On the recordJanuary 18, 2011
The choice here is whether to give more money to insurance monopolies or to leave just a little bit in the pockets of middle class Americans. But for House Republicans, always putting insurance companies first seems to be a preexisting condition. This bill isn't repeal and replace; it is repeal and forget--forget the health care needs of millions of Americans, forget the hundreds of billions of dollars that with this repeal they add to our Federal debt. Within a year, Allison, a 23-year-old from Bastrop, Texas, who is completing her college degree while caring for her mother as her mother faces another round of breast cancer, would lose her health insurance. Emily, from Wimberley, who is battling cancer herself, would now face lifetime limits on what doctor-recommended care her insurer will pay for. Of course, if her husband loses or changes his job, she won't have any insurance at all. Charlotte, an Austin senior, would have to pay more for prescriptions and preventative health care, while Republicans reduce the solvency of the Medicare Trust Fund by more than a decade. Family budgets would be crushed by this bill as health care costs remain the leading cause of credit card debt and bankruptcy. This same devastating Republican bill would also hike the Federal debt. That's why Republicans have rejected pay-as-you-go budgeting and instead will borrow from the Chinese to pay for this legislation.
