Sheila Jackson Lee: “I thank the chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee for his dynamic leadership. Let me indicate that I stand here…”

“I thank the chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee for his dynamic leadership. Let me indicate that I stand here today in the midst of a catastrophic pandemic of COVID-19 in the State of Texas and in my congressional district in Houston and Harris County. Over the last couple of days, we have had upwards of 900 cases. There are 2.5 million cases over the Nation and growing, with 126,000 who have died. In the last 3 days of last week, there were 45,000 new cases. Most of them were in Texas, California, and Arizona. That is why I am absolutely baffled and saddened by the fact that this administration would go to the Supreme Court to cut off, deny, extinguish, put in harm's way Americans who need health insurance and who have preexisting conditions. This is legislation that is a lifeline. We are saving lives. A family of four earning $40,000 would save nearly $1,600. They may have a COVID patient in their family. A 60-year-old earning $57,000 would save $8,000. It takes into account people who are unemployed by replacing insurance that they have lost. It takes into account the great need for drug price negotiation under the Elijah E. Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act, something that we have all been fighting for, for a very long time. Why can't we negotiate drug prices just like they do in Medicare?…”