[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 2]
[House]
[Page 2458]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE

  (Mr. KUCINICH asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. KUCINICH. There's talk now that the banks will receive an 
additional $1 to $2 trillion in bailout funds. That would bring the 
total amount to $2.7 trillion, which equates to about a little bit more 
or less than $9,000 per person. I want you to think about that in terms 
of the fact that there are 50 million Americans without any health 
insurance and another 50 million who are underinsured. Health care for 
the American people should be a defining purpose of our government. And 
yet, we are giving money to these corporations and these banks who 
won't create jobs, who won't save homes and who will hoard the money.
  It's time that we had a universal health care system such as is 
provided in H.R. 676, the bill that I'm cosponsoring with John Conyers, 
that once and for all says that the health of the American people is a 
defining purpose of government.
  We have to start thinking about the American people. They need a 
bailout. They need to be bailed out of their difficulties with 
insurance companies. They need to have a job. They need pension 
security. It is time to stand up for the people and stop these 
bailouts.

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