Debbie Dingell: “Mr. Chairman, the last 24 hours of game- playing with people's lives by the leadership has left a huge mark on the House…”

“Mr. Chairman, the last 24 hours of game- playing with people's lives by the leadership has left a huge mark on the House of Representatives. Let us look at the score card in the last 24 hours. This week, special interest groups have two wins and the American people have zero. Yesterday, with the energy people, the oil companies won; today, with the so-called patients' bill of rights, insurance companies, unfortunately, are going to win again. Under the House leadership bill and the so-called patients' bill of rights, many of our constituents are going to have to have their health care needs compromised. However, there are a few good things in this package. We have been working very hard to make sure our hospitals get prompt pay. In other words, the HMOs and the insurance companies have been holding back the monies to our hospitals. That is pure wrong. Our nurses and our health care people need the whistle-blower protection act, and that will be in there. But all in all, despite these good provisions, it is clear that special interests are the real winners in this deal. And I am sure of one thing: we need campaign finance reform to get the special interests out of this Congress. Oppose the Norwood amendment and support the Ganske-Dingell bill. It puts patients' interests first, not special interests.”