Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, this body has attempted to repeal the health care law 41 times. The act's repeal or delay is being used as leverage in the current budget fight, but I just want to take a few minutes to remind people why we passed the health reform law in the first place. Let's remember the situation before ObamaCare became law. Clearly the status quo was not sustainable. The number one cause of personal bankruptcy in the United States was medical costs, and 60 percent of those who filed for bankruptcy had insurance. Forty-seven million Americans were without health care. Premiums were rising three times faster than wages, eating up more of our paychecks and bottom lines. The average family was already paying a hidden health care tax of over $1,000 annually in premiums as a direct result of subsidizing the cost of the uninsured. Small businesses were paying 18 percent more than larger employers for health insurance. People with preexisting conditions were denied coverage or thrown off their coverage when they got sick and needed it most. Senior citizens fell into the doughnut hole and had to pay hundreds of dollars out of pocket for their prescriptions. We cannot go back. We cannot repeal this essential law. We must move forward together and fix the very real problems with health care reform; but before we do that, we have to stop spreading falsehoods and set the record straight about what is in the law and what is not.…”