[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]

 
          SUPPORT URGED FOR ROWLAND-BILIRAKIS HEALTH CARE PLAN

  Mr. KINGSTON asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute, and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. KINGSTON. Mr. Speaker, over the work week that we just had many 
people asked me, ``With the changing of the leadership of the Ways and 
Means Committee, is health care dead or is the Clinton plan dead?'' And 
I said, ``No, we have 435 Members of Congress. There is a lot of depth 
there, there is a lot of knowledge, and there is a lot of ability 
there. I am confident that we can do things and do them right in terms 
of health care reform.''
  But what I am not so confident of is a good bipartisan effort. I read 
that a prominent Member of the other body is introducing a health care 
plan, but it is a partisan type plan.
  We do not need that, Mr. Speaker. What the folks want back home is 
the best thoughts of the Republicans and the best thoughts of the 
Democrats, and let us put them together as the best package for the 
American people.
  I like the Rowland-Bilirakis plan. It has the elements of preexisting 
illness conditions, it has some antitrust for hospital reform, it has 
some tort reform, it has reductions for paperwork, and it provides some 
building blocks for long-term health care, particularly IRA rollovers 
for financing long-term health care.
  This is a good step. It will not do everything we all want done for 
health care, but it is a fundamental first step. I think what this body 
should do is take a very close look at the Rowland-Bilirakis bipartisan 
health care reform plan and move in the direction of health care reform 
and do it before we adjourn in August.

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