On the recordMarch 26, 2015
I yield myself the balance of my time to close. Mr. Speaker, there is nothing wrong with being passionate about your ideas and principles, and nowhere is that more evident than in health care. When you can find, though, common ground on those principles that help our seniors, encourage our doctors to treat them, and make the first reforms to really save Medicare for the long term, we ought to do that. That is what this bill does. But it just isn't a common ground as far as our lawmakers. We have dedicated staff who came together to work out the tough issues for us as well. On behalf of the Committee on Ways and Means Chairman Paul Ryan and myself, I would like to thank our staff on the Ways and Means Subcommittee on Health--Matt Hoffmann, Brett Baker, Amy Hall, and Erin Richardson--for their tremendous work. The Speaker and former Speaker Pelosi also led the effort to find this common ground, and for Speaker Boehner, Charlotte Ivancic, and for Leader Pelosi, Wendell Primus, we thank you, as well as legislative counsel; and for the Congressional Budget Office, Tom Bradley and Holly Harvey contributed greatly to this day. The other day, my neighbor, who has just retired from Continental, now United, walked over to my front porch and told me that after years of seeing his local doctor, his local doctor can't see him anymore because he can't afford to treat Medicare patients.…
