Barbara Kennelly: “today we have a choice. We can take a simple, single step to ensure people who can change their jobs or lose their jobs…”

“today we have a choice. We can take a simple, single step to ensure people who can change their jobs or lose their jobs that they can take their health insurance with them. Or we can let this simple, necessary piece of legislation get totally complicated in a maze of complications. It cannot be said too often. Everybody agrees that individuals who change their job should be able to take their health insurance with them. People who are in a job should not be locked in that job because they are afraid they will lose their health insurance. The President agrees. He said, I will sign Kennedy-Kassebaum, it is a good first beginning in health care reform. The other body agrees. They have passed a bipartisan piece of legislation. The House Democrats agree. We will offer a substitute today that contains the Kennedy-Kassebaum bill. It is a clean, a good bill. Even some House Republicans agree. The substitute that we will introduce today was introduced originally by a Republican. Mr. Speaker, there is one problem. Some people are not satisfied with fixing this problem. They want to add 10 new provisions in health care reform, 10 new insurance provisions that are too complicated. Pass the Kennedy-Kassebaum bill, begin health care reform.”