[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 11]
[House]
[Page 15115]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              HEALTH CARE

  (Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania asked and was given permission to 
address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania. Madam Speaker, I come to the floor 
today to discuss the issue of health care.
  For 28 years, I was committed to delivering quality health care 
services as a health care professional. I came to Congress with the 
commitment of strengthening the quality, accessibility, and 
affordability of our health care system, which is already one of the 
best in the world.
  Madam Speaker, the Democratic Party is intent on rushing a health 
care plan through Congress that expands government control and that 
will ultimately decrease access and quality.
  While we consume the attention of Congress on this big government 
proposal, we have ignored critical workforce health care issues. As the 
baby boomer generation retires, it will be increasingly difficult to 
find qualified health care providers to deliver services needed.
  The debate on health care reform must focus on priority issues that 
truly impact services. A larger government health care bureaucracy is a 
cause, not a cure, to the problems of access, quality and 
affordability. Real health care issues, like health care workforce, is 
where our efforts should be focused.

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