[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 57 (Tuesday, April 2, 2019)]
[House]
[Page H2946]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   PROTECTING THE AFFORDABLE CARE ACT

  (Mr. COSTA asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. COSTA. Madam Speaker, today I rise to talk about America's 
healthcare system and the importance of protecting the Affordable Care 
Act.
  Residents in my home State of California benefited greatly from the 
ACA. When it became law in 2010, California was one of the first States 
to implement it. At that time, 22 percent of my residents had no 
healthcare insurance whatsoever and 17 percent were uninsured.
  The ACA greatly decreased that number by less than 10 percent, a big 
difference, while also providing coverage for those with preexisting 
conditions, which we all feel strongly about.
  Now the President wants to strike down those protections and 
eliminate the last benefits. That is wrong. These repeated attempts to 
repeal the ACA are irresponsible, especially when there is no real 
proposal to replace it by the President of the United States or my 
Republican colleagues.
  If he succeeds, one in seven people in California will lose their 
healthcare. That is a fact.
  Yes, there are improvements that can be made to the Affordable Care 
Act, and we should address those deficiencies, and that is what I am 
committed to doing. The Congress and the administration should work 
together to fix the law and to make it better.

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