Political Quotes

“I thank the gentlelady for organizing this talk. Pennsylvania's 12th District in western Pennsylvania stretches from Beaver to Johnstown and to the northern suburbs of Pittsburgh. Last week we had a visit from HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, who was in town to tout the benefits of the health care law. She also attempted to help enroll some western Pennsylvanians in the exchanges. According to press reports, however, those who showed up were not able to enroll, or even access the Web site. Apparently, glitches were to blame. As reported in yesterday's New York Times, however, one industry source said, ``These are not glitches. The extent of the problems is pretty enormous. It's awful.'' These problems took more than 2 years to build, and cost the American taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars. The health care law's troubles aren't limited, however, to the Web site issues. Many western Pennsylvanians have reached out to me to share stories about how they are seeing their hours reduced, or losing their jobs. Other western Pennsylvanians are seeing their health care premiums go up, or losing coverage altogether. A woman recently got in touch with me and told me that her family recently received a letter from their insurance company, and they will lose the health insurance they have had for more than 25 years on December 31. The alternatives they have been able to find will cost them three times what they pay today. Mr. Speaker, it is a time for solutions.…”