Charles Rangel

this is not a Democratic Party issue or Republican Party issue.

It is time for comprehensive reform in health care. Small businesses have waited long enough, and the cost we truly cannot afford now is the cost of inaction.

Let me make it clear that although Mr. Camp and I hope that we can achieve a goal of a bipartisan agreement, the fact that that may be unattainable is not going to deter us from listening to each other and getting positions or ideas from…

We believe that health reform should strive to achieve universal coverage that is available and affordable to everyone.

Our constituents are frustrated in getting access to health care, paying too much for health care...

the Committee will hold another hearing in the series on reforming the health insurance market.

Well, thank you for your invitation of making a contribution to try to unwind some of the complex issues we are faced with dealing with energy and commerce, and also dealing with the Senate.

But the major issue has been not that we all don't want quality health care, but there has been opposition to the public plan.

We commend Chairman Rangel, Ranking Member Camp, and members of the Ways and Means Committee for your leadership.

I am amazed at the bipartisan support that the Congress gives what you do.

We must enact comprehensive health system reform that will cover the uninsured.

Covering the uninsured is a top priority of the AMA.

I do not believe that a public plan option would destroy the private insurance market or lead to a government takeover of insurance, as some fear.

Those plans that offer high-quality services and good access to providers would survive.

America's health insurance market is dysfunctional. This is evident by the 87 million people who went without health insurance during the past two years and the millions more who have insurance that is increasingly unaffordable or…

Congressman Charles Rangel just recently, within the last year and a half, awarded the University of Florida a million dollars for research on emergency room techniques.

We know that 5 minutes is a very limited time in which you can help us.

Assuming we do all of that, are you suggesting that if we do everything that you are suggesting we do, that initially the consumer electricity costs would not be increased or indeed may be driven down?

I would like to join with Mr. Herger in making that request because it is so important no matter which solution people are seeking that we have to know the number of people and the nature of the impact.

As we develop climate change legislation, we must ensure that the program is structured to achieve specific environmental goals at the lowest possible cost to the economy and consumers.

Of the three of you, do any of you violently oppose a carbon tax?

Before you go to the other one, are you talking about an immediate moving toward penalizing those who don't stay within the cap, that there will not be an increase initially to the consumer, that efficiency would drive the electricity…

How many of you believe that cap and trade is the most efficient way to go in terms of reducing emissions?

Well, it doesn't seem, from what you say, that you are violently opposed to using the tax system in part in terms of being able to cushion the additional costs to the consumer.

I am asking how long. We have 2-year contracts in here in the Congress, and I just want to know how long would it take for a consumer-voter to recognize that efficiency is going to drive down his or her electricity costs.