On the recordMarch 24, 2017
Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Recently, President Trump said: Who knew that health care could be so complicated? Well, 70 years ago, Harry Truman knew how complicated it could be when he first proposed national health insurance. Lyndon Johnson knew more than 50 years ago when he proposed, successfully, Medicare and Medicaid. Richard Nixon knew when he proposed the individual mandate. Bob Dole knew when he proposed the individual mandate. In Massachusetts, Mitt Romney knew when he proposed the individual mandate. Mr. Speaker, recently, within the last week, the great on-the-street writer, Jimmy Breslin, died. Amongst the great columns and the great books he wrote, one of them that he wrote that will be with us in a timeless manner was ``The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight.'' That is what this institution has been like for the last 10 days. There were caucuses and there were conferences. People were running back and forth with new CBO scores and coming back to the floor with new proposals. Members are put in the position of being offered special arrangements so that they might be brought over the goal line--that, after 61 times they have voted in this House to try to repeal the Affordable Care Act.…





