Lois Capps: “I thank the ranking member of my subcommittee for yielding me time. Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong opposition to H.R.…”

“I thank the ranking member of my subcommittee for yielding me time. Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong opposition to H.R. 1217, a bill that would defund a key strategic investment in our Nation's long-term fiscal and physical health, the Prevention and Public Health Fund. Simply put, this fund is a critical effort to make our Nation healthier and, in turn, to bring down health care costs. This misguided bill would return our Nation to a system of ``sick care,'' a system that hasn't worked, rather than one focused on health and wellness. That's something we can't afford to do. We all know that health care costs are rising at an unsustainable rate. In fact, the Republican majority has cited these costs as a reason to propose ending Medicare as we know it, by turning it into a voucher program and by whacking away at poor people's health care by block-granting Medicaid. But one of the key drivers in entitlement spending growth is chronic disease, the exact problem addressed by this prevention fund. Yet this bill shortsightedly cuts back our efforts to reduce chronic illness and promote wellness programs. In California, we are putting these funds to work to slow the alarming rise in obesity rates, to train our next generation of public health professionals, to curb our tobacco use and improve our capacity to respond to disease outbreaks.…”