On the recordMarch 21, 2010
Madam Speaker, when you build a house, you have to first put down a foundation. Today, we are laying a foundation for a health care system that will provide every American with access to high quality health care; a foundation that will immediately ban insurance companies from dropping people from coverage when they get sick, people like my childhood friend who lost his insurance when he got prostate cancer and later died too young; a foundation that will, beginning this year, give tax credits to small businesses so they can offer affordable coverage to their employees; a foundation that will now give parents of young adults the ability to keep their kids on their policies while they start their careers; a foundation that will finally give adults with preexisting conditions the ability to buy affordable insurance. And starting right away, insurance companies cannot exclude children, like my own young daughter, Francesca, who have chronic conditions such as diabetes or asthma, from coverage. Madam Speaker, this bill is just a foundation. We need to build on it, but it's a strong foundation.
