[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 45 (Thursday, March 28, 1996)]
[House]
[Page H2969]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  SUPPORT GOOD HEALTH CARE REFORM: SUPPORT THE KENNEDY-KASSEBAUM BILL

  (Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas asked and was given permission to address 
the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise this morning in the 
name of bipartisanship and good health reform, but I wonder if many of 
us know the story of Robin Hood and the seven thieves, because that is 
just what we have today. The whole issue of health reform has already 
gotten bipartisanship support. The Kennedy-Kassebaum bill simply says 
we want to give people the ability to have health care if they lose 
their job. If, tragically, they have a preexisting disease, lung 
disease, cancer, or heart disease, then we still care about them, and 
they can have insurance and be able to survivie.
  But Robin Hood and the seven thieves, the House Republican 
leadership, wants to say, ``We want to give the money to the rich. We 
want to make sure we have a medical savings plans,'' which allows 
people to hoard money away, and those who are working and the working 
poor and those who are sick will not have the ability to have good 
health insurance because the medical savings plan is applicable only to 
the wealthy and the healthy. We will find out that under this 
Republican medical savings plan, working people will be left out in the 
cold. They would leave less healthy people to buy ordinary medical 
insurance at elevated prices because of this proposed medical savings 
plan. People who in fact lost their jobs would not have insurance.
  Let us not kill this bill. Let us support good health reform. Let us 
pass the Kennedy-Kassebaum bill in a truly bipartisan manner for all 
Americans to have portability in health insurance coverage and coverage 
if you have a preexisting condition.

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