[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 19]
[House]
[Page 25779]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              HEALTH CARE

  (Mr. TURNER asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. TURNER. Mr. Speaker, if the government's handling of the outbreak 
of H1N1 flu, known as swine flu, is any indication of how it will 
administer a public health care option, we should all be greatly 
concerned. With the media reporting that lines of hundreds of people 
wait for H1N1 vaccinations, it took a Presidential national emergency 
declaration just to cut through the bureaucratic red tape.
  If this Congress is serious about health care reform, why not start 
with simple principles on which most of us can agree, such as 
prohibiting insurance companies from denying coverage based on 
preexisting conditions, portability of health care coverage, investing 
in medical research to ensure quality care, deductibility of health 
insurance premiums, ensuring access to health savings accounts, 
limiting frivolous lawsuits which raise health care costs, and allowing 
small businesses to group together to negotiate insurance plans.
  Instead of the President's sweeping overhaul, which will likely 
result in pitfalls, we should look at simple reforms to adhere to 
mutually agreed upon principles ensuring that those who have health 
insurance can keep it and those who don't can obtain it.

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