The Progressive Caucus

Floor Speech

Mr. ELLISON. Mr. Speaker, my name is Keith Ellison, and I'm a Congressman from the great State of Minnesota, and I'm honored to claim this Special Order, this 1 hour, for the Progressive Caucus to talk about the values of Progressive ideals, the values associated with a progressive America in which people are included and which we believe in generosity, where we believe in valuing people, where we believe in civil rights, care for the Earth and creation, where we care about living in a world in which middle class people, working people, the hardworking people of America and the world can have a prosperous life and where people can do well.

The Progressive Caucus, designed and approved and coming together to signal to the American people that in Congress there is a body of Members of the Congress who are willing to stand up for the values that have made America great, values such as workers' rights, such as the weekend, such as the 5-day week, such as work and safety laws, such as worker's compensation, such as Social Security.

These are all progressive steps forward, such as civil rights, women's rights, gay rights, such as the respect for all religious groups and religious tolerance in our country.

Recently, Mr. Speaker, our focus has been on health care because health care is such an essential component of what it means to be a middle class American trying to put food on the table for your family. Health care, if we can correct health care, the disparities in health care, the cost increases in health care, if we can correct health care 60 years in the making, we can improve the quality of life for all Americans and thereby enact a piece of legislation that is on the order of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, the 1965 Voting Rights Act, the passage of the Medicare bill, which helped millions of seniors all around our country live a life of quality, and ended seniors who lived a life of poverty and of insecurity.

This bill, which is right within our grasp at this time, we are so happy to be able to step forward. And I just want to let you know, Mr. Speaker, that it's an honor to be joined by such a courageous Congressperson as Congresswoman Diane Watson from the great State of California, who for years and years has been sticking up for progressive values, never backing down, always there for the American middle class and working class people.

So we are going to talk a little health care tonight. I am going to yield to the gentlelady to make a few introductory remarks, and then maybe she and I can have a little colloquy as we move on in the evening.

I yield to the gentlelady from California, Diane Watson.

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Mr. ELLISON. While the gentlelady yields back, let me thank her as well. The fact is that by bringing this important story about the Bakewell family--well known throughout the country, particularly in Los Angeles, but really all over--it shows that health care reform is something that everybody needs. It is not something that some people have to worry about and some people don't; it's something that all Americans have to focus on because none of us are immune.

If you don't have health care, then you are among those 59 million Americans who are just going to bed every night hoping and praying that you don't get sick; and if you do, you know you're going to be in for a very difficult time.

And you may be among those 250 million Americans who have either employer-based health care or have health care through either Medicare or Medicaid or VA or something like that, a government-run program. In that case, you know that your employer-based health care has seen premiums double in the last 10 years and are likely to double in the next 10 years. So no matter whether you're among the uninsured who need change or the insured who need change, we all need change. And so it's critically important that we bang the gong and keep it up and don't back down on this important issue.

If I may--and I invite the gentlelady to ask me to yield at any time, but I just want to make a quick point before we do.

We have been joined by the gentlelady from Maryland, Donna Edwards, who is a clear voice on this issue, who has been creative, who has been consistent. And we just want to let the gentlelady from Maryland make some remarks as we begin this hour so that we can sort of get into our colloquy.

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Mr. ELLISON. Well, the gentlelady is in rare form tonight. I really appreciate everything you laid out. Excellent.

I just want to add to your observation about the AHIP report, which is an acronym for America's Health Insurance Plans. Here is what the people who really study the stuff had to say about this particular industry report.

AARP had this to say: The report is ``fundamentally dishonest'' and ``not worth the paper it's written on.'' Those are the words of John Rother of AARP, executive vice president of policy and strategy.

You mentioned PricewaterhouseCoopers, which

participated in preparing the report. They're running from the report. They're like, Hey, we didn't know. I don't blame them, because it is deceptive.

Also, PricewaterhouseCoopers said Monday, AHIP, the report that we've been referring to, that industry report, had instructed it to focus on only some features of the bill while not taking into account other major features, such as the effect of subsidies for those buying insurance. So they didn't even tell their preparer the right information to consider.

Why would they not fully disclose and be transparent about that? The report threatened that if the bill became law it would result in an increase in premiums for an average family of four by about $4,000 a year. Now, this begs the question: Who would be increasing these premiums? The very people who issued the report saying the premiums are going up.

Furthermore, the report says that the cost of private health insurance would rise by 111 percent over the next decade. Who would be increasing these premiums by 111 percent? The fact is the very people who are saying the prices will increase for buying health care insurance are the ones who are in charge and who are in control of raising these prices.

Reid Cherlin, the White House spokesman, said ``this is a distorted and flawed report from the insurance industry and cannot be taken seriously. This so-called analysis appears on the eve of a vote that may eat into some of the insurance industry's profits. It conveniently ignores policies that will lower costs for those who have insurance, expand coverage and provide affordable insurance options to millions of Americans.''

I'm not done quite yet.

Nancy-Ann DeParle, director of White House Health Reform, says that she was surprised by the report because she had just met Mrs. Ignatti, the one who has been doing a lot of the selling of this on TV, and she vowed to work together. So that may be regarded as somewhat misleading. It's important to remember that virtually every wild, erroneous claim made regarding health care reform has been debunked as false.

Let's go on back to the summer. I ask the gentlelady to take a walk back to August. You'll recall, Madam Speaker, that we were talking about death panels. This was all the rage--death panels. We were talking ``death panels.'' Yet, when you look at the bill, it's simply Medicare saying we will compensate doctors to talk about end-of-life decisions, which is a good thing and a wise decision. It's about dignity. Everyone wants that for their loved ones when they're in their final days of their lives.

Also, we then heard about illegals. It's going to be all about illegals. We debunked that myth.

Then we heard about a government takeover until somebody said, Wait a minute. Doesn't government already administer Medicare? They're doing pretty good. Ninety-six percent of respondents say they like Medicare, so maybe government knows a little bit about administering health care. Doesn't government already play a significant--not just administering the VA, they actually hire the doctors and provide the care. That is truly a single-payer system. That's government-run health care if there ever was, and you'd better not try to take health care away from our veterans, because they won't tolerate that. So then they had to move away from that.

Then we heard that it is only about the uninsured. Wait a minute. We find out premiums have been doubling over the last 10 years and are expected to double again. So now the insured, the people who have employer-based health care, say, wait a minute. We need reform, too. We have to have reform, and we cannot tolerate being rejected and excluded for preexisting conditions and tolerate discrimination, which will affect young women the most.

So Americans have been peeling back the onion of falsehood time and time again. As the gentlelady from Maryland pointed out, the public option still is standing stronger than ever. It's almost as if, the more they attack it, the stronger it gets.

I just wanted to point out: Who wants the public option? Well, doctors want a public option. Nurses want a public option. The majority of Congress wants a public option. Faith communities want a public option. President Obama prefers a public option, and the American people do.

If you look at what doctors want, most doctors support the public option. Sixty-three percent of doctors say both the public and private options are what they would prefer. Sixty-three percent reported that they would like both public and private options. That's what the House bill is calling for. You have another 10 percent who said just a public option. That's all we want. So, if you add the 63 and the 10, you end up with a full three-quarters of doctors who say they would like the public option.

So I guess my question to the gentlelady from Maryland is: Why does the public option keep coming up strong despite these relentless attacks--the $4 million this year and the $7 million last year? What explains this?

I yield to the gentlelady from Maryland.

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Mr. ELLISON. I thank the gentlelady for yielding, but the gentlelady should know that when you're hot, we've got to give you the ball, and you were. So thank you.

Just a few points.

I would like to point out that people have contacted us in the Progressive Caucus and different Members individually and let their views be known about how people feel. And I just want to point out that historically--and I think that there was a perception that the Progressive Caucus may have stood up for good values, may have fought the good fight, may have talked about inclusion of everybody, a society based on generosity, the beloved community, middle class prosperity, all of the good things, but when it came down to really sticking to the guns and saying, You know what? We're going to stand up for what we believe in, there was some doubt that that was the case.

And I just want to say that the Progressive Caucus has dug in for the American people. I am proud of what the Progressive Caucus has done. I am proud of the leadership that we've seen from the Progressive Chairs, Ms. Woolsey and Mr. Grijalva, because this perception that Progressives are going to cave has been dissipating because Progressives have been holding firm. This is the Progressive message. This is a Special Order of the Progressive hour.

And I just want to say that the Progressive Caucus has made it clear, the leadership has made it clear to the White House, made it clear on all fronts, that if you want our votes, you're going to have to do what's right by the American people; and that is to include the public option which doctors want, which the public wants, which everyone wants. It was not simply a simple temper tantrum. It was not saying we want it because we want it. It was because the American people needed a public option. So the Progressive Caucus stuck to it and didn't back down. I think it's important to make this point. Because the Progressive Caucus really is a caucus that's unified not by culture, not by color, not by faith, not by gender, but by values. And these values are really being reflected in the advocacy around the public option, around true health care reform.

I just want to make that point clear to the folks who are tuned in tonight, Madam Speaker, because I think that it's important that folks know that there are people in Congress that are fighting for them. This is not the time for cynicism. This is not the time to say, well, you know, the industry is going to get their way again. No, they're not, because there are people here in the Congress who are hearing the call of the public interest.

I'll yield to the gentlelady on that note.

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Mr. ELLISON. If the gentlelady will yield, I just want to say, as the gentlelady is offering her observations, it's reminding me that we are at a propitious moment in history. The fact is we are at a moment of history. We are hearing the call of history.

I wonder if the Speaker knows--do you know that it was Roosevelt, President Roosevelt, Franklin Delano Roosevelt who first said we need universal health care? It was Truman who repeated the call. It was Nixon, even, who talked about health care reform; although, he did some things to undermine it. And it was, again, President

Clinton who really worked hard to try to get health care reform.

This fight is decades in the making, and we are closer than we have ever been. We have reported out five bills in the Congress, so we're almost there. We're not far away. And so it's important that the American people hang in there, that they continue to be hopeful and expect success and that it's important to understand that success breeds success.

And as we pass health care, we will be able to really implement more policies that help working Americans, help the working class, the middle class Americans, help the environment, help us be a Nation that is at peace with the rest of the world, help us promote civil rights for all Americans and to leave no one out, to exclude no one, to stop policies of fear, of demonization, of exclusion. And this is something that offers very, very great promise for our Nation.

As I begin to wind down, I just want to make a few other observations that I think are very, very important, because I think it's so critical that we keep our focus on where it really should be.

And I am one who, you know, believes that when a group of constituents vote a Member to this auspicious body, that that person has something to offer. But I also want to say that elections have consequences. When you cast a vote and you send one party or the other to represent you, you have the right to expect that that party is going to deliver. And the Democratic Party, led by progressives, is delivering at this time.

I want to also say that new policies clearly underscore that the congressional party opposite is not in touch with the American people around health care reform. A new poll from Quinnipiac just released today further illustrates how Republican leaders of Congress are out of touch with the American people.

Just this morning, a leader in the party opposite said the public option has been resoundingly rejected by the American people, but look at the numbers that are coming out regarding the public option. On the wrong side of history. I recommend the rank and file come join the Democrats in passing health care reform. But as this new poll and others in recent weeks have all shown, Americans support a public insurance option in health insurance and in reform legislation.

This new Quinnipiac poll I mentioned said that 61 percent of Americans support a public option. The Wall Street Journal/NBC says 73 percent of the population supports a public option. The New York Times/CBS says 65 percent of the American public supports a public option. The Kaiser Family Foundation says 58 percent of the American people support a public option.

Other findings of the Quinnipiac poll say that Americans trust President Obama more than Congressional Republicans to handle health care reform, 47-31 percent; 64 percent of those surveyed disapproved of the way congressional Republicans are doing their job, including 42 percent of Republican voters. And it's important for Republican voters to know that they have a choice and that they should vote effectiveness: the people who are getting it done, not the people who had the White House and the House of Representatives and the Senate from the year 2000 to 2006 and didn't do anything other than veto the State Children's Health Insurance Program, that's what they did; but people who, within a few months, are already within the grasp of true health care reform.

The fact is, Madam Speaker, that this moment in time is important. It is as important as any other piece of historic legislation that we have seen.

It's clear that the health care industry is in the final throes, final throes, and it is demonstrating a level of desperation by issuing this industry report which clearly is fundamentally flawed and clearly shows that it's dishonest and deceptive. And even the drafters, PricewaterhouseCoopers, don't want to claim it. Experts say that it's wrong.

So we've heard about the death panels. False. We've heard about the school sex clinics. False. We've heard about government-run health care and accusations of socialism. False again. We've heard about immigrants taking over health care. False. And now the truth is really, really standing clear. Truth crashed to the Earth will rise up. That is what has happened.

It's important for Americans to take heart, to take hope, to help support the passage of true health care reform and to understand that if we can pass health care reform, if we can win this 60-plus-year-old battle to get health care reform, then there are other battles to be fought and other mountains to be climbed and greater things that this wonderful people can produce for the American people, that America can live out its progressive value system and can say that we are going to expand opportunity for more Americans. We're not going to demonize and vilify Americans who happen to be of a particular racial group or happen to be not born in the United States or we're not going to turn them into somehow ``the other,'' we're going to continue to embrace more people as this great country has done progressively over its history.

We're going to say that we're going to live in harmony with creation and not just use it as just a fungible commodity to be burned and polluting the air and destroying the seas and acidifying the ocean. Big things await the American people, but it's important that we get over this last piece of true reform to get this momentum moving.

Madam Speaker, I will yield back at this time and close out the progressive message. Thank you very much.

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