[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 7 (Wednesday, February 2, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: February 2, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]


                              {time}  1450
 
                 THE HEALTH CARE CRISIS IS VERY SERIOUS

  (Mr. ROMERO-BARCELO asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. ROMERO-BARCELO. Mr. Speaker, it does not stop to amaze me when I 
hear Members, usually on the other side of the aisle, say that there is 
not a health care crisis in this country. They are either not in 
contact with the real world and the struggle that so many Americans are 
living every single day or else they are simply against this bill 
because it was proposed by a Democratic President.
  I can think of a million examples that clearly demonstrate our 
Nation's health care crisis. Actually, I can think of 3.6 million 
examples: the disenfranchised American citizens of Puerto Rico, whom I 
represent here in Congress. People like Frances, a playful 5-year-old 
girl from the small town of Florida, PR, who was recently diagnosed 
with a brain tumor. Frances's mother is divorced and supports her 
family with her $700 monthly income, working as a teacher in the local 
Head Start Program. As 37 million of her follow American citizens, she 
lacks health insurance, and to make matters worse, she lives in Puerto 
Rico, a territory where U.S. citizens do not receive equal treatment in 
the Federal health programs such as Medicaid. The cost of her surgical 
procedure was estimated to be $100,000. How in the world can people 
like Frances's mother afford the health care that their sick and 
hurting children desperately need?
  I will give you a simple answer: The answer is the Health Security 
Act.

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