[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 155 (Thursday, October 22, 2015)]
[House]
[Page H7095]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            AFFORDABLE CARE ACT AND HEALTHCARE WITHIN CA-46

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
California (Ms. Loretta Sanchez) for 5 minutes.
  Ms. LORETTA SANCHEZ of California. Mr. Speaker, I stand here today a 
little disheartened, disheartened because my colleagues across the 
aisle seem to have forgotten about the priorities and the needs of the 
American people.
  For an unprecedented 61st time, the majority has introduced a measure 
that would cripple the landmark Affordable Care Act. The consequences 
of such a budget measure would be terrible. Millions of Americans would 
lose their healthcare insurance, and premiums for others would 
skyrocket.
  The majority claims that the ACA somehow is ineffective, costly, or 
illegal. They claim that it doesn't work. Well, they are just wrong.
  Mr. Speaker, the Affordable Care Act is working. It has been working. 
It has been working in my hometown. It has been working in Orange 
County, California, under the Affordable Care Act, the CHIP, and 
Medicaid. We have expanded insurance to over 12.3 million individuals; 
2.6 million of those individuals are Latinos.
  Costs under the ACA have been greatly reduced, and the ACA is 
projected to save the United States $200 billion in the next decade and 
over $1 trillion in the second decade. I would say that those 
statistics speak to the success of the Affordable Care Act.
  The ACA has had great success back home in my home district. In 
Orange County, we had the highest number of new people enroll into the 
healthcare benefit exchange that we have in California. Currently, 
there are more than 1.3 million Californians that now have health 
insurance that didn't have it before.
  See, Mr. Speaker, before the enactment of the ACA, the folks in my 
district--well, they considered it a luxury. They chose between buying 
clothes for their kids to go to school or putting food on the table. Or 
worse, they used home remedies.
  I know because I grew up on home remedies. I grew up not going to the 
doctor. I grew up trying all these crazy things at home, having a 
simple flu, and being out of school for 10 days because we couldn't 
afford to go to the doctor. It is pretty unacceptable in today's time, 
Mr. Speaker, in the greatest country in the world.
  Health care should be a right, not a privilege. We need to continue 
moving forward. We need to continue moving our communities from a 
culture of coping to a culture of coverage.
  No longer do people have to worry about being denied for their 
existing health conditions. Quality health insurance is now available 
to all who seek it. Because nearly 4 out of every 10 people in my 
district are Medicare recipients, I understand how important this 
legislation is for working families; so I will continue to work to join 
with my community-based organizations to ensure that our people are 
covered.
  So tomorrow, when my colleagues across the aisle once again vote--
number 61--to defund the Affordable Care Act, I would like for them to 
think about all the families in America that will suffer when that is 
passed; think of all the families; think about all the kids and their 
home remedies.
  My colleagues in the minority and I have stood up. We have tried to 
explain to the other side the importance of the Affordable Care Act, 
only to have our passionate voices fall on deaf ears.
  Despite these continuous attacks against an existing law which has 
improved the lives of millions of Americans, I will continue to fight 
for quality health care for the folks back home in my district.

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