[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 19]
[House]
[Pages 26530-26531]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                COMMONSENSE IDEAS REGARDING HEALTH CARE

  (Mrs. BIGGERT asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Mrs. BIGGERT. It seems like all we hear in Washington about health 
care today is ``public option'' and ``government-run program,'' so I 
thought it was interesting in a recent questionnaire, 47 percent of my 
constituents most want Congress to focus on reducing costs. Only 10.5 
percent are most concerned with the public option, and I would be 
willing to bet that these numbers are similar all over the country.
  Mr. Speaker, I believe that we should get back to the health care 
issue most important to Americans: reducing costs. Let's support 
commonsense changes, like medical malpractice reform and association 
health plans. We should also focus on eliminating the waste, fraud, and 
abuse that is so rampant in our medical system. With the money these 
reforms save, we will be able to expand coverage and be sure

[[Page 26531]]

no one is denied health care coverage because of a preexisting 
condition or because they can't afford premiums.
  These are simple, tested, commonsense ideas that don't take 1,999 
pages to explain. Let's give the American people what they want, Mr. 
Speaker.

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