[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 56 (Tuesday, May 7, 2002)]
[House]
[Pages H2111-H2112]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      AMERICAN HEALTH SECURITY ACT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the order of the House of 
January 23, 2002, the gentleman from Washington (Mr. McDermott) is 
recognized during morning hour debates for 5 minutes.
  Mr. McDERMOTT. Mr. Speaker, I was sitting over in my office looking 
at today's calendar and could not help but get up and come over here.
  In 460 B.C. the father of medicine, Hippocrates, wrote: ``Healing is 
a matter of time but it is also sometimes a matter of opportunity.''
  Now, for 2,500 years we have been talking about this opportunity or 
in modern times access to good health care coverage in our country. For 
decades now we have been talking about improving access to health care 
coverage, yet the problem continues to grow. We argue about how best to 
provide the coverage; but no matter what you say, uncovered people are 
one of the biggest economic and human problems in our society.
  Many people are locked into jobs. They would like to change jobs, but

[[Page H2112]]

they cannot because they cannot give up their coverage. They are there 
because they have to have coverage for some chronic illness. But we are 
on the brink of things getting exponentially worse and they can. If we 
have any kind of downturn in the economy we will have a worse 
situation.
  Now, I started in 1972 as a physician advocating for a health care 
system that was universally available, never could be taken away, and 
every American would be in it no matter what their circumstances in the 
society. I introduced bills in the Washington State legislature and 
started the Washington Basic Health Plan.
  When I came to Congress, I introduced the American Health Security 
Act in 1992. This act is the gold standard that provides universal 
coverage for all Americans, and it does it through a single-payer 
mechanism. Now the American Health Security Act offers a fair and 
fiscally responsible way to deliver high-quality and cost-effective 
health care to all Americans. It provides for a highly decentralized 
system that is federally financed from Washington, but state-designed; 
and it delivers the health care through the private health care system. 
It guarantees universal coverage, comprehensive benefits, costs 
containment, the freedom to choose your own employers, and 
accountability. Every citizen should be entitled to that kind of 
coverage in this society.
  The reason I came over to talk about this is that today we are being 
treated to one of those events that begins the campaign season when 
people start putting out press releases in the form of resolutions. 
This one is H. Con. Res. 271, expressing the sense of the Congress that 
public awareness and education about the importance of health care 
coverage is of the utmost priority, utmost priority, and that the 
national importance of Health Care Coverage Month should be established 
to promote these goals. So we will have a whole month for people to get 
up here and tell you how everybody ought to have health insurance.
  But the question you have to ask yourself is, Where is the proposal 
that would provide health care coverage for everybody? Where is it? We 
can put out these press releases.
  This thing reminded me of the reason I came over here and I was 
sitting there reading this and I thought about the joke of the 
Methodist minister. He had gotten very ill and so the head of the board 
of deacons called all the deacons together one night and he called a 
meeting and they all got together to decide what to do about the 
illness of the minister. They had a long discussion. Many things were 
argued back and forth. And finally by a vote of six to five with 20 
abstentions, they decided to write a letter to the minister urging him 
to get well.
  Now, that is what this is. This is saying to the American people, why 
do you people not go out and get health insurance? What is the matter 
with you? Do you not know how important that is? As though the American 
people were stupid or that they would not be doing it if they could.
  The resolution is an indictment of itself. It says, ``Whereas over 
17.3 million of the uninsured are employed, but are not offered health 
coverage through their employers.''
  Now, if you are an individual in this country and you work full time 
and you are not offered it through your job, you are supposed to go out 
by yourself and find a policy. Anybody who knows anything about that 
kind of experience knows how ridiculous it is to say to people, you 
should be aware.
  When are we going to take up the issue in real substance and get away 
from these letters to the American people to get well?

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