[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 15]
[House]
[Pages 20772-20773]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         CRYSTAL-CLEAR CHOICES

  (Mr. GREEN of Texas asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, the future of our health care system 
is at stake in the November election.
  In one way or another, every American has experienced the good, the 
bad, and the ugly about our health care system; and the question voters 
all across

[[Page 20773]]

this country should ask themselves is: Are we better off than we were 4 
years ago?
  Let us take one look at our administration's record on health care. 
Since 2001, an additional 5.2 million Americans are uninsured. For the 
American businesses and families, health care premiums have risen more 
than $3,500 in these 3 years. We are paying more and covering fewer 
people.
  Under this administration's watch, seniors have felt the sting of 
double-digit Medicare premium increases. Seniors and everyone else's 
prescription drug costs increase steadily, and we watch the 
administration fight plans that allow Medicare to negotiate for lower 
costs.
  The American people deserve better. This Congress should do better.
  We should fund children's health care programs and expand to working 
families who cannot afford health care insurance. We need to reverse 
this administration's damage by cutting our families' health insurance 
premiums by $1,000 a year.

                              {time}  1015

  We should allow for crucial stem cell research that holds such 
promise for our loved ones.
  Mr. Speaker, the choice is clear this November.

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