[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 19]
[House]
[Page 26053]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              HEALTH CARE

  (Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas asked and was given permission to address 
the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support 
of national comprehensive health care reform for all Americans. Our 
district has the highest number of uninsured adults in the Nation.
  Since 1965, Medicare has proven to be one of the great success 
stories of the Federal Government. It is the second most popular 
government-run program behind Social Security. That's why I strongly 
support national health care reform that includes the national public 
option similar to Medicare.
  Some of our Republican colleagues have been quick to say that H.R. 
3200, America's Affordable Health Care Choices Act, endangers 
traditional Medicare and eliminates the Medicare Advantage program. 
These assertions are not true. The fact is that H.R. 3200 does not use 
funds from the Medicare trust fund to pay for reform. Instead, it 
eliminates waste and fraud within the Medicare program and abolishes 
the infamous doughnut hole that was created under a Republican Congress 
in 2003 on the prescription drug plan and strengthens the financial 
health of Medicare.
  In 2003, a Republican Congress created the Medicare Advantage 
program, and insurance companies have been benefiting ever since.

                          ____________________