Doris Matsui: “I thank the gentlewoman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to this rule. For months, House Republicans have…”

“I thank the gentlewoman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to this rule. For months, House Republicans have delayed action to fund CHIP and community health centers. These programs are critical in our communities and cannot survive without this funding. {time} 1315 They have always been bipartisan, but, unfortunately, the bill before us today is not. Instead of working with us, Republicans have focused on TrumpCare and sabotaged the ACA. Now they have put forward this bill full of poison pills that will only further delay funding these critical public health programs, and to turn what has been traditionally a bipartisan process into a political game does a disservice to families. H.R. 3922 eliminates the ACA's Prevention and Public Health Fund which helps people in my district and other districts get vaccines, prevent diabetes, and combat heart disease. The reason we put the preservation fund in the ACA in the first place was to reorient our health system towards prevention, which ultimately saves money and keeps people healthier. We all want to ensure kids have the insurance that they need to access affordable care, but slashing benefits that will in the long term hurt the very children and families that CHIP and the community health centers help, as this bill does, is the wrong way to go. Through its cuts to the Prevention Fund, this legislation is another attempt by Republicans to undermine the ACA.…”