Failed health care bill receives discussion time at Eggs & Issues

Sen. Luther Strange, R-Alabama, originally thought the Eggs and Issues breakfast he was scheduled to speak at would take place at the start of the Senate’s August recess. Despite the two-week delay on the recess, Strange returned to the Birmingham area for his first Eggs and Issues breakfast, which was co-sponsored by the Greater Shelby, South Shelby, Homewood, Montevallo and Mountain Brook chambers of commerce.

Former Gov. Robert Bentley appointed Strange to the U.S. Senate in February, following former senator Jeff Sessions’ appointment to Attorney General.

“I’ve been in Washington less time than President [Donald] Trump has been, and there are some things I have to confess I don’t really understand,” Strange said. “… The first issue I’ll get into is health care. I do not understand why after seven years of talking about repealing and replacing or fixing the Affordable Care Act, that when the time came to do it, we were helpless.”

Strange referenced the July 27 vote on what was called the “Skinny Repeal” Bill, which failed after Sens. John McCain, Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins voted to oppose it.

“That was disappointing, to say it mildly. It took way too long to get it that far,” Strange said. “Now, we’re back to the drawing board.”

Even though health care reform has not succeeded thus far in the Senate, Strange said it is not something that can just be ignored, and they cannot just “let it fail.” He said high premiums are negatively affecting citizens, and ultimately insurance markets aren’t sustainable and Medicaid is not sustainable in the long-term.  

Medicaid is affected by the expansion that has taken place in other states, Strange said.

“When you give someone a big government program, it is very hard to ever take it back. That is just a rule of politics and human nature that I discovered,” Strange said. “So for all those reasons and all of that back-and-forth, we were not able to get anything done [on health care].”

There are other proposals out there, Strange said, and he would like to see things go back to “regular order” with any future bills. This means going into committee to discuss and debate reform or repeal, something he said Congress has gotten away from in the past several years.

“There’s a health and human services committee in the Senate — let them debate this. Let them sit down and then come up with something,” he said. “And at some point, the opposition is going to have to come to the table, too.”

During the breakfast, Strange also discussed topics he believes need more attention, including tax reform, which he referred to as tax relief, regulations and infrastructure.

It is important to lower tax rates for individuals and businesses, Strange said, because high tax rates and stagnant wages has an impact on all aspects of society, from workers to business owners. The White House, Strange added, is also “anxious to turn to that [tax relief]” in discussions.

Infrastructure is a topic that does not get much attention, Strange said, adding that it is important to have solid infrastructure to support a solid economy.

“It’s a safety issue, and it’s a commerce issue,” he said.

Strange said he is also working to trim back what he called a “regulatory wet blanket that just sits on top of every business in this room and in this state.” While regulations are needed to keep people safe and keep businesses fair, there are too many regulations that end up unnecessarily bogging down businesses.

Overall, Strange said he hopes to see things pick up in Congress.

“I’m distressed by the slow pace and lack of accomplishments,” he said. “We need some accomplishments that affect real people in the real world.”

Strange also answered an audience question about Trump’s recent critiques of Sessions.

“Now, President Trump is threatening our own Jeff Sessions, and it sure seems like that’s because he wants an attorney general who is going to protect him personally,” the audience member said.

Strange said he has been troubled by the disagreement, but that Sessions “isn’t going anywhere.”

“I think it’s more of an expression of the president’s frustration with this Russia infatuation,” Strange said, adding that tension between an attorney general and the president or governor, depending on the level of government, is typical. Strange said he faced tension with the governor in his time as Attorney General of Alabama.

And while he said his attendance was not for political purposes, Strange also noted that there is an upcoming election. The Aug. 15 primary will determine which Republican and Democratic candidates will be on the ballot in the December special election for Strange's current senate seat. 

“The is an election coming up in two weeks in case anybody was wondering. …This isn’t a political speech, but I hope you will encourage people to go out and vote,” Strange said.