[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 11]
[House]
[Page 15421]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                           HEALTH CARE REFORM

  (Ms. LORETTA SANCHEZ of California asked and was given permission to 
address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. LORETTA SANCHEZ of California. Madam Speaker, I rise today to 
commend my fellow Democratic colleagues for their commitment to 
reforming the health care system with the goal of reducing costs and 
improving access to quality health care for all Americans.
  Health care premiums are increasing at an alarming rate; in fact, in 
the last 10 years, they have doubled. Currently, over $1,000 of the 
average American family's annual health care premium goes to support 
uninsured Americans, and still we have over 46 million Americans who 
don't have access to health care, and 20 percent of them are children.
  I believe that we must work creatively to build on the best of what 
works in the current system while fostering competition among private 
plans and providing patients with quality choices.
  We can and we must ensure that all Americans have affordable and 
quality health care. And I urge all of my colleagues to work together 
towards this goal.

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