On the recordMarch 19, 2010
Well, I thank the gentleman from my adjoining district, the 17th Congressional District in Ohio. The 16th Congressional District of Ohio has had its share of people who are without health insurance. And in fact, nearly 39,000 people in my district right now are wondering how they're going to pay for coverage, how they're going to pay their doctors' bills should they have an emergency now. There are 9,800 residents in the 16th Congressional District who have preexisting conditions. As we speak right now, they will not be able to get health care coverage. Let me speak to you about the face of this national debate because our friends on the other side like to make this national debate about Speaker Pelosi or Leader Reid or even the President of the United States. At the end of the day, the face of this issue is about Natoma Canfield. Natoma Canfield right now is sitting at the Cleveland Clinic, hanging on for dear life, getting blood transfusions every day for the next 30 days without health care insurance. Now her story moved me so because she brought me back to a place that I haven't been in a long, long time. I remember as a young boy standing at the bed of my mom--I was the oldest son--and she was telling me that she had breast cancer, and she didn't know what the future had in store for her. She was going to get treatment but wanted us to be prepared. Now, she had health care insurance, and she survives today.
