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Congressional Daily Record
This section covers nominations, confirmations, or other executive branch business. It mentions members such as John A. Barrasso.
Official title: Rural Healthcare (Executive Session)
Issued
June 24, 2026
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Download official Senate Record PDFReturn to issue contextMr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, as a physician, I want Americans to get the care they need from doctors they choose at prices they can afford. That is what I thought in my entire time of practicing medicine in Wyoming and now as a U.S. Senator; and where a person lives should not determine whether
they have access to high-quality medical care.
So I practiced medicine in Wyoming for 24 years. At the Wyoming Medical Center, I was the chief of staff of the hospital and was president of the State medical society, and taking care of patients continues to guide my work here in the U.S. Senate.
Wyoming is a rural State, as is the Presiding Officer's. Rural Americans deserve access to local care that is affordable, reliable, and high quality. For years, the options for people in many small communities have been shrinking. Why is that? Because of the passage of the Obama healthcare law. ObamaCare accelerated the rural healthcare crisis with there being hospitals closing all across the country. Since ObamaCare became law 15 years ago, over 100 rural hospitals across our Nation have closed. It is yet another broken promise from the failure of the Obama healthcare law, known as ObamaCare.
Rural America deserves a better approach. That is why, 1 year ago, Republicans passed a $50 billion Rural Health Transformation Fund. The Rural Health Transformation Fund is a crucial piece of the Working Families Tax Cut law. It was designed to overcome the failed, one-size- fits-all Washington approach to healthcare. It partners with communities to invest in the services that they need. The Rural Health Transformation Fund is the largest Federal investment in rural healthcare in our Nation's history. Every State in America is now receiving the first round of funding under this new program.
scope. Fundamentally, it is about delivering care to people where and when they need it the most. The Federal Government is too large to know the unique needs of every community. Rural solutions come from the States, they come from the local communities, they come from the local healthcare providers, not from Washington, DC. The Rural Health Transformation Fund is built on this simple idea. It gives States the resources and the flexibility they need to invest in the services that the communities need and that will work for them.
In Wyoming, we have received over $200 million this year from the Rural Health Transformation Fund, and more funding will follow over the next 5 years. We are using it to strengthen and expand access to care in every corner of our State. We are supporting rural hospitals and clinics. We are embracing new technologies. We are bringing quality care closer to home.
At the same time, we are investing in our healthcare workforce. High- quality care starts with highly trained doctors, nurses, and other healthcare professionals. Wyoming has a long and successful track record of investing in our healthcare professionals. The Rural Health Transformation Fund allows us to build on that success.
We also know that the best treatment is often prevention. Preventive medicine can lead to healthier lives, it helps to lower costs, it teaches healthy habits from a young age. That is why Wyoming is investing in prevention. We are making sure the Food Stamp Program focuses on healthy nutrition. We are bringing back Presidential fitness tests in schools across the State. This helps children grow up healthier and reduces the long-term burden of chronic diseases.
goal. That goal is to help Wyoming families live healthier lives and to make healthcare more affordable.
I want to thank Dr. Oz and Gov. Mark Gordon. You know, Dr. Oz leads the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. He and his team have worked closely with Gov. Mark Gordon of Wyoming and his team. Together, they have developed an innovative plan that is tailored to Wyoming's unique needs.
against the Rural Health Transformation Fund, and that is not bad enough. One thing that was bad is they voted against it, and then they came to the floor and later voted to eliminate it—to eliminate it—to strangle the money that is going out to these communities all across the country. They said: No, we don't want it to go out.
Why? Why did they vote to cut $50 billion from rural healthcare hospitals?
immigrants. That is their mindset. Look at what happened in New York yesterday with the primary elections: open borders, eliminate ICE, focus on giving services to illegal immigrants—people who are in the country illegally.
How do they want to pay for all this?
of a lot of the Democrats, if not all, who are running to serve in this body.
citizens in order to expand healthcare for illegal immigrants. That is a fundamental difference in a mentality and in an approach—and is a concern for American citizens. So just remember that when Democrats come and talk about healthcare. It is not necessarily healthcare for you or your family; it is healthcare for illegal immigrants.
repeat, forced the closure of over 100 small community hospitals around the country. Republicans are putting rural communities first, and we are going to continue to do that.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Nebraska.