it was going to make health care affordable and in reach of everybody in the country, but it turns out it is too expensive. You can't afford it unless you get a subsidy. You can't afford it unless you are getting a $0 premium. That because the insurance tries to be one-size-fits-all and requires people to pay for things they're never going to use.

"So, what we have seen is the price of the insurance and the utilization - the price has gone up - the utilization has gone down because you've got an insurance card, you've got access to the queue, but you couldn't get to see the doctor. You can't get in to see the doctor, and we know that the costs on these premiums really shot up after the Biden COVID credits went into law and as the premiums go up, taxpayers are on the hook to subsidize the insurance companies. Remember, the payment goes to them, not to the individual. It goes directly to the insurance company, the agent can enroll you even if you don't know you're enrolled because they've got your name, address, phone number, contact information."

Instead of Fighting for Health Care Freedom for Americans, Democrats Are Shutting Down the Government to Appease Their Far-Left Base

"Republicans have already started to address the root causes of this escalation. We've secured measures in the Big Beautiful Bill that prevent illegal aliens from receiving subsidies under Obamacare. We prevent them from getting Medicaid services also. It also requires individuals who misstate their income to repay the excess subsidy that they got. That seems fair. If you lied about it on your form and it shows up when it's verified, you're not going to get off with a slap on the hand, you've got to repay. You've got to pay, because if you're cheating, it means somebody else is going to be paying that difference.

"Requiring applicants to verify their income, their family size, their immigration status, and their residence before enrolling ensures that you're not going to have people abusing the system and ripping off hardworking taxpayers. Now, Mr. President, that is common sense. Our Democratic colleagues should be working with us to implement more integrity measures to ensure that these taxpayer-funded benefits only go to the people who deserve them.

"Republicans want to tackle the rising premium costs because this is too expensive to afford. They want to drive down the cost of prescription drugs by holding pharmacy benefit managers, PBMs, accountable. We want to streamline the process for prompt payment of claims. Put a shot clock on these insurance companies. Make certain they're paying your local doctor and maintain the fiscal solvency of the Medicare program. We want to see health care freedom.

"People want to make certain that we've got choice and options, that you're not mandated into a program you don't want that covers things that you don't need. How about health savings accounts? How about association health plans? How about across state line health insurance? So, when you get a health insurance product you like, you can keep it. When you get a doctor you like, you can keep him. When you get a payment price you like, you can keep that and make it.

"We would love to be addressing these issues, but our Democratic colleagues have decided they want to keep going with a government shutdown and hold the government hostage so they can appease their left-wing base. It's time for them to end the theatrics and come to the table and get back to work."