[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 10]
[House]
[Page 13981]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



               IMPROVING AMERICANS' ACCESS TO HEALTH CARE

  (Ms. WOOLSEY asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. WOOLSEY. Mr. Speaker, first it was campaign finance reform, then 
it was gun safety and school violence, now it is health care reform. 
There is an unfortunate pattern taking place here with the Republican 
leadership. On issue after issue, issues that are important to the 
people, the Republican leadership uses its power to stomp out real 
discussion.
  Fortunately, we have an alternative, and that is the discharge 
petition, and we are signing it here today. Democrats have been waiting 
for 2 years to pass the Patients' Bill of Rights, and today we step 
forward to improve Americans' access to health care. Let us not be 
fooled by breaking last year's sham bill into eight pieces. The 
Republican leadership wants health care reform to be in small pieces. 
This will not sell. The American Medical Association says that the 
Republican package of bills falls short of the mark and it does not 
solve any of the problems of doctors and patients.
  It is time to put doctors and their patients back in charge of health 
care reform.

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