Jim Costa: “I thank the gentleman from California (Mr. Garamendi) very much not only for the focus and the passion that he shows for…”

“I thank the gentleman from California (Mr. Garamendi) very much not only for the focus and the passion that he shows for this very important issue of trying to ensure that we have health care for all Americans, but also for the leadership he has demonstrated over the years. He and I have worked together in California on so many different issues. The Affordable Care Act, as we know, has provided health care for over 20 million Americans. Since its implementation over 6 years ago, the ACA in my district, which is Fresno, Madera, and Merced Counties, located in the San Joaquin Valley, has decreased the uninsured rate from 22 percent to 11 percent. It is cut in half. I have a marvelous, wonderful district that I take great pride in representing. It is one of the largest agricultural areas in the country. It has significant wealth, but, sadly, it has significant poverty. It is the combination of those two that make it a place where immigrants have come for decades--immigrants past and immigrants present--to make a better life for themselves. Mr. Speaker, 19,000 individuals in my district have received financial assistance and have been able to purchase coverage through the Covered California marketplace, and 121,000 individuals in my district are now covered by the Affordable Care Act's Medicaid expansion.…”