Repealing the Job-Killing Health Care Law Act

Floor Speech

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Ms. DeLAURO. Yesterday, men and women from all across America came here to tell us what the repeal of health care would mean for them. Stacie Ritter of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, told us how her 11-year-old twin daughters were both diagnosed with leukemia at age 4. She explained how the Affordable Care Act finally ensured her daughters could get coverage and the care that they need.

Claudette Therriault of Sabbattus, Maine, told us how health care reform had given her access to critical preventive care, the type of care that saves money and saves lives. Ed Burke of Palm Harbor, Florida, told us how the prohibition on lifetime caps had brought security and peace of mind after years of living with hemophilia.

We hear stories like this every day in my district and all across America. Yesterday, a report found that up to 129 million Americans under age 65 have preexisting conditions and could lose their coverage if reform is repealed. I understand their fears. I too have a preexisting condition. I am an ovarian cancer survivor.

The Center for American Progress reports that repeal would add almost $2,000 a year to family insurance premiums, destroy up to 400,000 jobs a year over the next decade. And the Congressional Budget Office says repeal would add $230 billion to the deficit. Repeal will take away valuable benefits, destroy jobs, cause premiums to rise, and add billions to the deficit.

If my colleagues across the aisle will not listen to the facts and the numbers, then listen to the poignant stories of their and our constituents. What will happen to Stacie's twins, Claudette, Ed, and millions of other Americans if health care reform is repealed? What will happen to children with preexisting conditions, to seniors in the doughnut hole, to small businesses trying to help their employees find quality health insurance? Repeal is a mistake. We should work to further strengthen our health care system; and we should do that, not roll back hard-won progress. Health care should not be a political game.

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