[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 169 (Monday, November 16, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2772]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 AFFORDABLE HEALTH CARE FOR AMERICA ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                        HON. BENNIE G. THOMPSON

                             of mississippi

                    in the house of representatives

                       Saturday, November 7, 2009

  Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I and others have spoken at 
length on the ways that this bill will improve health care for all of 
our constituents. Another significant benefit of this legislation which 
has not received as much attention will be the creation of new high-
paying jobs in this country. Let me repeat that for some of my friends 
on the other side of the aisle, this bill will create high-paying, 
high-quality jobs in health care delivery, technology, and research in 
the United States.
  First, this bill will create enormous demand for health care workers, 
especially in the area of primary care. Insuring millions of Americans 
in this country who currently have no insurance will allow them to see 
primary care providers and receive the wellness and preventive care 
they have been denied for too long. This influx of new patients will 
need doctors, nurses and technicians for their care, while reducing 
overall health care costs because they will not need much more 
expensive hospitalizations. I support channeling resources that for too 
long have been used to treat people once they become sick into jobs and 
services that will prevent people from getting sick in the first place.
  Second, this bill will continue the efforts we began in the stimulus 
package to deploy new health information technologies that better 
manage both the quality of care patients receive and the cost at which 
they receive it. New health care exchanges and new demands on the 
health system to provide high-quality and cost-effective health care 
will create new opportunities and markets for our brightest minds in 
technology. They will be incentivized to create and develop products 
that will be a win/win for Americans: high-quality health care at an 
affordable price.
  Third, this bill will create high-quality research opportunities in 
this country. The Energy and Commerce Committee enacted a framework for 
allowing biosimilar competition in this country. This new class of 
medicines will help lower costs and bring competition to one area that 
is key to the future of our health care system. Biotechnology is on the 
cutting edge of efforts to reduce costly invasive procedures and allow 
our constituents to live healthier and more productive lives. The 
creation of this new class of medicines comes with requirements for new 
clinical research and testing, especially in the area of whether a new 
biosimilar can be interchangeable with an innovator's product. This 
research will create high-quality and high-paying jobs and it is 
imperative that we keep this research and these jobs in this country. 
We cannot allow these research opportunities to leave the United States 
and we must ensure that these new medicines are safe. I intend to work 
with the Secretary of HHS and the Commissioner of the FDA to ensure 
that the testing and research on these biosimilars occur in this 
country to make certain that it is done properly and safely and to 
benefit our economy.
  Mr. Speaker, this bill is an investment and an exciting opportunity 
to create the kind of jobs we so desperately need in this United States 
while at the same time improving the lives of all Americans. This bill 
will improve health care, create jobs, and grow our economy.

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