Nancy L. Johnson: “Mr. Speaker, this is a great day or night for Americans. Health security is important to every man, woman, and child.…”

“Mr. Speaker, this is a great day or night for Americans. Health security is important to every man, woman, and child. Tonight we take a giant step toward guaranteeing coverage, in spite of preexisting conditions, protecting millions of Americans and their families. I introduced the first insurance reform bill, and in fact, with our former colleague Rod Chandler, introduced the first legislation to enable small businesses to group together to provide lower cost insurance for businesses. Tonight we bring a lot of that thinking, 5 years old, to fruition, and for the first time, we are going to put on the President's desk a reform bill that will really directly affect the lives of our constituents and create for them the opportunity to move from job to job, developing their careers, without fear of losing health coverage for their spouse and children. This is, indeed, a giant step toward health security for all working Americans.”