[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 16]
[House]
[Pages 20695-20696]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              HEALTH CARE

  (Ms. SCHWARTZ of Pennsylvania asked and was given permission to 
address the House for 1 minute.)
  Ms. SCHWARTZ of Pennsylvania. Every day, Americans work hard to meet 
their responsibilities, to pay their mortgage, to send their children 
to college, to save for retirement, and every day Americans worry about 
the health and safety of their family, friends, and loved ones. Yet, 
under the policy of the Bush administration and the Republican 
Congress, access to health care has gotten harder.
  The number of untreated Americans is on the rise; 47 million are 
currently without insurance. Health insurance premiums are 
skyrocketing, a 73 percent increase over the last 5 years. And medical 
research is stifled because politics, not science, dictates public 
policy.
  Democrats have a plan to make health care more affordable and to 
advance lifesaving medicine. Democrats will enable small businesses to 
join together to negotiate more affordable rates for their employees. 
Democrats will negotiate lower prices for seniors and eliminate 
overpayments to HMOs, and Democrats will work towards cures for 
diseases that affect all of our families by investing in the promise of 
stem cell research and innovative biotechnologies.
  Our plan prioritizes the health of people, not the profits of special 
interests. Our plan will reduce costs and will find cures.
  It is time for a new direction in health and science, one that 
Democrats can deliver.

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