[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 19]
[House]
[Page 26433]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                    WOMEN'S INFLUENCE IN HEALTH CARE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen) is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, in many households, women are the main 
link between our family members and the health care that they receive. 
Women make the majority of health care decisions for their families. As 
the mother of two young adults and a new grandmother, I know the many 
responsibilities placed on women with children. From the time children 
are born to far beyond when they reach adulthood, a mother's care and 
advice are never far away. If we are fortunate, eventually we will be 
the grown children of elderly parents.
  In my family, my mother suffers from Alzheimer's, among many other 
age-related problems. I know the responsibility of caring for our 
elders. My day would not be complete without at least making sure that 
I, along with my husband, children, and parents, have and take all of 
our prescriptions and make it to our doctors' appointments on time. It 
is no wonder that women are the majority of health care workers in the 
United States. We are well prepared for this task.

                              {time}  1945

  Every American deserves access to health care insurance. This is our 
goal, and it must be the goal of our Congress. The goal must not be a 
bill that costs $1 trillion. The goal must not be a bill written behind 
closed doors. The goal must not be a bill that increases taxes on our 
families and all of our small businesses. The goal must not be a bill 
that passes huge debts on to our children and grandchildren.
  Women deserve better. Every American deserves better. They deserve 
health care treatment, and every American deserves both health care 
treatment and efficiency at an affordable cost. But as America's 
mothers will tell you, Congress should be utilizing what works in our 
health care system and fixing what does not. Mothers are masters at 
finding commonsense and practical solutions.
  What we currently see is a health care system burdened by excesses 
and inefficient bureaucracy. What we see is our children denied 
coverage because of a preexisting condition. What we see is parents 
changing jobs, causing our families to lose our doctors. What we see is 
women and our parents being charged more for insurance premiums because 
of their gender or because of their age.
  What we don't see is how a government takeover of our health care is 
going to provide for our families' needs. What we don't see is how a 
bureaucratic takeover of our health care will bring down the cost of 
health care procedures or health care insurance. What we don't see is 
how the Pelosi $1 trillion bill helps us more than it hurts us.
  Every American family deserves affordable health care and affordable 
health insurance. To use a mother's saying, let's not go throwing out 
the baby with the bath water. Simple, commonsense, cost-effective 
reform is how we can include all families in our health insurance 
market. We can and we must accomplish health care reform without 
ruining the current health care coverage that is enjoyed by the 
majority of families.
  Women across the United States want to protect their family's 
coverage while ensuring that every other mother out there has the same 
access that she does. The Pelosi bill is not the answer. We can do 
better. We must do better.

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