On the recordJuly 17, 2013
Let me thank you, Mr. McDermott, for yielding time, and thank you for you leadership on this issue. I've watched you for years doing your work, and you are consistent. I thank you so very much. Mr. Speaker, I am opposed to this bill. You know, I've kind of lost track. I think it's 38 times that the Republican-controlled House has voted to repeal the Affordable Care Act, either in whole or in part. Why are my colleagues wasting valuable time legislating on what amounts to nothing more than a talking point and something they know has no chance, no chance of becoming law? Why is discrediting this President at the top of their agenda? Let me remind my colleagues that there is real work to be done here on this floor on behalf of the American people. Maybe my friends somehow forget student loan interest rates doubled on July 1. Maybe they forget that they rammed through a farm bill that, for the first time since 1973, was without a nutrition title, leaving the door open for food banks to be closed and for millions of needy Americans to go hungry. But, no, they didn't forget. I suggest that many of them just do not care. Today, for the 38th time, Mr. Speaker, we vote on a bill that would delay better health care, delay fixing the problem of uncompensated care from emergency room visits, and delay access to good, affordable health care for millions of good Americans. Therefore, I come to the floor today to urge my colleagues to oppose H.R. 2668.…
