mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
AMERICAN HEALTH CARE ACT OF 2017
Christopher H. Smith (Republican, NJ) \u2014 2017-3-24

while the Affordable Care Act has been in effect since 2010, it has only provided actual access to health insurance benefits through the exchange and Medicaid expansion for a little over 3 years--beginning in 2014. prgtoken In that short period of time, however, serious problems and flaws have been exposed, yet in recent months the law's systemic problems have been trivialized or ignored by many. prgtoken Today, buying an insurance policy on the exchanges with high premiums, high copays, and most importantly, exceedingly high deductibles make the actual utilization of health benefits far costlier than originally advertised. prgtoken Americans were told repeatedly that the ACA would save up to $2,500 in premium payments per family per year. President said: ``I will sign a universal health care bill into law by the end of my first term as president that will cover every American and cut the cost of a typical family's premium by up to $2,500 a year.'' prgtoken That didn't happen--not even close. prgtoken Nationwide, since 2016, gross premiums before subsidies in the Bronze-priced tier rose a whopping 27 percent, silver 24 percent and gold 32 percent. prgtoken That should come as no surprise. As early as August 2012, Politifact found President 's promise to be untrue and labeled the statement a ``promise broken'' in a Politifact report entitled: NO cut in premiums for typical family. prgtoken Health insurance consumers were promised they could keep their insurance plan if they liked it and keep their trusted doctors as well. That didn't happen either. prgtoken As a matter of fact, several million were kicked off insurance plans they were very satisfied with--like my wife and I--only to be forced into an care plan that we didn't want and was more expensive. prgtoken Also, in New Jersey--like much of the nation--insurance companies are pulling out of the exchanges. Insurers continue to exit the individual market and the exchange has experienced a net loss of 88 insurers. Today, five states only have one insurer option. At home, last year five insurance carriers offered plans on the New Jersey exchange, today only two remain. The exodus of insurance companies from the individual market is an unsustainable and ominous trend. prgtoken , almost twice as many Americans have paid the financial penalty--pursuant to what is euphemistically called the ``individual mandate''--for not buying a health insurance plan--or have received an exemption from the individual mandate as those who have actually purchased a plan through the exchange. By the numbers that means 19.2 million taxpayers either paid the individual mandate penalty or claimed an exemption, compared to 10.3 million individuals who paid for plans on the care exchanges. prgtoken care also increased taxes by about one trillion dollars. prgtoken For example, beginning in 2020, a new 40% excise tax on employer provided comprehensive health insurance
AMERICAN HEALTH CARE ACT OF 2017
Jeb Hensarling (Republican, TX) \u2014 2017-3-24

tragically, I receive correspondence every week like this. I heard from Rita in east Texas, who writes me: Since Care took effect, my insurance no longer covers my colonoscopies as preventative care. I now pay $1,000 and more out of pocket versus $100 outpatient fee. prgtoken I heard from Frances in the Dallas area near where I live. A few years ago she was tragically diagnosed with tonsil cancer. The good news is she had a good policy; $600-a-month premium and a maximum out of pocket of $3,500. But thanks to Care, her insurance company dropped her twice, and she wrote: They dropped me again because they are leaving the Dallas market. prgtoken Her premiums and deductibles doubled. She lost her oncologist, and she writes that this is all because of Care, the Affordable Care Act. prgtoken I heard from Tonya in Van Zandt County, in my district: We had five family members covered by insurance at around $800 a month until Care. Our insurance premiums skyrocketed to $1,500 a month, equivalent to a house payment, with a $15,000 deductible, and we cannot see the doctors that know our medical history. Repeal it. I should not be forced to pay for something I cannot use. This has been a nightmare. prgtoken , Care has been a nightmare. It is collapsing as we speak. People are losing their coverages. Insurance plans are pulling out of States and counties. Tens of millions of our fellow countrymen have been forced to buy health insurance plans they cannot afford, they do not want, and that do not work for them. prgtoken Right here, right now, we have a choice: failed Care or the American Health Care Act that begins the process of providing Americans with guaranteed access to quality, affordable, patient-centered health care. prgtoken It clearly advances the cause of freedom, and all Members should support it and end the nightmare of Care.
AMERICAN HEALTH CARE ACT IS A WAY FORWARD
Doug LaMalfa (Republican, CA) \u2014 2017-3-24

as we contemplate the American Health Care Act, here are a few things we do know: prgtoken The Affordable Care Act, as it is called, has driven premiums for working families up and up each year. There are fewer choices of plans, especially in rural America, and 8 million and rising people are choosing not to opt to be enrolled at all, paying the penalty instead. prgtoken Premiums will keep going up, as projected. Even more will drop out, and more will pay the penalty instead. More will become uninsured. prgtoken This death spiral is not choice; it is not an American value. prgtoken , as the American Health Care Act moves forward, we know the will not be helpful, as they are clinging to the failing ACA at all costs. We know that middle-income families are begging us for relief and more choices. We know this bill represents the best chance to achieve cost relief, actual choices, while also keeping the commitment under Medicaid to children in need with reauthorizing the bipartisan SCHIP later this year. prgtoken More affordable options come about with unshackling what the ACA has wrought. It is this or that. prgtoken , we must keep this dialogue, this option, this bill, the American Health Care Act, as a way forward to bring choices and relief to Americans who have worked for the American Dream and are feeling like they are losing it. prgtoken Let's keep our pledge and help President keep his pledge by taking this one of three important steps with the American Health Care Act.
AMERICAN HEALTH CARE ACT OF 2017
Adrian Smith (Republican, NE) \u2014 2017-3-24

I rise today in support of H.R. 1628, the American Health Care Act of 2017. This legislation is the first step in a process to unravel Care's taxes and mandates and provide relief to the American people. prgtoken To understand the extent of Care's failures and their impact on hardworking Americans and their families, just look at the rapid collapse of Care's Consumer-Operated and Oriented Plans, or CO- OPs. prgtoken The story of these failed Care CO-OPs began in my home State of Nebraska, with the abrupt collapse of CoOportunity Health, which left 120,000 Nebraskans and Iowans without health insurance. I repeat: It left 120,000 Nebraskans and Iowans without health insurance. prgtoken CoOportunity Health was the first Care CO-OP to collapse, but it wasn't long before 18 more followed suit, closing their doors and leaving hundreds of thousands more without health insurance. Only 4 of the 23 CO-OPs created under Care actually remain, and these remaining 4 will likely face the same fate as they continue to struggle with dire financial challenges. prgtoken Americans were falsely promised, if they liked their insurance, they could keep it. After complying with Care's mandates, many Nebraskans could not even keep the insurance this law created. prgtoken One of my constituents in western Nebraska, Pam, who is self- employed, lost her insurance four times under Care. Prior to Care's implementation, she had a plan she liked and that actually covered her preexisting condition. She was forced off of that original plan when Care began and then lost her coverage three more times through no fault of her own. prgtoken For Pam and millions of others across the country, Care has severely limited options for affordable care. This is simply unsustainable. Constituents in rural districts like mine are being hit the hardest by Care's dwindling insurance markets. Because of Care, Nebraskans are down to only two insurers from which to choose, and other rural areas are down to only one or even zero providers on their exchanges. prgtoken Adding insult to injury, according to the administration's own report on the individual market, 2017 premiums in Nebraska increased by 51 percent.
AMERICAN HEALTH CARE ACT OF 2017
Chris Collins (Republican, NY) \u2014 2017-3-24

today is a historic day, make no mistake about it. The American Health Care Act changes the trajectory of health policy in this country. Here are just a few of the highlights: prgtoken This bill eliminates the individual mandate penalty; eliminates the employer mandate penalty; eliminates the Care subsidies in 2020; eliminates Care tax increases; eliminates insurance mandates so we can lower premiums; provides refundable tax credits for individuals and families who do not get their health insurance through their employer or the government, and allows them to choose the health care that works for them; almost doubles the contribution limits prgtoken for health savings accounts; provides $115 billion for the Patient and State Stability Fund to lower patient cost and stabilize the insurance market; and enacts the most significant reforms to Medicaid in history, ensuring that Medicaid is sustainable and available for the most vulnerable among us for generations to come. prgtoken The American Health Care Act is a monumental step toward freedom, choice, and individual responsibility in health care. prgtoken , I will proudly vote for this bill today, and I urge all of my colleagues to do the same.
PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 1628, AMERICAN HEALTH CARE ACT OF 2017
Rob Woodall (Republican, GA) \u2014 2017-3-24

I appreciate all the hard work the Rules Committee chairman has done in this bill I have the great pleasure of serving on the Rules Committee, but I am the designee to the Budget Committee. prgtoken This whole process that we are going through is a Budget Committee process. It is called reconciliation. And as folks have talked about it, they have talked about what the Ways and Means Committee has done and what the Energy and Commerce Committee did. But then those two bills come together in the Budget Committee, and we move the process forward. prgtoken I can't help but notice my colleagues' frustration with the amendments that have been made to this bill along the way. Generally, we celebrate amendments that are made along the way because they improve the work product. We do them together. prgtoken I point here, , to a tweet that the President sent out the day the healthcare bill was introduced. The President said: ``Our wonderful new HealthCare Bill is now out for review and negotiation.'' prgtoken And that was true. It was out for review so everyone could read it, and it was out for negotiation so that everyone could improve it. prgtoken We did that in the Budget Committee. We had four motions to instruct that passed in the Budget Committee to provide Medicaid flexibility, to make sure the tax credits were targeted to the right populations, to ensure that able-bodied, working Americans had those incentives to both get health care and be able to go back to work. prgtoken Now, every committee didn't have that experience. As my colleagues have asked for a bipartisan process, you will remember that the Energy and Commerce Committee spent 10 hours debating the title of the bill. They spent 10 hours debating ic amendments to change the title of the bill. Folks, we have opportunity after opportunity to make things better, but it is incumbent upon us to choose that opportunity to make things better. prgtoken So often we get wrapped around the partisan action. Folks let that opportunity slip away. I am glad that we didn't do that. prgtoken , when I talk about what we did in the Budget Committee to make it better, I am talking about focusing on the real problems. There is not a member in this body that doesn't understand that what is contributing to the Care death spiral is that young people are not enrolling. Young people are not enrolling. prgtoken More Americans rejected Care and filed for an exemption or agreed to pay the penalty than enrolled in Care. I don't care how big your heart was when you passed the bill, you have to concede that wasn't what you intended. And we can do better. prgtoken My friends are talking about the essential health benefits plan today. Young people are particularly sensitive to that. They are price sensitive in that way. We are talking in the Budget Committee about how to preserve that flexibility for States to design plans that are right for them. prgtoken
AMERICAN HEALTH CARE ACT OF 2017
Mark Sanford (Republican, SC) \u2014 2017-3-24

I want to make clear that I agree with what every speaker has said thus far on the need to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. I want to say how much I admire the and the leadership team, President and his team, Chairwoman Black, and others on the Budget Committee for what they have brought to bear. prgtoken My simple question is one of timing. What I tell my boys consistently is: If you don't know, you don't go. prgtoken One of the things that I think we have to really look at in this bill is one of process. It does do a lot of good things, as has been pointed out by the speakers, but it still leaves in place community rating. It leaves in place the architecture, I think, of a flawed bill that came with the Affordable Care Act. prgtoken The question is: Can we build on top of that to do the very good things that are talked about in this bill, or do we take just a little bit more time to make certain that we have it right? prgtoken I think that when you look at this notion of lowering premiums, look at it like rent control in New York. Rent control in New York has done a lot of good for some folks, but it has hurt a lot of others in the process. prgtoken The question we fundamentally have to ask ourselves is: At this juncture, can we make the changes necessary?
AMERICAN HEALTH CARE ACT OF 2017
Kristi L. Noem (Republican, SD) \u2014 2017-3-24

it is no surprise that the today are upset, that they are complaining that they don't like this bill, because their number one goal all along, and I have heard them say it to me in conversations over the years, their number one goal was to go to a single-payer system. They wanted government-run health care, and we are on the track to that today. prgtoken In fact, in my home State of South Dakota, at one time, we had 17 options and companies that people could shop for their healthcare policies from. Today we have two. prgtoken We are well down our road now to giving them exactly what they want. They hate this bill because it puts people back in control of their own health care. It doesn't let some bureaucrat in Washington, D.C decide what treatment they can get in the future. It lets people decide that with their doctors. prgtoken This is a vote, today, for freedom for people who have lived under the bureaucracy of the Federal Government not giving them options on how to take care of themselves and their families. prgtoken Rising costs, shrinking options, increasing bureaucracy under Care has taken healthcare control away from patients, away from people, away from families struggling to pay their bills; and, against their best and own common sense and household budgets, they are forced to pay $10,000, $15,000, $20,000 more per year for health coverage, health coverage which has a deductible so high that they don't even utilize it then because they can no way meet the $6,500 deductible, $10,000 deductible, $12,000 deductible. So they don't even use it at all if they do have it. Their stories are reflected in all the data that we have seen. prgtoken One hundred percent of the healthcare options on healthcare.gov in South Dakota have seen double-digit rate increases. Meanwhile, the number of providers families have to choose from has gotten much, much worse. prgtoken We have a responsibility to eliminate Care's individual and employer mandates, which today's legislation does. It also abolishes the taxes that were included in Care, up to $1 trillion of taxes that were put on health care in order to pay for the bill, which will be eliminated as well. prgtoken If left in place, the health insurance tax alone will raise costs on families up to $5,000 over the next decade. prgtoken Bipartisan congressional Members have repeatedly opposed taxpayer funding of abortions, and that is fixed in this bill as well. prgtoken When we talk about health care, we are talking about something very personal, which is why I want patients put back in control.
AMERICAN HEALTH CARE ACT OF 2017
John J. Faso (Republican, NY) \u2014 2017-3-24

I wanted to point out to my colleagues that a fundamental change is being made with the new health law we have before us, and that is, we are, for the first time, equalizing the treatment of people who do not have employer-provided health care. prgtoken Those of us who have employer-provided health care, 170 million Americans, that is not a taxable event for them. It is not a taxable event where they have to pay tax at the end of the year on the value of that employer-provided health care. prgtoken And yet, if you are the person who does not have employer-provided health care, if you are the husband and wife with two kids making 45 or $50,000, and your employer does not provide health care, you receive absolutely no tax subsidy through the Tax Code. prgtoken This bill, through the advance refundable tax credits, will, for the first time, give someone the choice to buy health care and give them the opportunity and the means to buy health care that they previously have not had. It is not a markedly important distinction, frankly, from the Affordable Care Act, where you only could buy the health care through an exchange-approved policy. prgtoken This policy, under this legislation today, will allow someone the flexibility and the freedom to buy a policy of their choosing, not one dictated by Washington. So that is a fundamental important distinction between the status quo and what this legislation would offer. prgtoken , and my colleagues, I urge support for the bill. It is not perfect, as we all know, but it is something that is long overdue. prgtoken I would also point out that the numbers that my colleague from Kentucky uses are really based upon fantasy. Those numbers are simply incorrect, and the people of our State and our country will have health care under the provisions of this bill, and we will work hard to ensure that they do.
AMERICAN HEALTH CARE ACT OF 2017
Fred Upton (Republican, MI) \u2014 2017-3-24

you know, there is an old Upton family quote that my grandfather would always say: Was you always perfect? No, none of us are. prgtoken And you know what? This is not a perfect bill. That is for sure. But Care is broken. One out of three counties has only one provider, and it looks like it is going to get worse as other major insurance companies are on the verge of pulling the plug. prgtoken Nearly two dozen of the nonprofit CO-OPS have already gone belly up. In my home State, folks saw their premiums increase by nearly 17 percent. Some States have had premium increases of more than 100 percent. Most had double-digit increases, many over 20 percent, and some forecast 40 to 50 percent increases come fall if nothing happens. prgtoken The calls on both sides of the aisle have often used the R word--on this side, ``replace''; on your side, the ic side, ``repair.'' Let's both agree. The status quo is not acceptable. But this, this bill, is the only train leaving the station. Is it going to improve if it gets to the Senate? Of course it will. We should all work for that goal. prgtoken For me, I worked with Medicaid expansion States like Michigan providing a reasonable transition until 2020 and then grandfathering all those folks until they are off. Some of my colleagues called to end Medicaid expansion even this year. They want total repeal. prgtoken What would total repeal mean? Total repeal would mean taking away the ability of HHS to provide flexibility to the States to administer this critical program. It would mean taking away insurance for young kids on their parents' policies. It would reinstall a cap on insurance. And, yes, it would allow insurance companies to discriminate against those with preexisting illnesses. prgtoken This bill still allows all of those important protections to stay in place. A number of us will continue to work with HHS to provide even more flexibility to States like Michigan. This has to be a key component of moving forward. prgtoken At the end of the day, I would like to think that we could work together on a bipartisan basis. High premiums and a lack of access impact us all. Let's work together. You can't get to second base unless you get to first.
AMERICAN HEALTH CARE ACT OF 2017
Tom Reed (Republican, NY) \u2014 2017-3-24

I rise today in support of this legislation. I ask my colleagues on the other side of the aisle--as I stood in front of town halls and I listened to thousands of folks across my district say what we should be working on is fixing the Affordable Care Act to a T, I have heard my colleagues on the other side of the aisle say: It is not perfect; we need to repair it. prgtoken Yet, today we take the first step in this endeavor by the legislation that is before us, and all we hear is how bad this legislation is. All we hear today, , is how bad this first step in this journey for the American people we need to go on when it comes to American health care is. prgtoken I don't hear rhetoric saying let us talk about phase 2, let us talk about phase 3, where we can come together as and s for the people we represent. prgtoken The American people are lost in this bickering that we have here in this Chamber today, but I don't forget their voice. I am not going to forget the voice of the constituents that came to me as small-business owners saying: You are putting me out of business with these insurance premiums. They are going through the roof. prgtoken I won't forget the faces of the people who are saying: My copays are going through the roof. My deductibles are higher. I don't have coverage that I had 7 years, 8 years ago before Care. prgtoken , I implore all of us in this Chamber to work together for the American people as a whole. The American people want freedom. They don't want mandates. They want to choose the insurance that works best for them. They want to access their doctors that they select. They want to have the promise that was made to them, that they could have their insurance and keep it going forward honored and respected by this institution. That is what our legislation starts today. prgtoken Not a soul on our side of the aisle says the issue of health care will go away because of the first step we take today, because we have to do better for the American people when it comes not only to health insurance, but for health care in America. I know we can, and I want to be a voice to say let us join together to get this done for the American people.