[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 107 (Thursday, June 22, 2017)]
[House]
[Page H5053]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        AMERICAN HEALTH CARE ACT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Massachusetts (Mr. Kennedy) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. Speaker, like in anyone's office, the photos and 
trinkets on display in mine tell a little bit about who I am: a wedding 
photo, a picture of me and my family on our swearing-in day, a copy of 
the first bill I had signed into law, the moments that I am proud of, 
the pieces of me that I want to share with the world.
  In this body, the people's House is no different. We have always been 
proud of our democracy and even prouder to display it for all the world 
to see. That is why we keep these cameras on whenever we are in 
session. It is why every single word that is uttered on this floor is 
documented and preserved long after the day we draw our last breath. It 
is why we walk beside Americans of all backgrounds and beliefs through 
the rotunda with the same awe of our Nation's history embodied in 
bronze statues and bold paintings. It is why every single night this 
building glows through the darkness; because the light of democracy not 
only lays bare our divisions and dissent, but it lights a path to our 
proudest moments.
  In times of war and peace, fights over civil rights and equality, our 
debates in these halls have always been driven by a fierce conviction 
of our beliefs and a shared vision of a kinder, stronger country. 
Disagreements, yes, but enlightened by ideals, by vision, by a shared 
commitment to our American experiment.
  And when you stand behind those principles and your policies, you 
welcome that spotlight; you engage in that debate; you are eager to 
answer questions; you are ready to be held accountable.
  And so, Mr. Speaker, we should all be concerned by what has 
transpired in our Capitol over the course of the past few weeks. For if 
you are proud of your legislation, you don't lock it behind closed 
doors; you don't shield it from the very people that are going to be 
hurt most by it; you don't turn off the cameras and then call it mean; 
you don't sabotage a healthcare system and leave a wake of devastation 
and destruction to score political points.
  Drafting TrumpCare under the cover of darkness is an admission that 
this bill cannot--cannot--withstand the sunlight of our neighbors.
  Mr. Speaker, the America that I know would never turn its back on a 
friend or a stranger in need. TrumpCare does.
  The America that I know doesn't tell the sick, the elderly, or the 
frail that you are on your own. TrumpCare does.
  The America that I know doesn't tell the young woman struggling 
through an opioid recovery that your next relapse, well, that one was 
one too many. TrumpCare does.
  The America that I know understands that our greatness comes from our 
goodness; that we lean into challenges, you don't yield to them; that 
the frustration that we see in our streets and our communities is a cry 
for our government to be as good and as decent as the people we aim to 
serve. They, we, deserve nothing less. TrumpCare is not that cure.

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