[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 38 (Tuesday, March 16, 2010)]
[House]
[Page H1466]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           HEALTH CARE REFORM

  (Mr. TIERNEY asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. TIERNEY. Madam Speaker, if my previous colleague thought that the 
Democrats were going to get slaughtered for passing this bill, a few of 
them would cut out of the herd and help pass it. But that's absolutely 
not the case. This year-long debate and the bipartisan health care 
meeting show that Democrats and Republicans do agree in some areas. 
Both agree that the status quo isn't working for Americans; both agree 
that waste, fraud and abuse should be removed from the system; both 
agree that we should invest in prevention and wellness.
  The bill has incorporated several Republican ideas into its proposal, 
but Democrats and Republicans have a profound disagreement on the 
proper oversight on insurance companies. We believe that insurance 
companies need to be held accountable with minimum commensurate 
standards to help keep premiums and industry abuses down. Republicans 
believe that insurance companies should have a freer hand and should be 
free to raise rates and reduce, and even eliminate, coverage. We 
believe that the most effective way to reduce premiums for all 
Americans and businesses, large and small, and the only way to cover 
all people with preexisting conditions is to make sure that everyone is 
in the insurance system. Republicans disagree, and their plan will not 
outlaw discrimination against people with preexisting conditions. Those 
are profound differences, Madam Speaker, and that's why we need health 
care reform.

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