mesut/congress_speeches huggingface dataset:
AMERICAN HEALTH CARE ACT OF 2017
Greg Walden (Republican, OR) \u2014 2017-3-24

10 seconds before from Michigan. prgtoken I would just suggest that the American people are very smart. Unfortunately, under Care, 19.2 million Americans said: I am not going to buy Care. I am going to pay a penalty to the IRS instead. prgtoken You see, we are trying to fix it so they will want to buy it. prgtoken I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Upton).
AMERICAN HEALTH CARE ACT OF 2017
Tim Walberg (Republican, MI) \u2014 2017-3-24

for 7 years, I have heard story after story from people in my district about how the Affordable Care Act is anything but affordable. prgtoken Families and small businesses are paying more for less, and insurers are dropping out of the marketplaces, leaving behind fewer options. Government-run health care isn't working, and we are repealing and replacing Care like we promised our constituents we would do. prgtoken The American Health Care Act is the first step of a three-step process to repair our broken healthcare system. This bill moves power away from Washington and puts doctors and patients at the center of their healthcare decisions. It reforms and strengthens Medicaid and gives States the flexibility to innovate and best meet the needs of their citizens. prgtoken This patient-centered approach will bring costs down, increase choice and competition, and provide important protections for patients with preexisting conditions. prgtoken , these are the types of things we promised, and doing nothing is not an option. May I remind my colleague from the other side of the aisle: I have seen those numbers. My constituents will not simply walk away and do nothing just because the other side says that they will be uncovered. Now they will have a choice. Those thousands of people will not walk away. They will choose something better for them. There will be thousands of people that have insurance that covers their needs, and not what, , my colleague says they will do. They are not that stupid. They won't walk away.
AMERICAN HEALTH CARE ACT OF 2017
Earl L. "Buddy" Carter (Republican, GA) \u2014 2017-3-24

I am joyous to be here today on such a historical day. You see, for the past 7 years, I have practiced in Care, I have practiced under Care, and I have practiced in that setting; and I can tell you that what it promised, it has not delivered on. prgtoken There has not been increased accessibility, no. Instead of that, we have got five States in our country that only have one plan to offer. We have a third of the counties in our country that only have one plan to offer. We have 16 counties in Tennessee that don't even have a plan, and now we are going to have the opportunity to have access. Now we are going to have choice. prgtoken We have also been told about affordability. Well, let's talk about affordability. We see what Care did. It increased premiums 25 percent this year alone; 50 percent in seven States. That is unsustainable. prgtoken What is our plan going to do? prgtoken It is going to give affordability. It is going to give competition. We are going to have choices. prgtoken And what else? prgtoken It is going to remove red tape. It is going to remove the barriers between healthcare professionals and patients. It is going to empower patients. That is what health care in America is about: people making healthcare decisions with their healthcare practitioners. That is what we are going to do. That is what this does. prgtoken The two worst things that Care did to the healthcare system in America, first of all, is it took the free market out of America. It took the free market out of health care in America. It also expanded Medicaid, a safety net program that was intended for the aged, the blind, the disabled, children, and mothers, and extended it to able- bodied adults--something that it was never intended to do. prgtoken , I look forward to hearing how many people in my district are going to be empowered now from the gentleman from New Jersey.
PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 1628, AMERICAN HEALTH CARE ACT OF 2017
Tom Cole (Republican, OK) \u2014 2017-3-24

I thank the gentleman from Texas for his remarkable leadership in this important debate. prgtoken Seven years ago, I was on this floor and I heard that, if you liked your plan, you could keep it. I heard, if you liked your doctor, you could keep that doctor. And I heard that healthcare costs were going to drop by $2,500 per family. None of it was true. prgtoken I sit here now and look at my State, and I know what is happening next year. The rates on the Care exchanges are going up by 69 percent. We are down to a single provider. That is what 7 years ago brought us. prgtoken Today we have a chance to do something different, and everybody from my State will do something different. They will vote for a plan that actually does what it says it is going to do. Number one, they will be able to actually have plans that are designed by Oklahomans, not by bureaucrats in Washington, D.C. They will be able to have a tax credit, if they are not already insured under Medicaid or Medicare or from their employer. They will be able to have an individual tax credit to purchase a plan that they design, that they like. They will be free of the mandates of Care, free to make their own decisions, free of the mandates that require them to buy insurance products that they simply don't need. prgtoken I have got a lot of people in my district that are in their fifties and sixties. Some of them might like to have children again, but they are not likely to have children again, and they mostly don't want maternity care. prgtoken So it is a pretty simple choice for us. It is a choice to be free and make our own decisions. It is a choice to design our own plans. It is a choice to have Federal assistance where we need it, but to be used under our direction. It is an easy choice. prgtoken I urge the passage of this rule, and I urge the passage of the underlying legislation.
AMERICAN HEALTH CARE ACT OF 2017
Steve King (Republican, IA) \u2014 2017-3-24

I want to thank the chairman for yielding to me. prgtoken Seven years ago today, I brought the first repeal of Care here to this Congress. Forty words, to rip it out by the roots as if such act had never been enacted. I would like to be here today passing the full repeal of Care. We are not, but this is the first bite at the repeal apple in a process to hopefully get all of this thing done in one day. prgtoken If I thought we could do it all in one bite, I would stand for that, but instead, here is what we have got. We have got a $1 trillion tax cut. We have got a $1.15 trillion spending cut. We have got a $150 billion deficit reduction. We have got a bill that eliminates the employer mandate, eliminates the individual mandate, and it eliminates Federal mandates in the essential health benefits package of those 10 mandates--that I despise, by the way. prgtoken It expands health savings accounts--doubles them--it allows for us to pass selling insurance across State lines, and it enables catastrophic health insurance. That is a pretty good list, and that is the list of things that I am going to support here when this goes up for a vote. prgtoken , I urge its adoption.
AMERICAN HEALTH CARE ACT OF 2017
Neal P. Dunn (Republican, FL) \u2014 2017-3-24

I rise to repeal Care by supporting the American Health Care Act. We are here to take health care back from the bureaucrats and give it to the people. prgtoken The previous administration enacted Care, and we saw its effects: higher premiums, less choice, lost coverage, and broken promises. The deductibles are so high it is like not having insurance at all. prgtoken The people who sent me to Congress sent me with strict orders: End this law. And on the American Health Care Act, I can report, it does. prgtoken With this bill, the Federal Government no longer forces you to buy a product you can't use and don't want. The individual mandate is gone, so is the job-killing employer mandate. Gone are a host of taxes on prescription meds, over-the-counter drugs, insurance premiums, and lifesaving medical devices. prgtoken It ends Care's Medicaid expansion, and it puts Medicaid on a budget and focuses State efforts on those people truly in need. This is the biggest entitlement reform in a generation. prgtoken Of course the bill is not perfect. There is more to do. But I spent 30 years as a surgeon. In medicine, as in life, you do not get to choose the perfect option. You learn not to make perfect the enemy of great. prgtoken With this vote we decide whether Care is our healthcare future or not. We can live with its failures and broken promises or create a market-based system that actually lowers the cost of health care and serves patients, not bureaucrats. prgtoken So I support the American Health Care Act, , and I urge that all Members do the same.
AMERICAN HEALTH CARE ACT OF 2017
Roger Marshall (Republican, KS) \u2014 2017-3-24

Kansas voters sent me to fix health care. Doing nothing is not an option. I cannot sit here idly while the ACA destroys and bankrupts America's healthcare system. prgtoken This bill eliminates nearly a trillion dollars of taxes. This bill eliminates funding for Planned Parenthood. This bill will save many hospitals in Kansas from closing by increasing funding for Medicare patients. This bill allots $100 billion for high-risk pools. This bill specifies another $15 billion specifically for maternity coverage, which is near and dear to my heart; newborn care; mental health care; and substance abuse disorders. prgtoken , this is the best bill that we can get through this process. I am excited to be part of it. This is the first chapter of a new book, with many more chapters to come. We will fix health care.
PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 1628, AMERICAN HEALTH CARE ACT OF 2017
Liz Cheney (Republican, WY) \u2014 2017-3-24

there are a lot of charges and allegations being made about what this bill would do, and the reality, , is we are living today in the world that they have created on the other side of this aisle. We are living today in a world with skyrocketing costs, plummeting choices, and broken promises across the board. prgtoken When you talk about the situation with respect to women in particular, when you talk about what is going to happen with maternity care and with child care, , there is a fundamental difference between what they believe on that side of the aisle and what we believe over here. prgtoken What we believe over here is that every American--every individual, and in that, we s include women--we think women ought to have the right to make their own choices and their own decisions about care. We know that the kinds of insurance--the so-called insurance--that has been provided under Care means that women have been denied access to things like maternity care. When you can only get a policy with a $6,000 deductible, that is not care and that is not insurance. prgtoken This bill today is fundamental to being able to keep our promises to the American people, to being able to ensure that we have returned authority, we have returned power, and, yes, resources into the hands of individuals so people in Wyoming--in my home State--and all across this country can make their own healthcare decisions and no longer be forced to purchase things they don't want, don't need, and can't use to get coverage.
AMERICAN HEALTH CARE ACT OF 2017
Jackie Walorski (Republican, IN) \u2014 2017-3-24

I rise today in strong support of the American Health Care Act. prgtoken Yesterday marked 7 years since the Care law was signed into law. For 7 years, we have seen the same pattern: rising premiums, dwindling options, broken promises, and a collapsing system. prgtoken In the State of Indiana, four insurers left the Care exchange just this year in the past 3 months, forcing 68,000 Hoosiers to shop for a new plan, making it even harder for them to choose and keep their doctor. prgtoken But today we have the opportunity to repeal Care and replace it with a patient-centered system, lowering costs, increasing choices, and providing real protection. prgtoken This legislation dismantles Care's burdensome taxes, mandates, and the job-killing medical device tax. prgtoken It gives individuals and families access to quality, affordable health care through refundable tax credits and expanded health savings accounts. prgtoken It provides resources for States to tailor solutions to the needs of their citizens, protecting women's health, addressing the opioid crisis. prgtoken It gives States flexibility to implement innovative reforms. prgtoken It allows my home State to continue building on its patient-centered Healthy Indiana Plan. prgtoken It protects patients with preexisting conditions and ensures a stable transition so no one has the rug pulled out from underneath them. prgtoken With the American Health Care Act, we are delivering on our promise and acting on the policies of President . This bill is just the first step in a three-part effort to repair our Nation's healthcare system. Coupled with administrative actions and additional legislation, the AHCA will lower costs and build a marketplace with real choices instead of a one-size-fits-all plan. prgtoken , 7 years of Care is long enough. Seven years of families seeing their premiums rise, plans canceled, and doctors dropped is enough. Today we can deliver on our promise and put our bold solutions into decisive action. The AHCA is a bill 7 years in the making. I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting it.
AMERICAN HEALTH CARE ACT OF 2017
Bob Goodlatte (Republican, VA) \u2014 2017-3-24

I want to tell you why I am supporting this legislation, the American Health Care Act. prgtoken Kaye, from Roanoke, contacted me about President 's promise that she could keep her health care. She shared that she received a letter from her insurer stating that her policy was going to increase by $600 per month--increase by $600 per month. Since she wasn't of age to be on Medicare but wasn't working because she was at home caring for her sick husband, she was frustrated with her situation. prgtoken Kaye couldn't afford the extra money she owed on top of the bills for her husband's medical treatment. She told me: ``So I will now have to pay the fine, drop my insurance, and hope I do not get sick.'' prgtoken I told Kay I would vote to repeal and replace Care. prgtoken A nurse from Warren County wrote to me: ``The care that I give my patients is founded on their ability to choose their course of care. We advocate every day for our patients to have more choices in their care, and it will be very painful for us to deny them those options and to deny them care.'' She asked me to stand against Care, and I told her I would. prgtoken Susan, from Bedford County, told me her health insurance premium increased 156 percent and her deductible increased 766 percent in just 2 years. She asked how we could make her pay such high rates. I told Susan I would vote to repeal Care. prgtoken , I told my constituents that I would stand for them to repeal this law that has hurt their ability to get the affordable care they want and need. Passing the American Health Care Act is the first step in repealing Care and replacing it with solutions that put patients first. I urge my fellow Members to support this bill. prgtoken Care has failed far too many in the Sixth District of Virginia. The status quo cannot continue.
AMERICAN HEALTH CARE ACT OF 2017
Glenn Grothman (Republican, WI) \u2014 2017-3-24

. Already a third of the counties only have one provider. If we don't pass this bill now, we are going to go into the next year and we are going find a lot of people who think they have Care but have nothing because there will be no providers left. prgtoken We have got to step in to save those people and provide insurance in those counties in which Care will leave no insurance companies remaining.
AMERICAN HEALTH CARE ACT OF 2017
David Loebsack (Democrat, IA) \u2014 2017-3-24

I am disheartened by what Congress is doing here today. prgtoken My number one goal has always been to ensure Iowans have access to quality, affordable care. This legislation does not do that. It implements an age tax, raising costs on older Americans. It cuts nearly $900 billion from the elderly, nursing homes, and disabled children. prgtoken This is unacceptable. Exactly those who need health coverage the most--middle class families, people with disabilities, and those who are less fortunate--are the ones who lose out in this bill. prgtoken I remain committed to working to improve healthcare coverage so it works better for Iowans and all Americans. We cannot go back to a time when Iowa families had to choose between putting food on the table and getting medical care for their children. Unfortunately, that is just what this bill does. prgtoken I urge my colleagues to vote this bill down.
PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 1628, AMERICAN HEALTH CARE ACT OF 2017
Susan A. Davis (Democrat, CA) \u2014 2017-3-24

it has been hard keeping up with all the changes over the last 24 hours. This process has been far from transparent. prgtoken The CBO released a revised score last night that said that the changes made to appease the Freedom Caucus will cost about $200 billion more without doing or adding anything to increase coverage. prgtoken So how is that possible? prgtoken The latest edition to this healthcare disaster, the elimination of minimum essential benefits, is something that I want to focus on very briefly. prgtoken This change hits women especially hard. Insurance companies will no longer have to cover maternity care, provide direct access to an OB/ GYN, or cover preventative services like cancer screening or birth control. prgtoken , do we call this a mommy tax? Is this a mommy tax to finance a millionaire tax cut? prgtoken I don't know. prgtoken Earlier this week, I gave my colleagues the opportunity to demonstrate their commitment to women's health in a related bill, and, , they didn't even allow a vote. I hear my colleagues claiming that these changes are about choice. Forcing women to pay more for the care they need is a choice I think we could do without. prgtoken , I urge opposition to this healthcare disaster.
PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 1628, AMERICAN HEALTH CARE ACT OF 2017
Gerald E. Connolly (Democrat, VA) \u2014 2017-3-24

I thank my friend from Massachusetts for yielding me this time. prgtoken The Hippocratic Oath says ``primum non nocere''; ``first, do no harm.'' prgtoken This bill violates the Hippocratic Oath in all respects. Twenty-four million people losing their health care, our friend from Wyoming thinks that is a choice? prgtoken A string of benefits required to be covered by insurance companies to protect consumers, to protect our loved ones when they get ill, vitiated. Maybe that is popular in some parts of this country, but I don't know where they are. This bill will unravel health care for all Americans. It is the wrong path to take, and I urge defeat of this legislation in its entirety. Parliamentary Inquiry
AMERICAN HEALTH CARE ACT OF 2017
Gene Green (Democrat, TX) \u2014 2017-3-24

this is outrageous. Care will rip health insurance from 24 million Americans, almost as many people who live in the State of Texas. prgtoken Care is a direct assault on the President's promise to the American people. It will saddle families across the country with massive health costs. It will lead to higher premiums, less benefits, and more people uninsured. prgtoken Under this bill, premiums increase 15 to 20 percent in each of the next 2 years. It will particularly be terrible for the near-elderly Americans because Care allows insurance companies to charge them five times higher than what others would pay for coverage. It destroys protections for Americans with preexisting conditions. It guts the essential benefits so consumers won't know what coverage they have. Plans would not have to cover things like emergency care, hospitalization, or even prescription drugs. prgtoken What do you do when you leave people with that? Junk plans that are insurance in name only. What is the point of having insurance if it doesn't cover anything? prgtoken For those who aren't one of the 24 million who lose insurance, many will be left with plans that are more expensive but don't have to cover things like prescription drugs or mental health and substance abuse. prgtoken This bill will make it harder for people to get treatment. It will destroy the Medicaid program, the bedrock of our social safety net that insures 74 million Americans, including children, pregnant women, and one in seven seniors on Medicare. prgtoken Care harms Medicare. It will make the program insolvent 3 years earlier, directly causes part B premiums to go up $8.7 billion, and takes away funds that seniors depend on for long-term care. It is impossible to overstate how terrible Care will be for the American people. prgtoken This is a dangerous bill. It is opposed by physician groups and hospital associations. prgtoken I urge my colleagues to vote ``no.''
AMERICAN HEALTH CARE ACT OF 2017
Mike Thompson (Democrat, CA) \u2014 2017-3-24

I rise in opposition to this bad bill. It is not a step toward fixing the ACA, this is a step toward destroying health care. It was bad when it ripped health care away from 24 million Americans. It was bad when it created an age tax, forcing seniors to pay five times that of what other people pay. It was bad when it forced hardworking Americans to pay higher premiums and deductibles while billionaires get a trillion dollars' worth of tax cuts. And it was bad when it shortened the life of Medicare. prgtoken But today it got worse. Today s gutted coverage for emergency services, prescription drugs, hospitalization, mental health coverage, and preventative coverage. This bill also prevents millions of veterans from getting health care. This is a truly bad bill. It will cost millions of Americans their health care. It will force them to pay more for fewer benefits, and it gives the richest Americans a huge tax cut. This is a tax-cut bill, not a healthcare bill. The American people deserve much better. I urge everyone to vote ``no'' on this bad bill.
TRUMPCARE IS A PRESCRIPTION FOR DISASTER
Betty McCollum (Democrat, MN) \u2014 2017-3-24

Care is a disaster for children, families, seniors, and people with disabilities. prgtoken The bill we are considering today has been strong-armed through this House with no public hearings. Today as we vote, we don't have an updated estimated cost from the Congressional Budget Office, but here is what we do know: prgtoken Under Care, families will pay more for their insurance premiums and their deductibles. prgtoken Under Care, older Americans will be forced to pay higher insurance premiums, five times higher than what others pay. prgtoken Under Care, health care for vulnerable children, seniors, and people with disabilities will be rationed. prgtoken Unbelievably, Care even attacks the solvency of Medicare. It will be weakened by giving big tax breaks to billionaires. prgtoken Care was made even worse overnight. Now insurance companies will be able to sell policies that exclude basic health care like cancer screening and preventative care and even some hospitalizations. prgtoken , this is not a healthcare bill. It is a prescription for disaster. I urge my colleagues to strongly oppose Care.