Joaquin Castro: “Thank you, Congresswoman. Thank you for your passion over the many years on health care and many other issues, and you…”

“Thank you, Congresswoman. Thank you for your passion over the many years on health care and many other issues, and you raised several wonderful points, but there are a few in particular that I wanted to mention. We debate our national debt and deficit here a lot. Since the Affordable Care Act was passed, as we know, health care has been the biggest driver of our debt. The Affordable Care Act has actually slowed the cost of health care, the slowest growth that we have seen in decades. So this is something that has actually been good and will be good for our fiscal health in this country. Thank you for alluding to that. Also, you mentioned that in many of the communities we represent--not only in California or in Texas, but many places--ailments like diabetes are things that affect so many people in our neighborhoods and our cities, but it is not just diabetes. In other places, it could be cancer or sickle cell anemia or multiple sclerosis. All of those patients will now find a lot more relief because the United States Congress passed this bill.”