G. K. Butterfield: “Madam Speaker, without question, the people of my State in North Carolina are hurting very badly. Unemployment figures…”

“Madam Speaker, without question, the people of my State in North Carolina are hurting very badly. Unemployment figures show that the number of counties with double digit unemployment actually doubled to 34 during the month of December. That is more than one-third of the counties in my State now suffering from double digit unemployment. When people lose their jobs, they lose access to affordable health care, and it is the children, just as the gentleman from Washington just said, it is the children who suffer most in these circumstances. Today, we have an opportunity to take another step toward ensuring that every American child has access to affordable health care regardless of family circumstances. With the passage of this bill, my State of North Carolina will reduce the number of children who lack health insurance by 46 percent. That is 136,000 children. There will be similar impacts across the country. I urge my colleagues to join me in approving this important bill.”