[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 20]
[House]
[Page 27183]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                    HEALTH CARE IS FREEDOM REDEFINED

  (Mr. RYAN of Ohio asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. RYAN of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, there has been a lot of talk about 
freedom and liberty over the last couple days in Washington, DC, but 
the question really is: The person who is sick and can't get health 
care, are they really free? If you keep getting sick because you can't 
access a doctor, you can't get better, so you can't go to work, so you 
can't make money, is that person really free?
  In 2009, we need to redefine freedom. Freedom in America in 2009 
means being healthy and having access to a health care system that 
isn't just for the elite, but it's for everybody.
  Now, our people are going to get a 15, 20, 30 percent increase. 
Businesses are going to get a 30 percent increase right now. This is 
what we're trying to prevent, an $1,800 increase for the average family 
of four if we do absolutely nothing.
  We're going to wake up in a few weeks in America, no more denials 
because of preexisting conditions; no more people in America or 
families in America will go bankrupt. We're going to fix this health 
care crisis that we have in this country.

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