On the recordJanuary 19, 2011
I thank the gentleman for yielding. You know, the past year we have had an incredible national conversation about this issue, health care, and it has been robust and dynamic, and it has brought about a sense of clarity. You know, oftentimes we tell people, look, if you want to participate, participate in the ballot box. Make your voice heard. And I really don't think there's any arguing that last November people made their voices heard, and they said with real clarity that they want this bill repealed and they want it replaced with something that brings health care costs down and deals with preexisting conditions. Employers in my home State, Madam Speaker, just got hit hard with the new tax increase that got jammed through by the Illinois General Assembly. Seventy-four percent of employers in the Midwest have recently, in surveys, said that this bill that we're talking about repealing would have an adverse impact on their hiring decisions. Now, it's with no sense of irony that now-Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, when she was Speaker, said that we have to pass the bill so that you can see what's in it. Well, she did, and we do. And the American public does. And the American public said, Enough. They understand that what has to happen is that businesses have to be able to thrive and to hire and to grow and be dynamic.…





