[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 38 (Tuesday, March 16, 2010)]
[House]
[Page H1462]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           HEALTH CARE REFORM

  (Mr. MAFFEI asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. MAFFEI. Madam Speaker, this morning I stood at the American 
Cancer Society in my district and announced that I will support the 
President's historic reform effort. I am supporting it because right 
now skyrocketing health care costs aren't just crippling the U.S. 
economy; they are emptying pocketbooks in central and western New York.
  Regular, middle class people can't afford the health care they need. 
Insurance companies have denied care. Kids are graduating from college 
and they can't find care. People with life-threatening conditions need 
to hold bake sales and bowl-a-thons in order to pay their health care 
bills. Families are going bankrupt not because they were irresponsible, 
but because they trusted their health insurance companies.
  Now, experts and nonpartisan organizations say that this bill will 
save money. I believe that the cost-savers in this bill will save 
money, but I know that doing nothing will bankrupt our country and our 
families and our small businesses.
  I stood this morning with two remarkable women from my district. One 
had insurance and one did not. They are both battling cancer. For them, 
this debate isn't about partisan politics; it is about their lives. 
They strongly support this effort, and so do I.

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