{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.thune.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=2F48ECB4-14E9-40AF-80DB-2B22DEA274ED", "Top Priorities for Next Congress: Repealing Obamacare and Confirming a Supreme Court Nominee", "2016-12-06", "2016", "2016-12", "Republican", "House", "SD", "John Thune", "T000250", "www.thune.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON\u00a0\u2014\u00a0\r\n\t\t\r\n\t\t\r\n\t\tU.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) today discussed the remaining items the 114th Congress will tackle this year, including the National Defense Authorization Act, which is important legislation that would provide our troops with the resources they need to keep Americans safe. Thune also discussed two important issues that Republicans plan to take on at the beginning of the 115th Congress: repealing Obamacare and confirming a Supreme Court nominee.\r\nThune\u2019s remarks as prepared for delivery:\r\n\u201cMr. President, the business of the 114th Congress is drawing to a close as we wrap up a few final bills.\r\n\u201cOne of the most important bills we\u2019ll be passing this week is the National Defense Authorization Act.\r\n\u201cIn fact, this is one of the most important bills we pass each year.\r\n\u201cThe National Defense Authorization Act is one of the two bills that ensure that our military men and women have the tools and resources they need to defend our country.\r\n\u201cIt\u2019s the bill that authorizes funding for the body armor our troops wear and the weapons they carry into battle.\r\n\u201cThe bill that authorizes funding for the advanced technology our military needs to be successful on today\u2019s battlefield.\r\n\u201cAnd the bill that authorizes troop pay increases, which help us retain an all-volunteer force.\r\n\u201cMaking sure our troops have what they need to defend our country is pretty much our most important responsibility as members of Congress.\r\n\u201cFirst, of course, because the security of our country depends on it.\r\n\u201cAnd second, because we owe our men and women in uniform nothing less.\r\n\u201cThis year\u2019s NDAA authorizes the largest troop pay increase in six years.\r\n\u201cIt modernizes the military health care system to improve quality of care for our troops and their families.\r\n\u201cIt reduces Pentagon bureaucracy to focus resources on our nation\u2019s warfighters.\r\n\u201cAnd it supports our allies amid growing threats.\r\n\u201cIt also addresses the dangerous underfunding of the military that has occurred under President Obama.\r\n\u201cIt stops troop reductions for the Army and Marine Corps, and authorizes additional funds to address readiness shortfalls.\r\n\u201cMembers of our military should not have to be salvaging spare parts from retired aircraft to keep their planes in the air.\r\n\u201cOver the next few years, the Republican majorities in Congress will work with President-elect Trump to rebuild our nation\u2019s military and ensure that we have the strongest fighting force in the world.\r\n\u201cThis bill is an important start.\r\n\u201cMr. President, as we finish up the work of the 114th Congress, we\u2019re also looking forward to the start of the 115th.\u00a0\r\n\u201cRepublicans will move quickly to take up a number of important measures.\r\n\u201cTwo big issues that we\u2019ll tackle right at the beginning are repealing Obamacare and confirming a Supreme Court nominee.\r\n\u201cI don\u2019t need to tell anyone that Obamacare is a failure.\r\n\u201cA Gallup poll released last week found that 80 percent of Americans want major changes to Obamacare or want the law repealed and replaced.\r\n\u201cThat\u2019s not a surprise.\r\n\u201cThe president promised lower premiums and affordable care.\r\n\u201cBut Obamacare has meant exactly the opposite.\r\n\u201cPremium costs have soared, and soared again.\r\n\u201cDeductibles have increased.\r\n\u201cAnd health care choices have been sharply reduced.\r\n\u201cOne constituent contacted me to say, and I quote:\r\n\u201c\u2018My Obamacare premium went up from $1,080 per month to $1,775.\u00a0\r\n\u201c\u2018A 64 percent increase.\r\n\u201c\u2018$21,300 a year for health insurance.\u2019\r\n\u201cAnother constituent wrote to say, and I quote:\r\n\u201c\u2018My Obamacare premium doubles next year.\u2019\r\n\u201cDoubles, Mr. President.\r\n\u201cI don\u2019t know too many Americans who can afford to have their health insurance premiums double.\r\n\u201cStill another constituent wrote to tell me, and I quote:\r\n\u201c\u2018Today I received a new premium notice \u2026 for my Obamacare insurance.\r\n\u201c\u2018My policy rate for myself, my wife, and my teenage son has increased by 357 percent.\u2019\r\n\u201c357 percent.\r\n\u201cMr. President, Obamacare is on the brink of collapse.\r\n\u201cWe know what millions of Americans already know: that the status quo is unsustainable.\r\n\u201cIt\u2019s time to repeal this law and replace it with something that works.\r\n\u201cAnd that\u2019s precisely what we\u2019re going to do.\r\n\u201cWe\u2019re going to get started on a repeal as soon as the 115th Congress convenes.\r\n\u201cAnd we\u2019re going to work step-by-step to replace Obamacare with real health care reform.\r\n\u201cMr. President, another thing we\u2019re going to get started on right away in January is confirming the president\u2019s nominees, including his nominee for the Supreme Court.\u00a0\r\n\u201cMy Democrat colleagues have spent a lot of time talking about the importance of confirming a ninth justice to the Supreme Court.\r\n\u201cI trust that they\u2019ll bring that same eagerness with them in January.\r\n\u201cI look forward to working with them during the confirmation process.\r\n\u201cMr. President, after Justice Scalia\u2019s death, I came down to the floor to honor him.\r\n\u201cLike others who spoke at the time, I mentioned his keen mind.\r\n\u201cHis gift for language.\r\n\u201cAnd most of all, his absolute commitment to the law.\r\n\u201cFor Justice Scalia, the Constitution truly was the supreme law of the land.\r\n\u201cAnd he didn\u2019t let anything interfere with that.\r\n\u201cHis politics, his personal opinions, his feelings about a case \u2026 none of those things were allowed to play a role in his decisions.\r\n\u201cThat, Mr. President, is the key right there.\r\n\u201cWe all know that Justice Scalia had personal opinions.\r\n\u201cBut when it came down to deciding cases, he ignored them.\r\n\u201cHe looked at the law and the Constitution \u2013 which is the supreme law \u2013 and he judged accordingly.\r\n\u201cMr. President, it\u2019s wonderful to have strong opinions.\r\n\u201cIt\u2019s wonderful to have sympathy for causes or organizations.\r\n\u201cIt\u2019s wonderful to have plans for fixing society\u2019s problems.\r\n\u201cBut none of those things have any business influencing your ruling when you sit on the Supreme Court.\r\n\u201cThere are only two things that should influence a Supreme Court justice\u2019s ruling: the law, and the Constitution.\r\n\u201cThe minute something else comes into play \u2013 whether it\u2019s a justice\u2019s personal feelings or her political philosophy \u2013 you\u2019ve done away with the rule of law, and replaced it with the rule of personal opinion.\r\n\u201cAnd Mr. President, we\u2019ve gone through a lot in this country to ensure that we\u2019ll be governed by the law, and not by someone\u2019s personal opinion.\r\n\u201cJustice Scalia will be a hard justice to replace.\r\n\u201cBut I\u2019m confident President-elect Trump will nominate a justice with a similar respect for the rule of law.\r\n\u201cAnd I look forward to working with my colleagues to get a qualified nominee confirmed.\u00a0\r\n\u201cMr. President, repealing Obamacare and confirming a Supreme Court nominee are two important things we\u2019re going to do next year, but they\u2019re just the beginning.\r\n\u201cRepublicans are going to spend the 115th Congress fighting for the American people\u2019s priorities \u2013 from growing our economy to securing our borders and protecting our nation.\r\n\u201cWe have a chance to do big things for the American people in 2017, and we can\u2019t wait to get started.\u201d", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.thune.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=2F48ECB4-14E9-40AF-80DB-2B22DEA274ED"], "units": {}, 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