[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 11 (Tuesday, February 8, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: February 8, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
          PRESIDENT'S HEALTH CARE PLAN NOT DOWN FOR THE COUNT

  (Mr. RICHARDSON asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. RICHARDSON. Mr. Speaker, inside the Beltway the special interests 
and the Republicans are saying the health care bill is in trouble. They 
are saying this, despite the fact that the first inning has not even 
started, and we have not even had one vote on the plan.
  Mr. Speaker, those that count President Clinton out early should 
remember what happened with the budget reconciliation bill and with 
NAFTA. Outside the Beltway the American people want health care reform, 
and they want the President's plan.

                              {time}  1410

  The truth of the matter is that the President's plan makes sense, and 
it is the only one on the table that provides guaranteed private 
insurance that can never be taken away.
  Mr. Speaker, inside the beltway everybody is crowing about how the 
health care plan is in trouble. But when the American people see who is 
doing what, they will side with the President's plan. And once again, 
like NAFTA, like the budget reconciliation bill, the President's plan 
will win.
  Mr. Speaker, the president is leading this Nation and leading the 
fight for health care reform. He has driven this process and the 
American people know that the health care system is broken and needs to 
be fixed.
  Some will claim that there is no health care crisis. Others will try 
to paint the President's plan as overly bureaucratic and as a new 
budget expenditure.
  The truth of the matter is that the President's plan makes sense and 
is the only plan that provides guaranteed private insurance that can 
never be taken away. The current debate surrounding the CBO's 
accounting decisions amounts to arguments between inside-the-beltway 
policy wonks that should not affect the outcome of health reform.
  The President's plan rejects a Government-run, Government-financed 
system in favor of a system that is rooted in the private sector and 
builds on the employer system to guarantee every American private 
comprehensive health insurance.
  Mr. Speaker, the campaign of misinformation will, unfortunately, 
continue but, in the end, the American people will see the President's 
plan for what it is, an attempt to guarantee good health care for all 
Americans.

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