On the recordMarch 16, 2010
In listening to this debate back and forth, I can't help but be struck by the fact that many of the arguments from the other side of the aisle are simply not arguments against this health care bill. I have heard people rail against a government takeover of health care. Well, this bill actually helps reduce the number of people that depend on government programs for their health care. This bill will help end reliance on government for health care. I have heard people say that this is somehow a rush to get to a bill. Well, we have been working on this for well over a year. When we first started over a year ago, I had calls to my office saying, 'Why are you going so quickly? Why don't you slow down and get it right?' Now I am getting a lot of calls to my office saying, 'Pass health care already. It's all you've been talking about.' It is time to pass this bill because what is in it is popular with the American people: letting kids and young people stay on their parents' policy until they are 26, ending pricing discrimination based upon preexisting conditions, helping make insurance more affordable for people who are self-employed and in small businesses. That is what is in this bill, and that is what the American people support.





