Charles Norwood: “I detect, as we go into this debate, some frustration on the other side of the aisle from those who would have…”

“I detect, as we go into this debate, some frustration on the other side of the aisle from those who would have federalized health care in this country just 2 years ago or socialized medicine. But, Mr. Speaker, I am going to rise today in support of this rule and this conference report. While this version of H.R. 3103 does not include many of the provisions I think that are necessary to really increase access to health care, this bill is the best bill we could get in this Congress with this President. During this debate, I have been amazed at how political the right thing to do can become. Rather than doing what we need to do, some Members of this Congress delayed consideration of this bill for months. I assume they were afraid to cede power from the Federal Government to the people. This is unfortunate. Mr. Speaker, I am going to continue to fight for what is right. We need tort reform, expanded access to medical savings accounts, small employer pooling and other options meant to provide access to lower cost health care. This bill does make health care more available and affordable for millions of Americans without a government take over of health care.”