[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 82 (Thursday, May 16, 2019)]
[House]
[Page H3913]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     BREAK THE CORPORATE STRANGLEHOLD ON OUR HEALTH AND WELL-BEING

  (Ms. TLAIB asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. TLAIB. Madam Speaker, we must have a moral awakening, a spiritual 
revolution on how we treat a person's health in this country.
  We must understand that every single human has a right to be healthy 
and comfortable, to live with dignity, and to receive the healthcare 
they need to flourish.
  At present, this understanding is in conflict with a sinister, unjust 
force in our society: corporate greed.
  Why are people forced to skip insulin injections so they can pay 
their rent?
  Why are my residents charged $70 for a PrEP, a pill that could 
dramatically reduce HIV transmission, when the same pill costs $7 
abroad?
  Corporate greed has replaced the moral imperative that everyone live 
in health and dignity. There is more wealth in this country than any 
other in human history, and millions go without health insurance and 
prescription drugs, people condemned to live with pain and suffering 
because we have chosen corporate profits over our dignity as a nation.
  We are watching a crisis unfold in real time. It is time we break the 
corporate stranglehold on our health and well-being, lost profits of 
the insanely wealthy be damned.
  We have much more important things to protect. We have the soul of 
this country to rescue.

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