Senate Amendments To H.R. 3590, Service Members Home Ownership Tax Act Of 2009, And H.R. 4872, Health Care And Education Reconciliation Act Of 2010
Floor Speech
Senate Amendments To H.R. 3590, Service Members Home Ownership Tax Act Of 2009, And H.R. 4872, Health Care And Education Reconciliation Act Of 2010
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Mr. ELLISON. I rise in support of universal health care.
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Mr. Speaker, there was a time in our country's past that the enactment of a comprehensive civil rights law was deemed merely a dream.
There was a time in our country's past that enactment of Social Security to guarantee the retirement security of our seniors was deemed merely a dream.
There was a time in our country's past that enactment of the Medicare law to guarantee the health care for our nation's senior was deemed merely a dream.
We now take all three--civil rights, retirement security for our seniors and health security--for granted in our society.
They are all assumed as a given and as a right in our society.
Well, Mr. Speaker, I believe when we leave this chamber tonight after passing this health care bill, we will forget how hard it was to pass this bill. And in another generation, our grandchildren will also assume that universal health care is a right and a given in any modern society.
Mr. Speaker, tonight marks the beginning of the dream of universal health care becoming a reality in our society.
It is an important beginning--
When 40,500 uninsured Fifth District residents will have access health care coverage to health insurance.
When 9,700 Fifth District residents with pre-existing conditions can no longer be denied coverage.
When 57,000 Fifth District young adults can obtain coverage on their parents' insurance plans.
When insurance coverage for 358,000 Fifth District residents is improved--and when the cost of uncompensated care for hospitals and other health care providers is reduced by $101 million--that is positive change.
And when thirty-two million more Americans have health insurance it is a good beginning. At the same time, when $1.3 trillion in deficit spending (accumulated over the past eight years) is reduced, it is a good start.
I look forward to enthusiastically casting my ``yes'' vote tonight for this historic legislation.
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