[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 152 (Wednesday, September 12, 2018)]
[House]
[Page H8162]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         PREEXISTING CONDITIONS

  (Ms. KAPTUR asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I rise to condemn the efforts by the Trump 
administration and this Republican Congress to strip health insurance 
coverage from millions of Americans.
  Before the Affordable Care Act, greedy insurance companies locked out 
people with preexisting conditions like it was nothing.
  A Federal court is hearing a case, Texas v. United States, which 
could dismantle several key health protections, one of which is 
protections for individuals with preexisting conditions.
  Trump's Justice Department refuses to defend existing law, which is 
unprecedented, and shirks its responsibility to defend the laws 
Congress has passed. This could hurt millions of people.
  In the United States, there are 130 million people with preexisting 
conditions. In Ohio alone, 42 percent of the population has preexisting 
conditions. In a recent poll, 75 percent of the public, regardless of 
party affiliation, said protections for people with preexisting 
conditions are very important.
  This is what the American people want and need. As a Congress, we are 
charged to represent the interests of the people; to be for the people, 
not the big insurance companies, not the big pharmaceutical companies 
that would profit even more from a lopsided healthcare system.
  Every American life matters. Every single one of them.

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