[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 19]
[House]
[Page 25784]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              HEALTH CARE

  (Mr. DeFAZIO asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. DeFAZIO. Well, the Republicans are invoking Freddy Krueger and 
saying that he wrote the Democrats' health plan, and it's going to be 
dangerous for Americans. Really scary.
  I'll tell you what's scary. Scary is losing your job and being 
confronted with a bill for continued health insurance that eats up two-
thirds of your benefits. Even more scary--and this has happened to 
people in my district--is having your company go bankrupt and being 
told that your health insurance will cost more than your unemployment 
benefits. That is, if you can get it; if you've never been sick, if 
your kids have never been sick. You can go into the private market and 
buy a policy that exceeds your unemployment insurance. Of course if you 
have ever been sick, a preexisting condition, forget about it.
  The Republicans promised 132 days ago that they would have their own 
health care plan. Where is it? Now 132 days later, you know why we 
don't have it, why there is a resounding silence on that side? Because 
if you are going to take care of people with health care, you have to 
take on their two biggest benefactors, the pharmaceutical industry and 
the insurance industry. And that's the last thing the Republicans want 
to do, take on their biggest campaign benefactors. We have to take on 
pharmaceuticals, take on the insurance industry and have meaningful 
reform for all Americans.

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