Sheila Jackson Lee: “Besides the question and the need for jobs, I think it is important for America and for my colleagues to know that the…”

“Besides the question and the need for jobs, I think it is important for America and for my colleagues to know that the meeting yesterday at the White House at Blair House was a vitally important meeting. I know that many Americans were able to see it in its purity, meaning that you were able to watch it live. The President intended that we have the opportunity to hear real discussion. And I would beg to differ whether this was an opportunity for just show and tell. I have listened to the President's commitment to health care reform. I have listened to the Democratic leadership's commitment to health care reform. And I have spent hours listening to constituents through town hall meetings in August and traveling throughout the district. As they speak about jobs, I want us to be very clear. Every time I am in the district, someone says, are you going to get health care reform passed? This is real meat and potatoes. This is about premiums that go up about $1,400 to $2,500 a year on a family of four. This is about 36 million to 40 million who are now uninsured. This is about working people who are uninsured. This is about families whose children have asthma or respiratory illnesses or preexisting conditions and are not able to get insurance because of birth defects or other illnesses that their children are born with, a preexisting disease. And presently, you cannot get insurance if you have a preexisting disease.”