[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 55 (Thursday, April 14, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E716]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              REPEALING PREVENTION AND PUBLIC HEALTH FUND

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                           HON. ANNA G. ESHOO

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, April 13, 2011

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 1217) to 
     repeal the Prevention and Public Health Fund:

  Ms. ESHOO. Madam Chair, I rise in opposition to H.R. 1217, a bill to 
repeal the Prevention and Public Health Fund.
  Prevention works. It's the best way to keep costs down and keep 
people healthy.
  For decades our healthcare system has been designed to treat patients 
once they're sick. This is inefficient and costly. The Prevention and 
Public Health Fund included in healthcare reform is finally starting to 
change this backward system and invest efforts to keep people healthy.
  The Fund is important because it offers flexibility--grants are 
awarded to states, communities, and local public health groups to 
implement local prevention programs that work for the local community.
  Any person in this chamber who is concerned about the rising cost of 
healthcare in our country should be embracing the Prevention and Public 
Health Fund. Study after study has proven that prevention saves money. 
This legislation willfully ignores this fact and instead, favors an 
``every man for himself'' approach.
  Is it any wonder why we spend more on healthcare than any country in 
the world with lackluster results? Other nations are out-investing us 
in prevention, public health infrastructure, and primary care. Smart 
healthcare saves money.
  Unfortunately, we're also considering several bills this week to 
eliminate healthcare and none of them are wise. Efforts to chip away at 
the first meaningful health reform our country has ever seen are 
shortsighted and foolish . . . even worse is to take away basic 
preventive health services that women already have. Ninety seven 
percent of the services Planned Parenthood provides have nothing to do 
with abortion and everything to do with family planning, diabetes care, 
vaccines, physicals, and, for men, testicular cancer screenings. 
Eliminating funding for the preventive services of Planned Parenthood 
will increase the number of abortions in our country and reverse the 
positive results of mammograms and cervical care.
  I urge my colleagues to vote against these efforts.

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