Political Quotes

“Madam Speaker, I thank the chairman for yielding. I rise in support of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Enhancement Act, which builds upon the achievements of the ACA, including its coverage of an additional 20 million people. I am glad to see that the bill includes the tenets of H.R. 3, allowing the HHS to negotiate prescription drug prices rather than continuing to pay the outrageous prices set by companies that have long blocked competitors from the market. With the limited time I have to speak, though, I would like to highlight my appreciation that it includes my bill, the Family Health Care Affordability Act, which fixes the family glitch in the ACA. Under the Affordable Care Act, workers are to have access to affordable healthcare plans, defined as healthcare plans that cost no more than 9.56 percent of the employee's monthly household income. But the interpretation of ``affordable'' only looks at whether coverage is affordable to cover the employee, not whether it is affordable to cover spouses and dependents. When factoring in the family unit, coverage can easily surpass 25 percent of household income and still be deemed affordable and block the family from marketplace subsidies. This bill fixes that and makes sure that hardworking families have access to coverage without risk of financial ruin. I call on my colleagues to pass this important bill.”