[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 40 (Thursday, March 18, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E413]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           HEALTH CARE REFORM

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                         HON. ALCEE L. HASTINGS

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 18, 2010

  Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Madam Speaker, despite the unquestionable 
need for health care reform, some have sought to dominate the health 
care reform discussion with fear mongering, misinterpretations and 
misinformation. They have stymied the progression of the reform process 
in the name of fiscal responsibility, bipartisanship, parliamentary 
procedure and patriotism.
  These justifications are egregious. There is nothing bipartisan about 
continually opposing a bill that independent federal agencies have 
repeatedly recognized as a substantive and reasonable approach to 
reform. There is nothing fiscally responsible about allowing premiums, 
state and federal health expenditures to rise to unprecedented levels. 
There is nothing American about depriving men, women, and children of 
the guaranteed right to health care in the richest country on earth.
  Today, when Americans across the country are losing their homes, 
jobs, health insurance and hope, we as elected officials have the 
opportunity and duty to deliver. We cannot afford to back down. We have 
come too far and have too much to lose. Extreme times require extreme 
measures to ensure that we pass a health care reform bill that America 
needs and deserves.

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