Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, today I rise in support of the Senate amendment to H.R. 4994, the ``Medicare and Medicaid Extenders Act,'' which makes certain that our seniors and military families are able to continue seeing their doctors. Scheduled for January 1 and through 2011, this bipartisan legislation stops the 25 percent cut in Medicare payments to doctors. This very important legislation protects and supports our doctors who are serving Medicare recipients and active duty military, their families, the Reserve members and military retirees whose access to healthcare is tied to Medicare through the TRICARE system. If we fail to pass this legislation we are doing an extreme injustice to numerous Americans who depend on these doctors and this Congress for their healthcare. In my Congressional District, Riverside General Hospital (RGH), a member of the TRICARE network can ensure military families will be able to continue to see their doctors. Riverside General Hospital, formerly The Houston Negro Hospital was erected in 1926 in memory of Lieutenant John Halm Cullinan, 344th FA., 90th Div. AEP. St. Joseph Medical Center, in Houston, Texas, in my district, the only hospital in the inner city of Houston, can now continue to provide access to Medicare beneficiaries to Houston's most needy patient population as a result of this legislation in its current form. Currently, St. Joseph's provides $14 million in uninsured care in the Houston Market. St.…”