[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 7]
[House]
[Page 10279]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1015
      GUARANTEE ACCESS TO AFFORDABLE HEALTH CARE FOR ALL CITIZENS

  (Mr. KAGEN asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. KAGEN. Madam Speaker, I rise this morning on behalf of 47 million 
Americans who go to sleep every night knowing that tomorrow they may go 
broke solely because they cannot afford health insurance.
  People without coverage often delay treatments they desperately 
require, and we are all paying the price, for early treatment saves 
lives and saves money. We saw that in Blacksburg, Virginia, and we see 
it every day in emergency rooms and in amputations due to diabetes.
  There is a better way of doing things, a way to guarantee access to 
affordable care for all citizens. Let's build the largest insurance 
risk pool possible, 300 million strong. If you are a citizen, you are 
in.
  Let's openly disclose prices so we know the price of a pill before we 
swallow it. And let's be kind to those who are in need.
  I urge the President to extend the lifesaving SeniorCare drug program 
in Wisconsin, and please, please, please, do not veto the children's 
SCHIP health care program.
  There is a better way of doing things. Let's find it together, with 
no patient left behind.

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