SGR Repeal and Medicare Provider Payment Modernization Act of 2014

Floor Speech

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Mr. KELLY of Pennsylvania. I thank the gentleman.

Mr. Speaker, there are very few times in my life in which I have really had the privilege of representing people who are so dear to me. I just think, if you were to look at our generation, we would all have to agree that we grew up in the greatest towns, at the greatest times, with the greatest parents, preachers, teachers, and coaches, grandmas and grandpas, and aunts and uncles.

This is the people's House. This is not a Republican House or a Democrat House. This is the people's House. What are we talking about today?

My goodness. This is so disappointing that we are so worried about the next election that we can't see the direction that we are going in--to be able to offer peace of mind to those folks who have made the greatest sacrifices, who have made the greatest contributions, and who have done the best that they could to make sure that the next generation had the same opportunities they had.

This is not a doc fix. This is a senior fix.

As my mother lay dying and my sister and my father, they were surrounded by a loving family, and they were also surrounded by caring doctors. Why would we make this about an election? Why would we not look inward to whom it is we are trying to protect? Why can we not protect the most vulnerable in our society right now, especially in their end days and in their end times and say, ``You can lay your head on a pillow tonight, knowing that your doctor is going to be there for you, that I will be beside you, that I will be by your bed, saying the rosary; and when you have finally gone, I can't wait until the next time we are able to meet each other again in Heaven''? Why would we make their last days so difficult? Why would we make it so uncertain?

So we talk about an SGR, but where I come from, it is not bad, and it is not a doc fix--it is a senior fix.

When can we possibly put politics behind us and start to look at what is best for the people we represent?

I am a Representative of Pennsylvania's Third District--so privileged and so proud to be able to do it, not boastful proud, but thankful proud that I can actually go and do something for the people who raised me, who taught me, who coached me, and who have walked me through the most difficult parts of my life and that I can look back at their lives and say, ``But you sacrificed so much that I could be here.''

Can we not just come together and do something that really is a big thank-you and a kiss on the forehead as they lay there, wondering, ``Where are those folks that we did so much for?''

My goodness. My friends on the other side, this is not about politics--this is about people. We are in the people's House, and these are things that we must do.

Mr. Chairman, I thank you so much for doing this and for bringing peace of mind to the people we represent, but I can't tell you how disappointing it is today to hear this turn into some kind of political debate that has nothing to do with the fate of those seniors and of those people whom we love so much and who have done so much for us.

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