[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 133 (Tuesday, October 1, 2013)]
[House]
[Pages H6097-H6101]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        HOUSE GOP DOCTORS CAUCUS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 3, 2013, the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Gingrey) is recognized 
for 54 minutes as the designee of the majority leader.
  Mr. GINGREY of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I thank the Speaker of the 
House, John Boehner, for allowing the House GOP Doctors Caucus to have 
the leadership hour tonight on this historic day, October 1, the 
ObamaCare exchange launch date. It's entirely fitting that the Speaker 
allowed our House GOP Doctors Caucus.
  This group, Mr. Speaker, is made up of medical doctors, made up of 
registered nurses, dentists, hospital administrators, psychologists, 
optometrists, with over--now, get this, Mr. Speaker, and my 
colleagues--with over 600 years of clinical experience.
  Who knows better, in this Chamber of 435, than these 21 men and women 
who have spent almost their entire professional lives before being 
elected to the House of Representatives in the health care sector.
  So here we are, October 1, ObamaCare exchange launch date, and 
hearing about malfunctions nationwide. We have received warning signs 
for months now that ObamaCare

[[Page H6098]]

wasn't ready, my colleagues, for prime time.
  Now, with exchange malfunctions in more than 30 States on opening 
day, the best HHS can do is tweet, I'm sorry?
  On top of that, after having years to prepare for this disastrous 
law, the President informed us that we could expect these glitches for 
months to come.
  ObamaCare was a bad law when it was signed 3\1/2\ years ago; and now 
that we know what's in it, I firmly believe it's even worse law today.
  Someone trying to receive coverage in the exchange right here in 
Washington, D.C., reported this today, Mr. Speaker: After waiting on 
hold for 3 hours and 43 minutes, I was finally able to speak to a 
representative, who told me she could not help me find a health 
insurance plan or provide any plan pricing information because, and 
this is a quote, ``the system is down and not currently working at this 
time.''
  She recommended I call back in a few days. I guess $1.329 trillion in 
taxpayer funds no longer gets you a functional government takeover of 
health care.
  Mr. Speaker, how can the administration expect people to believe that 
the exchanges are ready and that this bill is ready for prime time, 
with Americans facing this sort of experience today, October 1, the 
roll-out date?
  Let me just take a moment and maybe play David Letterman. Top reasons 
why ObamaCare's exchanges aren't ready for prime time, colleagues:
  Number one, your data isn't secure. Think about that. In the 
ObamaCare exchanges, Federal bureaucrats will have unprecedented access 
to your personal data. Thank the navigators that were hired. They will 
have not only access to your health care data, but also to your 
financial data.
  And this raises a myriad of privacy questions, which are only further 
emboldened by the risk of human error. Recently, a Minnesota exchange 
employee accidentally leaked 2,400 Social Security numbers.
  Number two, no eligibility verification to enroll. No eligibility 
verification to enroll. The Obama administration announced this summer 
that it will allow individuals to self-attest that he or she meets 
income requirements to get a tax credit, a subsidy.
  Eligibility verification is not only required by the law, which the 
administration has chosen to ignore again; it ensures that aid reaches 
the most vulnerable Americans for whom it was intended.
  I recently voted for the No Subsidies Without Verification Act, to 
correct, Mr. Speaker, this reckless policy. That law, that bill that I 
voted for, it's not law yet because the majority leader in the Senate 
is putting it in File 13, where he puts every other bill that the 
Republican House passes.
  I'm very pleased that the author of this bill, Representative Diane 
Black from Tennessee, a member of the House GOP Doctors Caucus, is with 
us tonight; and I'll be yielding time to her momentarily.
  Number three, Mr. Speaker, software glitches. Across the Nation, 
further implementation delays have been caused by several glitches in 
the health exchange software. One of these accounts even strikes at the 
heart of the law's coverage expansion, making it impossible to 
determine how much people need to pay for coverage.
  Number four, system not prepared for small businesses. The Obama 
administration recently warned the small businesses, those companies 
that employ less than 50 people, sometimes maybe 10 or 15, that they 
won't yet be able to shop for health insurance for their employees 
through online exchanges, leaving them to rely on snail mail or faxes 
for at least another month.
  Number five, plans advertised on the exchanges, Mr. Speaker are 
misleading. Early this month it was reported that many insurers, 
including Florida Blue and Aetna, were concerned that information 
offered on the exchange sites was misleading and, in some cases, not 
representative of plans that exist.
  Well, I could go on, but at this point I would like to yield to the 
gentlewoman from Tennessee (Mrs. Black), my colleague and the author of 
that bill; and I know she wants to talk about that, Mr. Speaker.

                              {time}  2115

  Mrs. BLACK. I thank the gentleman from Georgia for yielding. I also 
thank you for having this tonight and giving us an opportunity to talk 
about the Patient Affordability Act.
  Mr. Speaker, Americans didn't want a government shutdown and they 
don't want ObamaCare. Because of the Senate Democrats, today they're 
staring both in the face.
  We in the House of Representatives offered the Senate Democrats three 
bipartisan continuing resolutions that would keep the government open 
and protect the American people from this onerous mandate and the 
President's disastrous health care law, only to see them quickly 
rejected along party lines with little opportunity for debate.
  Now ObamaCare and the Senate Democrats' prized government shutdown 
are here. The reviews are in. They're not good.
  Today, millions Americans experienced delays and technical glitches 
in trying to enroll in ObamaCare exchanges, leading the Associated 
Press to report that the program is ``not working as planned.''
  Meanwhile, The Wall Street Journal tried unsuccessfully to apply 
online for ObamaCare in all 50 States. And on MSNBC, a reporter gave up 
trying to enroll in ObamaCare after 30 minutes, saying:

       If I were signing up for myself, this is where my patience 
     would be exhausted.

  But, Mr. Speaker, this is only the beginning. Under ObamaCare's 
Navigator program, thousands of unlicensed ``in-person assisters'' will 
be tasked with going across the country and propagandizing the 
President's health care law. They'll have as little as 20 hours of 
training and no background check, high school diploma, or prior 
experience required, despite having access to our very personal 
information, including our names, addresses, Social Security numbers, 
and tax returns.
  But don't worry, says the Obama administration. They'll have a 207-
page Navigator Standard Operating Procedures Manual. The size of a 
college textbook, this is the guide that navigators should be expected 
to learn in just 20 hours.
  Now, Mr. Speaker, I've been working my way through this manual, 
hoping that it would provide these navigators with some insight on our 
complex health care system. Instead, I'm finding that this manual is 
filled with lessons like in section 2-2-1, Smiling. Yes, it says, 
``Smiles are contagious,'' the manual reads. ``Usually, when you smile 
at somebody, they will smile back at you.'' The manual goes on to 
instruct navigators to ``nod occasionally'' when interacting with 
consumers and to maintain an ``open and inviting'' posture.
  Addressing security concerns, the manual reminds navigators not to 
leave Americans' ``tax return information on printers and fax 
machines.''
  Mr. Speaker, the Navigator program is an open invitation for misuse 
of taxpayer information. The American people should not have their most 
sensitive personal information in the hands of people who have not 
been, at bare minimum, subjected to background checks.
  My House Republican colleagues and I remain committed to fighting 
this law and protecting Americans from widespread fraud and abuse in 
the ObamaCare Navigator program. The Senate has an open invitation to 
join us. The question is: When will they?
  Mr. GINGREY of Georgia. I thank the gentlelady from Tennessee.
  Let me, colleagues, point out to you this poster that I have on the 
easel before us. This is the official United States Government Web site 
to get information about the rollout of the exchanges. And that's 
today, as we said at the outset of the hour, October 1.
  The Web site, healthcare.gov, if you went to it today, Mr. Speaker, 
my colleagues, here's the information you get:

       The system is down at the moment. We're working to resolve 
     the issue as soon as possible. Please try again later.

  Three-and-a-half years ago, March 23, 2010, the Patient Protection 
and Affordable Care Act--the official name of this law--was signed by 
the President. It did become the law of the land. I don't think that 
the name of the law is very appropriate. Patient Protection? I doubt 
it. Affordable Care Act?
  Listen to this: In my home State of Georgia, Mr. Speaker, the Aetna

[[Page H6099]]

Health Insurance Company has a number of policyholders. A recent letter 
was sent to those policyholders, Mr. Speaker. Let me read it, because I 
think this is so telling:

       We're here to help you with your health insurance. We value 
     our customers. We want to help you understand your health 
     plan options for 2014.

  Once again, Mr. Speaker, this is a letter from Aetna Health Insurance 
to their policyholders.

       The Affordable Care Act is changing health insurance. This 
     includes adding new preventive care and essential health 
     benefit requirements.

  In other words, mandated. The government is going to tell people and 
health insurance companies what has to be in the policies.
  They go on to say:

       The Affordable Care Act also ends medical underwriting. Due 
     to these and other changes, some people will pay more for 
     their health coverage and others less.

  In other words, standard rates, whether you have a preexisting 
condition. You could have heart disease, you could have high blood 
pressure, you could have diabetes type 2, or you could be a 28-year-old 
man or woman, healthy, strong, athletic, no bad habits, enjoy the 
Methuselah gene in your family. And so you're going to pay the same 
thing that someone does that's 58 years old and with three or four 
preexisting conditions. Well, that's exactly the case, and that's why 
Aetna goes on to say to their policyholders:

       The Affordable Care Act will affect your health insurance 
     plan. Your current policy will end December 31, 2013. You 
     need to buy a new plan now so that you do not have a gap in 
     coverage on January 1, 2014.

  And then they go on to say this, Mr. Speaker:

       Here are your buy-in options. Buy a 2013 Aetna plan 
     effective in December. This plan is identical to your current 
     coverage, and it would continue for the next 12 months. Then, 
     you will need to buy a new Affordable Care Act plan in 2015. 
     If you choose this option, please take action by November 25, 
     2013.

  Now, here's your other option, as they point out. Option number two:

       Buy a 2014 Aetna Affordable Care Act plan--

  ``Affordable,'' I emphasize that again.

     --effective January 1, 2014. This plan meets all the 
     Affordable Care Act requirements. If we don't hear from you 
     or you don't take any action, we will automatically enroll 
     you into the 2014 Affordable Care plan below.

  Now, listen to this, Mr. Speaker. The current plan, the one that 
they're on, the 2013 plan, Georgia Managed Choice Open Access Value 
2500--that's what the plan is called--if you go ahead, as they said, by 
November 25, 2013, and sign up, you re-up for that plan that you like--
and the President said, If you like your plan, you can keep it; 
remember that one?--then your monthly premium will be $364.
  Your other choice, the 2014 Affordable Care Act plan, Aetna Classic 
3500 PD, $634 a month, Mr. Speaker. Remember, the 2013 plan, I said 
$364. If you buy the affordable care plan mandated by the government in 
2014, it's double.
  So anybody that thinks that the insurance commissioner, Ralph 
Hudgens, of the State of Georgia didn't know what he's talking about 
several months ago when he said that the Affordable Care Act, in some 
instances--and this is Aetna giving us their information--the premiums 
are going to go up as much as 100 percent, Mr. Speaker, that is exactly 
what we're talking about. We just absolutely cannot afford the 
Affordable Care Act.
  The President assured us that this was paid for and that it was not 
going to cost more than $900 billion over 10 years. The CBO now says, 
Mr. Speaker, that it's at least twice that much in cost.
  Look, at midnight on October 1, as you heard my colleagues from the 
other side of the aisle just a few minutes ago in their leadership hour 
talking about the Federal Government shutting down, indeed, at midnight 
on October 1, appropriations for the Federal Government did expire. By 
law, Congress must agree on a funding measure or the government will 
shut down.
  As Washington has been run by Democrats for the past 5 years, Mr. 
Speaker, it's become a dysfunctional disaster. Americans expect, and 
they deserve, their elected officials to work together to find 
solutions. President Obama and Senate Democrats have drawn red lines 
and they refuse to negotiate or even talk to those who disagree with 
them unless, of course, it's President Vladimir Putin of Russia or 
Hassan Rouhani of Iran.
  In fact, House Republicans have passed three continuing resolutions, 
or temporary spending bills, to keep this government open and to either 
defund or to delay ObamaCare--which the majority of Americans support. 
They were against it 3\1/2\ years ago; they are against it today; and 
they support what we are doing in the Republican House of 
Representatives.
  I praise and commend Speaker John Boehner and the leadership of Eric 
Cantor and Kevin McCarthy for the strength that they have had in regard 
to this and for being so inclusive for every single member of our 
caucus.

                              {time}  2130

  All of these proposals, Mr. Speaker, that were submitted to the 
Senate were rejected. They were rejected by Harry Reid and Senate 
Democrats.
  This morning, in the wee hours of this morning, the Senate voted 54-
46 against coming to the negotiating table with House Republicans. I'll 
refer my colleagues to this poster. I would like for all of you to take 
a close look at this poster because this says it all in these hashtags: 
Let's talk. If the President can talk to Putin and the President can 
talk to Rouhani, why in the world can't the President talk to conferees 
in the House of Representatives, just sit down and talk?
  You've rejected not one, not two, not three, but four of our 
proposals without even a response, without even a counterproposal. And 
what the Speaker has said is: Let's talk. I have appointed--and he has 
appointed the best and brightest minds on the Republican side of this 
Chamber to discuss this issue with the conferees. But Mr. Speaker, 
Harry Reid, the majority leader, has refused to come to the table, has 
refused to appoint conferees.
  In fact, look at hashtag number two in regard to what we have been 
asking as just some compromise in regard to passing a CR and keeping 
this Federal Government open. We have nobody on our side of the aisle--
nobody, Mr. Speaker--wanted this government to shut down. But here is 
what was rejected by the House, by the Senate Democrats, by Harry Reid, 
the majority leader.
  Look at this second hashtag: Fairness for all. Fairness for all. If 
the President, Mr. Speaker, can say to large employers across this 
country who went to him and lobbied--big lobbying shops with the 
ability to do this, that said, look, we're not ready; January 1, 2014 
does not give us time to prepare the documents that we need to prepare 
that are required by the Affordable Care Act--and the President, by 
Executive order, granted them a year delay with no fines, no penalties, 
no nothing. Everything the same as it was prior to the passage of 
ObamaCare.
  So we say: Fairness for all. Why not do that same thing for middle 
America, for the men and women that are struggling, working every day, 
sometimes two jobs, to support their families. You're going to say that 
for them, no waiver, no special treatment, no fairness. If you don't 
have a health insurance policy--and one that is dictated to you by the 
Federal Government in regard to what it has to entail--then we're going 
to fine you $95 if you're an individual or $295 if you're a family. 
That was one of the things that we asked of the Senate in regard to 
extending the CR, fairness for all--summarily rejected by Harry Reid.
  Then the last point: no special treatment. You know, colleagues, Mr. 
Speaker, you know exactly what I'm talking about here. Members of 
Congress, by law--this was put in on the Senate side. But by law, 
Members of Congress and their staff no longer, come January 1, will be 
in the Federal Employee Health Benefit Plan. They will be part of 
ObamaCare. They will have to get their health insurance in the 
exchanges. By law, they're not eligible, unless their salary allows 
it--maybe some entry-level staff members would be eligible for a 
subsidy, but certainly no Member of Congress.
  Well, the people in Georgia, the people in my district, when they 
found out about that, Mr. Speaker, and my colleagues, they were 
absolutely livid. This is a fairness issue. This is absolutely 
something that anyone can see is wrong.

[[Page H6100]]

  We should be treated--we, the democratic majority, not we 
Republicans--but Congress enacted this law, and to say that we should 
get a dispensation from it and then cram it down the throats of the 
American people who never wanted it in the first place, that is 
grossly, grossly unfair.
  Well, Mr. Speaker, I see that I've been joined by another colleague 
of mine in the House GOP Doctors Caucus. This is the gentlewoman from 
North Carolina, a registered nurse. Her husband is a general surgeon. 
She is a great Member of this body, and I'm proud to yield to 
Representative Renee Ellmers.
  Mrs. ELLMERS. Thank you so much to my distinguished colleague from 
Georgia. This is such an important day. We have reached day one of the 
ObamaCare exchange being up.
  If you look at the chart that we have up, very similar, Congressman 
Gingrey, to that same chart that you are showing, it is what North 
Carolina is seeing today. For any North Carolinian who is going on the 
Web site, it is not ready for prime time.
  I rise today to talk about the failures of ObamaCare and why we have 
persisted for so long to remove this terrible law. It is law, we get 
that. We understand it. It was upheld by the Supreme Court. However, it 
is a bad law. It is bad for America, it is bad for the economy. It is 
bad for health care. And as it is right now, it will not be improved. 
There's no way that we can change it, that we can improve it at this 
point.
  The exchanges being up, 32 States that are showing the same screen to 
those who are going online, those who have been promised this exchange 
so that they can check and see what kind of coverage they will have 
available to them, this is what they are seeing.
  Coupled with the government shutdown--which we all tried to avoid 
with every effort possible--there again, the Senate not cooperating 
with us, the President staying committed to ObamaCare going forward 
when we know the structure is simply not in place.
  You know, Mr. Speaker, I ran for office a couple of years ago. I was 
elected in 2010. My whole goal has been to repeal ObamaCare because it 
is not only, again, devastating to the American people, to our economy, 
but to health care itself. When you have devoted your life to something 
and you see that it is just being taken apart in front of you, you know 
that you have to act. Nevertheless, here we are, day one of ObamaCare, 
day one failure.
  For 3\1/2\ years, countless administration officials have testified 
before us in subcommittee hearings in Energy and Commerce over and over 
and over again. The question has been posed to them: Will the exchanges 
be ready October 1, 2013? Repeatedly, consistently we heard from 
administrators of those agencies: Yes, we are right online; everything 
is moving completely the way that we would envision it to move. Yeah, 
there may be some glitches here and there, but we are ready to go 
October 1. And this is what the American people are seeing.
  Mr. GINGREY of Georgia. If the gentlelady will yield to me just for a 
second, I will yield right back to her.
  Even the Hispanic language Web site is not available to these people 
that need to get that vital information. The Web site for the Hispanic 
is down.
  Mrs. ELLMERS. You know, and that gets to the greater point that the 
gentleman points out. This objective, when President Obama put it 
forward--I go back to the summer of 2009. I was not in any position to 
ever considering running for office; working as a nurse with my husband 
in his general surgery practice, trying to take care of the patients 
back home. When we were learning about what the President was 
proposing, we said, you know what, we just can't simply sit back and 
watch this happen to us, we have to speak out. Because there were many 
in our medical community who said, you know, this is wrong, this is 
wrong. We know that there are reforms that are needed. We know that we 
have so much to fix in health care. But this approach, this government 
takeover of health care, is only going to lead to socialized medicine. 
We know that. And that's not a winning health care system, not when you 
have the best health care system in the world.

  So we did, we started speaking out. We got on the road, we talked to 
people, we explained to them how dangerous this was. The very 
conversations I was having then are being realized today. The fears 
that we were discussing, the issues that we were discussing about where 
this would take us in health care, are now being realized.
  The quote that's on the chart, ``The system is down at the moment. We 
are working to resolve this issue as soon as possible. Please try again 
later.'' That is what the people who are in need of health care, that's 
what they're reading. And for the hardworking taxpayers of America, 
that is what you're paying for, a complete and total failure of the 
Federal Government.
  We agree, the system is down. That is why we fought so hard for a 
delay. That is why we felt that that reform was a very essential piece 
moving forward. That is why we're fighting today for every American to 
have the same health care coverage, the same options that we in 
Congress have.
  Every American should be treated fairly. Every American should have 
the same opportunities as everyone else. You cannot just simply hand 
out waivers to those that you pick and choose.
  You know, when big businesses have the ability now to have that 
mandate put to the side for a year, why does the individual--the 
individual who needs it more than anyone, the one who's going to that 
site looking for health care, they can't even be helped by that right 
now. Meanwhile, we're telling them, oh, and by the way, you're going to 
pay for this.
  If you're a young adult male in North Carolina, your premiums are 
going to quadruple. If you're a young woman, your health care premiums 
are going to triple. That is who is going to pay for this. And the 
system is down; it isn't even working.
  As my colleagues and I have been saying over and over again, this law 
is not ready for prime time, and it never will be. It is unworkable. It 
will continue to remain so. And for months, again, HHS, IRS, CMS, all 
of these agencies have repeatedly said that when today comes, October 
1, it would be up and running.
  I do want to share with you just one of many, but one phone call we 
received today from one of my constituents, Rachael Burt from Fuquay 
Varina, North Carolina. She called our office and spoke to one of my 
staff. And she was emotional, she was concerned, and she was afraid. 
She said: ``My husband's premium is going up 155 percent. We are 
shocked. I am on maternity leave, and I am afraid to know how much mine 
will go up. I'm sure the letter is on its way though.''
  In anticipation of this, this poor woman is waiting to receive that 
information. And what she said was: ``ObamaCare seems to be nothing but 
a punishment on those who are trying to do the right thing.'' Rachel, I 
can't agree more. That's what the problem is here. That's why we're 
working so hard to fix it.
  We will remain committed to this issue. We will continue to pursue a 
delay. And by the way, we will continue to pursue avenues for health 
care coverage that really are truly affordable, that really do give 
more coverage to Americans, that really are patient centered, such as 
the RSC plan, the American Health Care Reform Act that Members of our 
own conference worked on--eight Members to be exact--to give the 
American people a choice other than this failure on October 1 of 
ObamaCare.
  Mr. GINGREY of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlelady from 
North Carolina and the very fine points that she makes in regard to 
this law.

                              {time}  2145

  And the problems that the American people are facing here--as I say, 
3\1/2\ years after enactment of the law--Mr. Speaker, I can't imagine 
it taking me 3\1/2\ years to get something right and not have enough 
time.
  But just listen to this: it does not instill confidence that the 
administration was scheduled to certify the security of the health IT 
system--information technology--people's health information--just hours 
before millions of Americans are expected to upload their personal 
information--health care information, financial information. That is a 
pretty scary prospect, my colleagues, Mr. Speaker, to think just hours 
ahead of time.

[[Page H6101]]

  What is more important than one's personal health care information? 
Not even their financial information. Because we are talking about life 
and death issues here, Mr. Speaker. It has given waivers and delays to 
politically favored friends, but left the rest of America to bear the 
full weight of the law. That is what we were talking about in this 
poster that I want my colleagues, once again, to focus on in regard to 
``fairness for all''--``fairness for all.'' We are not getting it.
  To quell the public's growing discontent, the President is actually 
now marketing efforts to protect families from this looming train wreck 
as ``crazy.'' The American people face costly and onerous mandates, 
small businesses struggle to keep up with the rising costs, doctors--my 
colleagues, my former colleagues in Georgia where I practiced for 26 
years obstetrics and gynecology in Cobb County, Marietta, Georgia, the 
heart of the Eleventh Congressional District--doctors frustrated with 
the challenges of a government-run health care system, and the security 
of America's health and financial information is unknown.
  Mr. Speaker, my colleagues, the doctors know, they know this is just 
a first salvo. They understand that the intent was to have a single-
payer system, not unlike the UK or Canada or Australia. That is what 
the leading Democrats--the Democrats that have been in this body for 
20, 30, 40, and in some cases 50 years--have been trying to literally 
force-feed to the American people who absolutely don't want it.
  Add October 1 to the list of dates on which the Obama administration 
pretends an unworkable health care scheme is precisely what the 
American people were promised--an admission not yet made, but 
inevitable nonetheless. Mark down October 1, 2013, as a day in infamy, 
as a day in infamy.
  This behavior, Mr. Speaker, is not what Americans deserve, and it is 
a reminder that we need new leadership. We need new leadership in the 
White House and in the Senate. We need a new Senate majority leader. 
After 2014, I think we are going to have one. House Republicans will 
continue working day and night to return the United States Government 
to business as usual--to business as usual.
  I oppose a government shutdown. As I said at the outset of the hour, 
Mr. Speaker--as I conclude our time--I oppose a government shutdown, 
and I am fighting, yes, to repeal ObamaCare, as I have for the last 4 
years.
  In the meantime--in the meantime--I do agree with President Obama 
that implementation of this flawed and disastrous health care law must 
be delayed, it must be delayed. However, Mr. Speaker, the President has 
only delayed ObamaCare for his political friends--a few privileged 
Americans and big corporations.
  That is where we disagree. If we cannot repeal the law, I believe 
that it must be delayed for all Americans. We have spent the last 50 
minutes, Mr. Speaker, talking about that, explaining to our colleagues 
in this Chamber and to the American people that this law is not and 
will never be ready for prime time.
  It was flawed from the very beginning. Has it brought down the cost 
of health care? Is there anything in the law about medical liability 
reform that the President promised? Has it fulfilled the pledge from 
the President of the United States that ``if you like your health 
insurance, you can keep it, nothing has to change''? Has it fulfilled 
the mandate that it has strengthened Medicare?
  How, Mr. Speaker, can a law strengthen Medicare when $750 billion was 
taken out of that program for our precious seniors--our parents and our 
grandparents--that are struggling, it is struggling. Statistics show 
that if we don't make some changes by as early as 2016 that claims will 
not be honored. When that happens and when we continue to cut 
reimbursement to our providers, there will be no primary care doctors 
to take care of our most precious seniors.
  So these are the things that from the very beginning you are robbing 
Peter to pay Paul, you are taking money out of one entitlement program 
to create a whole new entitlement program--I guess you could call it, 
Mr. Speaker: Medicare for all from cradle to grave. But really what it 
is is national health insurance.
  We are talking about health care in this country is one-sixth of our 
economy. Do we want the Federal Government--think about it, ladies and 
gentlemen of the House of Representatives on both sides of the aisle, 
think about it--do you want the Federal Government, that entity that 
runs Amtrak, that entity that is responsible for the U.S. Postal 
Service, do you want that entity to run one-sixth of the economy, and 
that one-sixth dealing with life and death and the health of a Nation? 
No, no, Mr. Speaker. We don't want that; the American people don't want 
that, just voted loud and clear.
  It just astounds me that this Democratic majority in the Senate and 
this President won't even agree to basic fairness issues, like I have 
here on this poster, won't even agree to go to conference with the 
conferees that our great Speaker John Boehner has appointed to just sit 
down and talk. The President goes all over the world talking to people 
that I wouldn't talk to. In a New York minute I wouldn't talk to them; 
I wouldn't trust them. But we can trust each other.
  The men and women in this House on both sides of the aisle, the men 
and women in the Senate on both sides of the aisle, the leadership, 
these are honorable people. And to just stand in the way of sitting 
down and having a conversation and saying, look, you disagreed with our 
``fairness for all'' issue; you disagreed with our ``no special 
treatment.'' Please let's talk.
  That is what Speaker Boehner is saying to Leader Reid. I think, Mr. 
Speaker, I think if we do that, I think if we do that, we can solve 
this problem and move forward with the financial security of this 
Nation.
  We are at a physical cliff. We owe $17 trillion. On October 17, the 
Treasury says we are going to have to borrow another God knows how 
much. Is it $1 trillion, is it $2 trillion, is it $3 trillion? I don't 
know. But we can't kick the can down the road anymore. This can won't 
even move, it is so crunched up.
  It is time for us to come together, as the Speaker says, and let's 
talk.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

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