[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 136 (Friday, October 4, 2013)]
[House]
[Page H6240]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            END THE SHUTDOWN

  (Mr. KENNEDY asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. Speaker, in the early hours of the morning on 
Tuesday morning, I, along with a number of my colleagues, left our 
offices to walk over to the House floor to vote after the government 
had already been shut down. We passed on our way a cleaning crew who 
was down to half staff--half of her team not here to clean our offices.
  We are not the ones that make this Chamber function. Yet we are 
clearly sending home those that do. They're not a line item in a 
budget. They've got rent and mortgages to pay, mouths to feed, and 
children to clothe. But because some of my colleagues have decided that 
it's better to shut down this government than to provide millions of 
Americans access to safe and affordable health care, here we are.
  As you all know, the Affordable Care Act was modeled upon the health 
care reform we have already conducted in Massachusetts. So it's worth 
taking a quick look at where that Massachusetts health reform stands.
  We have 100 percent of all kids covered. We've got 98 percent of all 
adults covered. We've made certain that no person is now one bad 
accident or one bad gene away from medical bankruptcy. Regarding cost 
containment, our rates have increased for individuals, and premiums are 
at a 1.8 percent increase this year.
  We need to get this bill done, and I ask for your help.

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