[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 134 (Thursday, October 20, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2136]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          HEALTH CARE FOR ALL

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                          HON. EDOLPHUS TOWNS

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 20, 2005

  Mr. TOWNS. Mr. Speaker, over $1.6 trillion is spent on health care 
annually in the U.S., which is over 13% of the GDP. According to the 
National Coalition on Health Care, U.S. health care spending increased 
to $1.7 trillion in 2003 and was projected to reach $1.8 trillion in 
2004. Furthermore, our country spent 15.3% of the GDP on health care in 
2003 and a projected increase of 18.7% is expected within the next 10 
years.
  Even though the U.S. spends more on health care than any other 
industrialized nation, and those countries provide universal health 
coverage to all of their citizens, approximately 45 million Americans 
are uninsured. Nevertheless, the U.S. remains the only industrialized 
nation that does not guarantee health care for all of its citizens.
  Clearly, universal health care is needed for all American citizens 
and a universal health care plan is certainly in the best economic 
interest of our country.
  When one considers that health care spending accounted for only 9.7% 
of the GDP in our sister nation Canada, it becomes apparent that we are 
not best managing our resources and serving the interest of our Nation 
as a whole.
  As members of Congress we are entrusted with the responsibility of 
protecting and advancing the Nation's health. It is a given that health 
care costs are rising for all American citizens. Let us not deceive 
ourselves. We are all interconnected as human beings and the health 
status of one impacts the health status of all regardless of one's 
ability to pay for health services or not.
  Disease, especially communicable and infectious, has no boundaries. 
The current health disparities and unnecessary suffering experienced by 
vulnerable populations such as the poor, elderly, uninsured, women and 
children and racial and ethnic minorities is outright immoral. It is a 
national disgrace and international embarrassment that America, a 
country with astounding wealth and means, chooses not to provide 
universal health care to her citizens while her sister country Canada 
does so for her citizens, as does the country of Cuba whose wealth is 
not even comparable to that of the U.S. and other industrialized 
nations.
  I urge Congress today to fully assume its responsibility as the 
defender of our Nation's health, and exercise its political will and 
sincerely work towards the implementation of a universal health care 
system and guarantee universal health care as a right for all American 
citizens.




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