[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 102 (Friday, July 29, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: July 29, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                   LISTENING TO HEALTH CARE CONCERNS

  (Mr. BILIRAKIS asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, normally over the last few weeks, we have 
been doing a lot of talking about health care. But maybe we should also 
make a conscious effort to listen closely and carefully to the people 
we represent.
  On July 25, WFLA radio in Tampa, FL, conducted a listener poll on 
health care. The results? Of the callers, 90 percent preferred our 
present system of mostly private medical care. Only 6 percent of those 
responding liked the Clinton plan and barely 4 percent supported a 
single-payer, Canadian style system.
  This radio poll was not scientific. I make no claim that these 
numbers represent what everyone in America thinks about health care 
reform. But neither are these results meaningless. Instead, I believe 
they are an indication that many people want to rely on the private 
sector--and not the Government--to provide health care. They prefer to 
let what is working now continue to work.
  Altogether, there is a tendency for some to view health care reform 
as a matter of educating the public as to what is good for them. They 
think ``if only they know more, they will go along * * *.'' I disagree. 
I think this issue is fundamentally a matter of us learning from them.

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