On the recordMarch 21, 2010
I stand today in strong support of the health care reform the American people so desperately need. American families and small businesses--not insurance companies-- deserve control over their health care decisions. The bill we are debating today will: Lower insurance costs--and hold insurance companies accountable. End denial of coverage for pre-existing conditions. Provide coverage to 32 million uninsured Americans. Close the Medicare Doughnut Hole--so seniors will be able to afford the coverage they need. Eliminate waste in our current system--and lower the deficit by $138 billion over 10 years; and $1.2 trillion over the next 20 years. And allow young adults to stay on their parents' insurance coverage until the age of 26. Health care reform is an issue that affects every single American-- but is especially important to our Hispanic American community. Forty-one percent of Hispanics over the age of 18 lack health coverage. We must do better--and with this bill--we will. Twenty-one percent of older Hispanics suffer from diabetes--compared to only 14 percent of non-Hispanic whites. The preventive care this bill provides will lower this disparity. This truly is a historic time. In 1935 we passed Social Security. In 1965, we passed Medicare. Today--we pass a health care reform that will save millions of lives--shrink our deficit, and put our nation on a path to prosperity.
