[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 42 (Friday, March 10, 2017)]
[House]
[Page H2024]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    OPPOSING GOP'S HEALTHCARE REPEAL

  (Mrs. NAPOLITANO asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute.)
  Mrs. NAPOLITANO. Mr. Speaker, good morning, and listen, America.
  One of the Affordable Care Act's biggest successes was increasing 
mental health services for all the people through mental health parity 
protections and Medicaid expansion.
  The GOP's pay-more-for-less bill cuts taxes on the wealthy at the 
expense of those who can least afford to pay for their health coverage, 
like low-income families.
  One in five of Medicaid's 70 million beneficiaries have a mental 
health or a substance abuse disorder, and reports show services are 
needed especially for children. The bill would hurt those people by 
eliminating Medicaid expansion and gutting mental health services for 
this group, including the nearly 60,000 now covered in my district.
  I strongly oppose this repeal effort and urge our Republican 
colleagues to work with us to strengthen the Affordable Care Act so 
more Americans can have access to lifesaving care.
  Please, please, do that for us.

                          ____________________