Making Healthcare More Affordable

Floor Speech

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Mr. CARTER of Louisiana. Madam Speaker, I rise to celebrate our Nation's actions to make healthcare more affordable. Together, we provided more resources for the CDC and State and local health departments to ensure they are prepared and equipped, implementing lessons learned from the pandemic.

We confronted our most urgent health crises while taking strides to reduce unacceptable health disparities. We invested in our veterans, focusing on the mental health needs of those who served our Nation.

We strengthened biomedical research, providing more funding for the National Institutes of Health and establishing the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health to cure the previously uncurable. We protected the safety of our food and medicine by funding the FDA.

The pandemic taught us that no one is safe unless everyone is safe. That is why we increased funding for global health, to work to prevent the next pandemic.

With this budget, Democrats are not only making healthcare more affordable for all Americans; we are building a healthier and safer Nation. Helping Working Families with the Cost of Living

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Mr. CARTER of Louisiana. Madam Speaker, I rise to highlight the significant investments we enacted to help working families with the cost of living.

In a time of great uncertainty and change, people are living paycheck to paycheck or on fixed incomes. Many are struggling just to pay basic bills.

Our investments represent a lifeline for working families. By increasing funding for childcare, public schools, and providing high- quality job training, this bill gives more tools to help Americans succeed.

Government must serve the people, not the biggest corporations. We provided resources to small businesses and entrepreneurs as they pursue the American Dream. We invested to connect communities to the internet and expand access to affordable housing and homeownership. We strengthened our core services and tackled the root causes of rising prices.

One example is by providing $158 million to support the production and delivery of small- to medium-size manufacturers, helping detangle the supply chain and lower costs to consumers. We paid for it by cracking down on big corporations and the wealthiest who are not paying their fair share. This government funding legislation truly delivers for the people.

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