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--Continued
Floor Speech
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Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this historic legislation, arguably the most important vote we here today will ever take in this Chamber.
Today fulfills a promise made 100 years ago by Theodore Roosevelt when he first called for comprehensive health insurance reform. It fulfills a promise made by Franklin Roosevelt to our parents, our grandparents, our great grandparents in 1944. President Richard Nixon also labored and lost on this national mission. And President Bill Clinton, too, tried to climb this mountain.
Today's legislation builds on the great achievements of Social Security and Medicare, those big changes that we all take for granted, regardless of party. And yes, they, too, were characterized as socialist government takeovers.
And today we have a chance to make health insurance affordable for people and for small businesses that ends the power of the insurance companies to deny them coverage, increase their rates and, yes, drop them when they get sick. Enough.
This reform law allows 32 million of our citizens to get insurance, a moral imperative. It closes the doughnut hole in prescription drugs for seniors, and women will no longer have to pay more for their insurance, a long overdue reckoning.
I am humbled by the opportunity to cast a vote for this historic change.
Mr. CAMP. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 2 minutes.
We've heard a lot of discussion tonight about this bill and how it's been characterized. Let me just read a few quotes from my friends on the Democratic side who've characterized this bill.
A Democrat from North Carolina says: There is no question that our current health care system is broken and that we need to make significant reforms to improve it in an equitable, fiscally responsible, and sustainable manner. In my opinion, the bill as written does not meet those criteria.
A Democrat from Tennessee says: After thorough and careful review of the legislation, I am unconvinced that the long-term trend of rising health care costs is adequately addressed and am, therefore, unable to support the legislation.
A Democrat from New Mexico said: I do not believe that the bill does enough to contain costs.
A Democrat from North Carolina says: Health care reform is needed, but the bill before us is too expensive, does not adequately address rising medical costs and skyrocketing insurance premiums, and tries to do too much too soon. We simply cannot afford to create a new Federal bureaucracy that costs nearly $1 trillion when our national debt is $12 trillion and there is no plan in place to address it. I will not vote for it.
Another Democrat from Virginia says: I have spoken with countless small business owners, families, medical professionals, and average citizens across Virginia, and it becomes very clear that this bill is not the right solution for Virginia's health care challenges.
On and on and on again. This is not the right bill for America. This costs $1 trillion, raises a half a trillion in taxes, and cuts Medicare by half a trillion dollars. Vote ``no'' on this bill.
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