Mark Takano: “I want to begin my remarks by offering my thoughts and prayers to Majority Whip Steve Scalise and his family, as well as…”

“I want to begin my remarks by offering my thoughts and prayers to Majority Whip Steve Scalise and his family, as well as Special Agents David Bailey and Crystal Griner, and the two other members of our community who were injured in yesterday's attack. We are a family--from Members to staff, to the Capitol Police officers who keep us safe. Families have disagreements and arguments, but, in the end, we support each other. Speaker Ryan got it absolutely right yesterday: an attack on one of us is an attack on all of us. We owe it to the American people to hold a vigorous and public debate of our ideas, but we also owe it to them and to each other to do so without losing touch with our humanity. With that in mind, Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 2372, which would protect access to tax credits for up to 7 million veterans on the American Health Care Act. However, I am concerned by the process that led to this legislation. In testimony to the Rules Committee and on the House floor, I described this loophole in the bill that jeopardizes access to tax credits for veterans who are eligible but not enrolled in the VA. Repeatedly, supporters of the AHCA told me that veterans' tax credits would be protected by existing regulation. This bill is evidence that the loophole is an issue and that the existing regulation would no longer apply if the Affordable Care Act was repealed.…”