Political Quotes

“There are a number of ways that we can improve upon the Affordable Care Act. One of the ones that I would like to highlight that we could be bringing here to the floor today that the Senate already passed is comprehensive immigration reform. H.R. 15 here in the House, a bipartisan bill that I am confident would pass if brought to the floor, would finally make a dent in the fact that there are more than 10 million people here in this country illegally, the vast majority of whom don't have any access to health insurance. So American citizens are essentially being forced to pay for the health care costs of people who are here illegal every day until we pass comprehensive immigration reform. We are wondering why rates are going up. It is no surprise, Mr. Speaker. When somebody doesn't have insurance, their costs are shifted on to other people who do. Now, yes, there are Americans who don't have insurance, and the Affordable Care Act helps increase the access that many Americans have to insurance, but it doesn't do a thing about the fact that there are more than 10 million people here illegally in this country in violation of our laws who do not have health care insurance. If we can pass H.R. 15, Mr. Speaker, people who are here illegally will have to get insurance on their own instead of forcing Americans to pay for their insurance. I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on this rule, defeat the previous question. I yield back the balance of my time.”