[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 38 (Tuesday, March 16, 2010)]
[House]
[Page H1446]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           HEALTH CARE REFORM

  (Mr. BACA asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. BACA. Anthem Blue Cross in my home State of California is trying 
to raise premiums by 39 percent. This is only the beginning if we do 
nothing. We must give the American people, not the insurance companies, 
more control. If we do nothing, the American people will continue to 
pay higher premiums and higher out-of-pocket costs now and in the 
future.
  We cannot, our families cannot, afford to do nothing. Health reform 
will hold health insurance companies accountable; end discrimination 
based on preexisting conditions; cut and eventually close the doughnut 
hole for thousands of seniors, including 5,200 seniors in my district; 
cut the national deficit; and produce over 4 million new jobs in the 
coming decade. That is 400,000 new jobs every year.
  Health care reform will bring coverage to 219,000 in my district and 
31 million nationwide for the very first time in history. This is a 
historic moment. In 1935, we passed Social Security. In 1965, we passed 
Medicare. We must pass health reform now.

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