[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 16]
[House]
[Page 21099]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                    HISTORIC TURNOUTS FOR TOWNHALLS

  (Mr. WILSON of South Carolina asked and was given permission to 
address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. Madam Speaker, during August, people 
all across America stood up to have their voices heard on the issue of 
health care.
  In South Carolina, I was grateful to host four townhalls with the 
largest turnout in the history of our State. We had 1,700 people at 
Keenan High School in Columbia, 1,500 people at Lexington High School, 
1,500 people at Beaufort High School, and 1,200 people at Hilton Head 
High School. The discussions were lively, but respectful, with over 95 
percent of constituents opposed to the government takeover of the 
health care system. They want to see health insurance reform.
  Every quarter during my 25-year service in the State Senate and 
Congress I have hosted townhalls, but this August the turnout was 
absolutely historic. It is important to share with the American people 
that there is another choice for reform. Republicans offered positive 
reforms, including the Empowering Patients First Act, H.R. 3400. This 
will fix what is failing in our health care system while protecting the 
doctor-patient relationship. We want to expand affordability and 
accessibility without adding billions to our Nation's debt and 
eliminating 1.6 million jobs, as cited by the NFIB.
  In conclusion, God bless our troops, and we will never forget 
September the 11th in the global war on terrorism.

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