Ron Kind: “I thank my friend from Massachusetts for yielding me this time. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the VETERAN Act, the…”

“I thank my friend from Massachusetts for yielding me this time. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the VETERAN Act, the legislation before us today, and I do so for a very simple reason: This merely codifies what is already existing law under the Affordable Care Act, or so-called ObamaCare, something that was done through rulemaking that I presume has bipartisan support. {time} 1245 Yes, it is important to protect the veterans, but the reason we are on the floor today is another example of one of the greatest legislative malpractice acts ever committed in Congress: trying to pass a Republican healthcare bill with no oversight, with no hearing, no public input, and no experts testifying to run the traps for us as far as the intended and the unintended consequences. The reason we are on the floor now 1 month after passage of that bill is to try to correct just one of the deficiencies that exist in it. I say it is a so-called healthcare bill because what it really is is a $900 billion tax break to the most wealthy individuals in our country, including insurance companies and drug companies, under the guise of healthcare reform and asking 23 million Americans, including 2 million veterans, as my friend from Massachusetts just pointed out, in Medicaid to give up their healthcare coverage to pay for that massive tax cut.…”