Affordable Care Act

Floor Speech

Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, 2 years ago health insurance companies could deny women care due to so-called preexisting conditions, such as pregnancy or being a victim of domestic violence. Two years ago women were permitted to be legally discriminated against when it came to insurance premiums and were often paying more for coverage than men. Two years ago women did not have access to the full range of recommended preventive care, such as mammograms or contraception and more. Two years ago the insurance companies had all the leverage, and too often it was women who were paying the price.

Mr. President, that is why I am proud to come to the floor today, 2 years after we passed the Affordable Care Act, to highlight just how far we have come when it comes to making sure women across America get the care they need at a cost they can afford. Because of this law, women will be treated fairly when it comes to health care costs. Deductibles and other expenses will be capped so a health care crisis doesn't cause a family to lose their home or their life savings. Preventive care will be free, so women never have to delay care because they can't afford to see a doctor. Because of this law women will have more options. They can use health care exchanges to pick quality plans that work for them and for their families. And if they change jobs or move, they will be able to keep their coverage. Because of this law maternity care is now covered and women won't have to skip prenatal care because they can't afford it. Because of this law women are now in charge of their health care, not their insurance companies. That is why I feel very strongly that we cannot go back to the way things were. While we can never stop working to make improvements, we owe it to the women of America to make progress and not allow the clock to be rolled back on their health care needs.

I know some of my Republican colleagues are furiously working to undo all of the gains we have made in the health care reform law for women and for their families. I am disappointed but I am hardly surprised. Republicans have been waging war on women's health since the moment they came into power. After they campaigned across the country on a platform of jobs and the economy, the first three bills they introduced in the House were each direct attacks on women's health care in America. The very first bill they introduced, H.R. 1, would have totally eliminated Title X funding for family planning and teenage pregnancy prevention, and it included an amendment that would have completely defunded Planned Parenthood and cut off support for the millions of women in this country who count on it. Another opening round of their bills would have permanently codified the Hyde amendment and the DC abortion ban, and the original version of their bill didn't even include an exception for the health of the mother. Finally, they introduced a bill right away that would have rolled back every single one of the gains I just talked about in the Affordable Care Act.

This law is a winner for women, it is a winner for men and for children and for our health care system overall. So I am proud to stand here today with so many of my colleagues who are committed to making sure the benefits of this law do not get taken away from the women of America. We will keep fighting attempts to take them away, and I am confident we will win.

EXPORT-IMPORT BANK

Mr. President, while I am on the floor today, I also would like to rise to express my strong support for an amendment that will be considered today which will grow American jobs, help small businesses, generate revenue for taxpayers, and which has strong bipartisan backing.

It is no secret that foreign countries are aggressively trying to seize the global market, and America needs to keep fighting back with a program that works for businesses and taxpayers and does create thousands of jobs. The Export-Import Bank is one of the most important resources America has to keep up this fight. For over 75 years the Ex-Im Bank has supported job-creating U.S. exports by helping American businesses sell to the world. No one knows this better than businesses in my home State of Washington--the largest exporter in the Nation per capita--where one in three jobs in my State is tied to international trade. Reauthorizing the Ex-Im Bank means more than 150 Washington State businesses that rely on this financing to sell their products overseas can keep their jobs here at home.

At a time when our competitors in the global marketplace provide far more aggressive export credit financing to companies within their borders, the Ex-Im Bank simply levels the playing field for U.S. companies that sell goods overseas. And the Ex-Im Bank helps create U.S. jobs and does not add to our deficit.

U.S. exports have been a bright spot in America's road to recovery, increasing by about 20 percent over the last 2 years and driving about half of all of our economic growth. Given the obvious need for exports to power economic growth, it would be negligent to pull the plug on the Ex-Im Bank. If we do not pass this bill by the end of this month, thousands of jobs will be at risk, not just from our exporters but from businesses large and small across the country.

Reauthorizing the Export-Import Bank would not only be a short-term victory for our exporters, it would also tell our trading partners that the United States is a stable place to do business and that we stand behind our products and our companies. So I urge a ``yes'' vote on that amendment when it comes to the floor later.

Mr. President, I yield the floor, and I suggest the absence of a quorum.

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