[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 21 (Tuesday, March 1, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E323]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    INTRODUCTION OF H.J. RES. 30 AMENDING THE U.S. CONSTITUTION TO 
                GUARANTEE A RIGHT TO QUALITY HEALTH CARE

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. FORTNEY PETE STARK

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, March 1, 2005

  Mr. STARK. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to join my colleague, 
Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr., to introduce an amendment to the US 
Constitution to guarantee health care as a right in this nation.
  The current state of our health care system, if you want to call it a 
``system,'' is bleak. Yet, Congress and the White House continue to 
ignore the problems we face, or worse yet, offer ideological solutions 
that only exacerbate our current ills. Making changes to the tax code 
will do nothing to extend high-quality health care to the millions who 
are left outside of the system today. I am frustrated, as many 
Americans are, with the lack of leadership on this issue. This is why I 
have come back to an idea I had more than a decade ago--to force 
Congress to provide health care of equal high quality for all by 
guaranteeing this right in our Constitution.
  The problems we see today are the same that have been with us for the 
past century. While some claim that the U.S. has the best health care 
system in the world, the high-tech medical technologies that are 
available to some in this country are out of reach to the 45 million 
uninsured--including eight million children--and millions more who are 
underinsured and cannot afford this care. Even when people do have 
health insurance, bare-bones policies with high out-of-pocket costs 
help force millions of families into bankruptcy each year. Access to 
``the best medical care in the world'' shouldn't be determined by your 
income tax bracket.
  And for all the praise of the advanced medical technologies available 
in this country, high-tech does not necessarily equate to high quality. 
Although the U.S. spends far more than any other nation on medical 
care, we do not have the best health status. Studies have shown that 
overall Americans receive the recommended treatment only 50 percent of 
the time.
  Inequities in our system are not only based on what people can afford 
or where they live. Perhaps the most disturbing finding in recent years 
is the disparities in access, treatment, and outcomes that exist for 
people of color. It is unconscionable that the quality of health care 
may be determined by skin color, rather than need or proven medical 
practice.
  An individual's health is the key to their ability to achieve the 
unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness that 
this nation was founded on. To ensure these rights are conferred, we 
must be certain that everyone--regardless of their income, race, 
education, or job status--can access health care of equal, high 
quality. Today, only prisoners in the U.S. enjoy this right.
  Other countries--both developed and undeveloped--recognize the 
importance of health care and have guaranteed the right to health care 
through their constitutions, including Afghanistan, the European Union, 
Iran, Libya, Saudi Arabia, Somali, and South Africa. Even the 
provisional constitution of Iraq--written in part by the current Bush 
Administration--guarantees health care as a right. It is shameful that 
the U.S., the shining example of prosperity and democracy throughout 
the world, still leaves so many people on their own when it comes to 
health care.
  For more than 30 years I have served in this body as an advocate for 
health care for all people. Unfortunately, time and time again I have 
seen efforts to expand and improve access to health care squashed under 
the weight of special interests protecting their individual fiefdoms. I 
firmly believe that until all people have an equal right to high-
quality health care guaranteed through the Constitution, their 
interests will continue to be ignored as those who profit off the 
existing system maintain their opposition to reform. It's time for a 
grassroots movement to put the interests of the people first! I look 
forward to working with the advocacy community to make the shared 
vision of quality health care for all a reality.
  On a final note, I am introducing this amendment today to extend a 
specific right to all people, which is the purpose of such amendments. 
Unfortunately, this Congress is likely to consider other amendments to 
our Constitution that will remove rights and codify discrimination 
against certain groups of people. Our Nation's most sacred document 
must never be amended to set aside certain rights for select groups, 
while barring others from ever realizing these rights. I can only hope 
that my colleagues take their responsibility to protect equal rights 
for all people in our democracy as seriously as I do.

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