Date: 2012-07-10
Speaker: VAN HOLLEN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. during the debate over passage of the health care bill. ObamaCare. we heard a campaign of massive distortions. We heard it was going to create death panelsnot true. We heard it was going to be a government takeover of health care. The independent PolitiFact called that the 2010 lie of the year. Now we hear its going to wreak havoc on the economy. when the head of the Congressional Budget Office. our nonpartisan referee. just said 2 weeks ago that they dont think this bills having any significant impact on the economy. And on and on and on. We heard from our Republican colleagues they were going to repeal and replace. Weve now repealed this 31 times in the Houseno replacement. And what does that mean? Thats the status quo. Our colleagues make it sound like the status quo is just great in the health care system when the insurance companies got to run the show. when they got to deny kids coverage even if they had asthma or diabetes and preexisting conditions. when they got to say youre not covered if youre 22 years old. you cant stay on your parents health care bill. when premiums doubled between 2000 and 2006 while insurance company profits quadrupled. Thats what the Republicans are proposing to go back to. We continue to hear this distortion about Medicare. The reality is that we reduce some of the big taxpayer subsidies to the private Medicare plan. Some of them were being subsidized 140 percent of feeforservice. average subsidy. 114 percent. We used some of those savings to eliminate the prescription drug doughnut hole that seniors fell into. to eliminate many of the copays for preventive care services. Now. the Republican budget that every Republican in this House has voted for. that Mitt Romney has endorsed. they took all that $500 billion in savings. every penny. But you know what? They didnt plow one penny back into strengthening Medicare benefits. They would reopen the prescription drug doughnut hole. So thats what this debate is all about. trying to make sure that we provide the best health care we can at the best price. And to witness this effort to deny patients across this country the same kind of patient protections that Members of this Congress have. I think. is something that the American people. when they focus on this. as they clearly are. will clearly reject. What we should be doing. instead of taking away from millions of Americans the kind of patient protections that Members of Congress have. what we should be doing is focusing on jobs and the economy. And it is a shame that. as were going to vote tomorrow for the 31st time to repeal ObamaCare. we havent had a single vote on the Presidents jobs initiative. an initiative that he brought before this body last September. He was at the podium where the presiding officer stands now. He asked Congress to pass his jobs initiative. Not a single vote on that. and yet here we are. our 31st vote to repeal the kind of patient protections that Members of Congress enjoy. repeal them for the American people. So. Mr. Speaker. I hope that our colleagues will reject this effort. I know the American people have already made it clear through their voices and their response to surveys that they want to move on. They want to move on. They want to deal with jobs. and they want to deal with the economy. and they want to end the political charades. I yield back the balance of my time.