[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 71 (Thursday, June 9, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[Congressional Record: June 9, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
WAITING FOR DR. GODOT
(Mr. HEFLEY asked and was given permission to address the House for 1
minute.)
Mr. HEFLEY. Mr. Speaker, in the real world, nationalized health care
means waiting for health care.
In Canada, waiting for health care is a way of life. Canadians wait
for routine checkups. They wait for major surgery. For Canadians who
describe themselves in severe pain, they wait up to 21 weeks. And for
many elderly very sick Canadians, nationalized health care means
waiting to die.
The waiting has become so bad that many average Canadians have
resorted to the elementary school trick of queue-jumping. They cut in
line. So while health care resources dwindle, the Canadian Government
spends precious dollars policing health care queues.
Now President Clinton wants to bring all this to America. He wants to
take the queues and the rationing and use them to hold down American
health care costs. He thinks this is a good idea.
I have got bad news for Bill Clinton. Queuing-up may be a way of life
in Canada, but when it comes to accessing our own health care, America
will not stand for it.
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