[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 50 (Wednesday, March 22, 2017)]
[House]
[Page H2298]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          DON'T WALK THE PLANK

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
Illinois (Ms. Schakowsky) for 5 minutes.
  Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Mr. Speaker, it was 7 years ago today that the 
Affordable Care Act passed and changed the lives of so many millions of 
Americans who previously couldn't get health care. But I think we knew 
even at the time that a big bill like this, a transformative piece of 
legislation like this, over time would require some changes, just as 
Social Security and Medicare have done.
  The truth of the matter is, for 7 years, as we heard Republicans 
complaining about what was happening, we said: Let's sit down together, 
as Members of Congress, representatives of the people, and fix what we 
have got and build on the things that have made it possible for all 
these millions of people to have not only health care, but better 
health care.
  Instead, what we heard over and over again is: Repeal ObamaCare; 
repeal ObamaCare. And I kind of feel like today what we have is, 
because they said that, then they feel like they have to fulfill a 
promise. But if you look at what they are offering, it really hurts so 
many Americans.
  What I hope the American people will understand is that the so-called 
repeal-and-replace bill raises the cost of premiums and out-of-pocket 
costs. People are going to pay more and get less.
  Twenty-four million people--that is just a start; it ends up being 
some 50 million people after some years--will lose their coverage 
altogether.
  It represents the single largest transfer of wealth to the top 
richest Americans and corporations. We are talking about $600 billion 
in tax relief. There is not a lot of talk about that. In many ways, 
this is a tax cut for the richest being masked as a healthcare bill.
  Finally, I want to really focus in on what we call the age tax. Well, 
before I was a senior citizen myself, I have worked with older 
Americans in the State of Illinois, where I am from, and here in 
Congress as well.
  So what is this age tax? This bill says that people who are between 
the age of 50--not very old--and 64, in other words, pre-Medicare, will 
be allowed to be charged five times more than young people for their 
health care. Actually, it allows the States even to go more than five 
times more for their health care. It will lower the subsidies.
  As has been said many times, here is just an example. If you are 64 
years old with an income of around $26,500--which, by the way, is the 
median income for people that age, certainly not a wealthy person--you 
would pay, under this bill, the Republican bill, $14,600 for premiums--
think of that--as compared to $1,700 today, an increase of $12,900. So 
it is not surprising that the Congressional Budget Office predicts that 
many of those people will simply have to give up their health care.
  The reason they want to charge them more is to entice younger people, 
who will then pay lower premiums, to actually get on the program. We 
are all for that. We want to make sure that young people get on. But 
people who are 50 to 64 are very likely, or more likely than young 
people, to have healthcare issues.
  It is absolutely no wonder that so many organizations and forces are 
lining up in the United States to oppose this bill:
  The American Medical Association, the doctors, and all the different 
subgroups of doctors, have written letters saying no to this repeal-
and-replace.
  The American Hospital Association, not only urban hospitals and 
hospitals in medically underserved areas, rural hospitals could go 
under.
  The AARP, 35 million members strong, is absolutely dead set--they are 
running ads; some people may have seen them on television--against this 
legislation.
  The American Nurses Association, conservative think tanks are against 
it, and many Members of Congress are against it--and for good reason. 
One of our Republican Senators said to House Republicans: Don't walk 
the plank.
  I would suggest they take that advice and vote ``no.''

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