Sheila Jackson Lee: “I thank the chairman very much for yielding. Just a second on memory lane, for those of us who were here for the…”

“I thank the chairman very much for yielding. Just a second on memory lane, for those of us who were here for the Affordable Care Act, dozens of our committees, including the Judiciary Committee, heard the pain of people whose family members had died because they had no access to healthcare and/or they had junk policies. Mr. Chair, I rise today with the strongest of support for H.R. 986. I thank my good friend, Ann Kuster, for her great leadership and indicate that since the Affordable Care Act--and I know that we are now looking at Medicare for All and many others. My view of it is yes, so that we all can have access to healthcare. It is, in fact, sure that this bill that we now have, which is being attacked by the Trump administration in the Fifth Circuit right now because of my attorney general attacking the Affordable Care Act, Texas saw a national decrease of the uninsured from 14.8 to 8.8. Now this legislation, which is to turn back the Trump guidance on the issue of waivers, is vital because we have lower costs for health insurance because of the ability for people to access and be taken care of with the Affordable Care Act when they have preexisting conditions. Sickle cell, triple negative breast cancer, and diabetes all plague my constituency. Insulin costs are going through the roof. With this guidance that Trump has put in place, it will be worse. It will be compounded.…”