[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 11]
[House]
[Page 14570]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1015
                              HEALTH CARE

  (Mr. DeFAZIO asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. DeFAZIO. Republicans gave us a Medicare prescription drug benefit 
complete with a donut hole based on subsidizing the health insurance 
industry and the prescription drug industry. Now they are at it again. 
They are absolutely opposed to a public plan option for health 
insurance, because that would make the health insurance industry 
compete. Their solution to the 50 million Americans without health 
insurance and those who are one pink slip away from losing it is tax 
breaks, so they can go out and buy private insurance.
  Well, here is a little secret. Private insurance is exempt from 
antitrust laws, thanks to the Republicans, so they can and do collude. 
They won't let you have a preexisting condition. They can discriminate 
in any way they want. They can price gouge. They can price fix. And the 
Republicans say that driving people to that system, not giving them a 
low-cost, public plan option, and making the health insurance industry 
more cost effective and truly competitive is a better solution.
  Now, come on, guys. Do you really care about those 50 million people, 
or not?

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