Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentlewoman from Colorado (Ms. DeGette), the coauthor of the legislation. Ms. DeGETTE. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of the Dr. Michael C. Burgess Preventive Health Savings Act. A great frustration for those of us who work a lot on healthcare policy is the difficulty in accurately predicting the cost of preventive care. Right now, as you heard from my coauthor of the bill, Dr. Burgess, when Congress looks at the cost and benefits of preventive healthcare, we only look at a 10-year window. That is true even when the savings associated with preventive care would accrue 15, 20, 30 years in the future. That is why Dr. Burgess and I wrote this bill, so that we could look at preventive care over a longer time frame and actually see the cost savings that it will give us. That will help us refocus our healthcare legislation on prevention rather than waiting until serious diseases occur. Preventive care averts illnesses, helps catch problems before they get too bad, and also saves lives. It has another benefit. It saves money. Therefore, Congress should be able to consider how preventive healthcare saves taxpayers' dollars when we prepare to vote on legislation. This bill provides a framework for committees to request an extended estimate for legislation related to preventive healthcare from the Congressional Budget Office.…”