On the recordMarch 21, 2017
This country, since Harry Truman, has had an illusive but desirable goal, and that is health care for all of our citizens. We made two strides: one in 1964, with the passage of Medicare; another in 2010, with the passage of ObamaCare. We should be moving towards Medicare for all our citizens. Instead, this bill does not move forward. It goes back. Number one, 24 million Americans will lose their health care. Number two, Americans who have been living a life of toil and effort all of their lives from the ages of 50 to 64--at a time when they need health care the most--are in danger of losing it with the excessive tax that is being imposed on them by this bill. Number three, our community hospitals, from the prairies of Nebraska to the hills of Vermont, those are critical institutions providing care. They have gone from red ink to black ink as a result of the Affordable Care Act. Every single one of those is in jeopardy, and that is going to deprive our citizens in those communities of access to affordable health care. This bill must be defeated. Let's embrace the goal of health care for all our citizens. ____________________
