[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 38 (Tuesday, March 16, 2010)]
[House]
[Page H1449]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           HEALTH CARE REFORM

  (Mrs. CAPPS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Mrs. CAPPS. Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of finally 
passing health reform.
  This bill is the product of countless hearings, hundreds of 
amendments, and a full year of national public debate. It is time to 
vote.
  According to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, without reform, 
health care costs for American families will rise by as much as 79 
percent in the next 10 years. That is unsustainable for taxpayers, for 
small businesses, for families.
  The bill we will pass this week will take the necessary steps to rein 
in these costs. It creates incentives to reduce preventable hospital 
readmission; it eliminates wasteful overpayments to Medicare Advantage 
plans; and it increases our capabilities to fight fraud, waste, and 
abuse.
  Passing health reform means lower costs for patients, better access 
to higher quality care, and, at long last, accountability for insurance 
companies.
  I urge all of my colleagues, Democrats and Republicans, let's move 
our Nation forward by passing health reform this week.

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