[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 19]
[House]
[Page 25275]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         HEALTH CARE IN AMERICA

  (Mr. KUCINICH asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. KUCINICH. All across the Nation, people are watching this Capitol 
to see if we are going to have the ability and the courage to stand up 
to the insurance companies and the pharmaceutical companies who have 
had a stranglehold on our politics.
  There is a reason why 47 million Americans are uninsured. It's 
because they cannot afford the rates that the insurance companies 
charge. There is a reason why 50 million Americans are underinsured. 
It's because the copays and the deductibles are so high they're driving 
people to the poorhouse. This is not just simply a matter of the health 
of our Nation and the health of our people, it's a matter of our 
economy and the economic well-being of the American family.
  Congress rightfully should be debating a single payer plan right now, 
which shuts the insurance companies out of this grab that they've had 
here for years, but we're not going to do that. The best we can do and 
the least we can do is at least have a public option so that people 
have some faith that there is some bargaining agent in there to knock 
down the cost of insurance.
  It's time we stood up for the American people and challenge these 
insurance companies and pharmaceutical companies.

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