[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 16]
[House]
[Page 21803]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




               MAJOR STEP FORWARD FOR HEALTH CARE REFORM

  (Mr. PALLONE asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, health care reform in the Congress took a 
major step forward today with the announcement of the Senate Finance 
Committee proposal.
  There may be differences between that proposal and the bills that we 
have passed in the House, but the bottom line is that we are moving 
forward in trying to pass crucial health care reform.
  If you look at the Senate Finance proposal, it basically has the 
health exchange in an effort to provide choice and competition and 
provide affordability for those Americans who either do not have health 
insurance now or are afraid that they may lose their health insurance 
because their costs continue to go up.
  The Kaiser Foundation came out yesterday with an analysis that showed 
that more and more employers now are passing off the cost of health 
insurance to their employees, either through higher costs that they 
have to pay or cost-sharing or deductibles or co-pays, so something has 
to be done. It's not just a question of those who are uninsured; it's 
also a question of those who have health insurance now who may lose it 
because their employer will not provide it or their costs continue to 
climb.
  We need to move forward, and we are taking a major step today.

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