Fairness for American Families Act
Floor Speech
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Ms. PELOSI. I thank the gentleman for yielding. I thank him also for his leadership on this health care issue. I've watched him lead this debate for nearly three decades, and I'm so pleased that you are here to defend the Affordable Care Act on the floor today, as our Republican colleagues try for the 38th time to repeal it. It is nothing more than a waste of time. This matter has been settled in Congress, at the Supreme Court, and at the ballot box. It is the law of the land.
Mr. Speaker, this bill that is on the floor today is something that the President has very clearly said he will veto. Yet Republicans still want to vote for the 38th time to repeal the Affordable Care Act while we're still waiting for the first time to vote for a jobs bill.
The American people expect and deserve this Congress to work together to grow the economy, creating jobs, and strengthening the middle class, the backbone of our democracy. It's been over 6 months since this Congress took office. It's been over 3 months since the Senate passed a budget bill. For all of that time, Democrats have proposed a budget that would reduce taxes on the middle class, strengthen the middle class, reduce the deficit, create jobs, and grow the economy. And for 6 months the Republicans have said ``no.'' Instead, for 38 times they have wanted to waste the public's dollar repealing, once again, the Affordable Care Act.
What does a vote for this bill mean? A vote for this bill means that--just on the provisions already in place--you are voting so that children with a preexisting medical condition can now face discrimination. Because you will eliminate the end of that discrimination. Right now, children no longer face discrimination on the basis of a preexisting condition. A vote for the bill eliminates that.
Right now, young adults are gaining coverage through their parents' plans. A vote for this bill strikes that down. Right now, seniors are paying less for prescription drugs and getting better treatment at a lower cost. A vote for this bill strikes that down. Americans no longer face lifetime limits on care. A vote for this bill eliminates that. Families are receiving rebates from insurance companies because of the medical loss ratio. It's very important in this bill. Insurance companies were overly profiting at the expense of policyholders. This is a vote for the insurance companies and against policyholders. Soon, being a woman will no longer be considered a preexisting medical condition. The Republicans don't like that.
And when I say don't like, what will also be coming up in the bill is it will take away access to affordable coverage for 129 million people with a preexisting medical condition. Just think of it. Do any of you know anyone with heart disease, cancer, diabetes, or a child born prematurely? That's a preexisting condition forever--one that also has lifetime limits on it, if you have your way.
It takes away the guarantee that women pay the same premiums as men for the same coverage. Women have so much to gain in this bill because for so long we have been discriminated against on the basis of being a woman. You want to take that away from us again. It takes away the new cap on America's out-of-pocket health care costs. The list goes on and on about what is the law now that will be taken away and what will become the law in fewer than 6 months that was very helpful for America's families.
The gentleman told us a story about a small businessman. We always say the plural of anecdote is not data, but we all have our stories to tell. They are illustrative. Ninety-six percent of America's businesses are not affected by this law.
Mr. Speaker, last year, in San Francisco, I met with Julie and Matt, parents of a little 2-year-old girl, Violet. Violet was born with a rare and life-threatening form of epilepsy. For Violet and her family, the Affordable Care Act was life-changing. Before the act, Violet had a preexisting condition. So she would be discriminated against in terms of health insurance. Violet had lifetime and annual limits on the coverage that she could get. A little child with such an early preexisting condition could possibly exhaust her lifetime limits before she was in third grade.
Imagine being in their shoes. Imagine Julie and Matt watching this debate, following the work of Congress, and what it means to them. What it means to them is the health of their child, the financial security of their family, and hope for the future. Imagine the fear, the uncertainty, the frustration they feel when they hear this debate. Imagine what it would be like to witness it 38 times and the threat that it is to your family's security.
So there are Violet and other children like her. We hear stories over and over again. Whatever we're doing, I always like to envision what it means to children and what it does for our children. This means a great deal to our children and to their families. It honors the vows of our Founders of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. A healthy life, the liberty to pursue your happiness, to be whatever you want--an artist, be self-employed to start a business, to change jobs. To be able to follow your passion, not policy. And not to be confined because there's a preexisting condition in your family or to be confined because of fear of someone getting ill.
Really, what is important today is what it does or how it damages the health security of America's families. But it's also the missed opportunity. When, if ever, do the Republicans intend to bring a bill to the floor that will create jobs for our country? When are we going to have a budget that does just that?
You said you wanted the Senate to pass a bill and then we would go to conference. That's called regular order. The Senate passed a bill 3 months ago. And still, the Republicans resist. What are you afraid of? Are you afraid that the public will see the contrast between a Democratic budget, which invests in people, which builds the infrastructure of America, which has provisions to bring jobs home to America, and that strengthens the middle class instead of the exploitation of the middle class that is contained in the Republican budget?
So all this is a smokescreen. It's just make-work projects. It's just subterfuge. Let's do anything other than what the American people expect us to do here. They expect us to work together. They expect us to compromise. They expect us to find solutions. They expect us to get results for them. They expect us to act the way we used to here and be respectful of each other's views, instead of having a Republican anti-government, ideological agenda which says nothing--nothing--is our success, to do nothing is to succeed, and never is our timetable.
So let's not waste the public's time, and the taxpayers' dollar on initiatives that are going no place. They're political stunts and an excuse for a legislative agenda that is not worthy of this House of Representatives, that is not deserving of the respect of the American people, and the form of this legislation will not have my support.
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