[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 6]
[House]
[Pages 7585-7586]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                  THE CONTINUED NEED FOR HEALTH REFORM

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Rhode Island (Mr. Langevin) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. LANGEVIN. I would like to just take this opportunity to wish all 
of my colleagues and the American people, particularly my constituents, 
a happy St. Patrick's Day.
  Madam Speaker, I rise today to speak on an issue that continues to be 
a top priority for American families and businesses, one that is 
fundamentally intertwined with the strength of our Nation's economy and 
the government's long-term fiscal sustainability. I'm speaking, of 
course, about the need for health care reform.
  Health care costs in the United States are rising at an alarming 
rate. Yet despite the fact that we spend more per capita on health care 
than any other industrialized country, we produce some of the worst 
outcomes by a number of important health measures. Furthermore, the 
U.S. remains the only developed nation that does not guarantee health 
coverage as a right to its citizens.
  Recent estimates indicate that over 45 million Americans lack health 
insurance, leaving one in six without access to proper medical care. 
Even more shocking is that over 80 percent of the uninsured come from 
working families. Health care costs are imposing an increasing burden 
on families and placing employers at a further competitive disadvantage 
in our global economy.
  Now, as we seek to unfurl the complex economic challenges facing our 
country, it remains abundantly clear that our success will not only 
depend on our ability to stem housing foreclosures and create new jobs; 
it will also depend on our will to change a system of health care that 
is fundamentally flawed and under tremendous strain.
  According to Dr. Peter Orszag, the Director of the Office of 
Management and Budget, in his recent testimony before the Housing 
Budget Committee on which I sit, ``the single most important step we 
could take to put this Nation back on a path to fiscal responsibility 
is to address rising health care costs.'' He further stated that 
``health care is the key to our fiscal future. We cannot afford 
inaction.''
  I could not agree more, Madam Speaker. But this is not just an 
economic or a fiscal imperative; it is also a moral one. For many years 
I have continually heard from Rhode Islanders who are struggling to pay 
their share of health care premiums, as well as from businesses that 
can no longer afford to operate under the existing system. Those 
constituents who are fortunate to have access to health insurance are 
struggling in the face of increasingly daunting costs, while many of 
them are afraid, of course, that they will lose the benefit altogether.
  Now, this cannot simply continue any longer, and I am very pleased 
that within the last 2 months, this Congress and President Obama have 
already taken extraordinary steps to begin addressing these challenges 
by expanding coverage and investing in innovative technologies that 
will ensure better treatments and outcomes for the future.
  On February 4 Congress passed and the President enacted a bill to 
provide health coverage to 11 million low-income children through 
SCHIP, the State Children's Health Insurance Program, which I was proud 
to support. Also included in the Recovery Act were a number of 
important measures to

[[Page 7586]]

provide additional funding to State Medicaid programs, extend health 
benefits to the unemployed, and ensure proper investment into health 
information technology so that we can achieve higher quality care with 
greater efficiency.
  As recently as last week, President Obama signed an executive order 
lifting the ban on Federal funding for embryonic stem cell research, an 
act, I believe, will fundamentally alter the course of science and 
medicine in the same manner as did the discovery of the first vaccine 
or X-rays or other significant medical discoveries.
  We have made amazing strides in a short period of time, but there is 
obviously so much more work to be done. I believe it is incumbent upon 
us, as policymakers, to offer a new vision for health care in America, 
one that contains costs, improves quality, increases efficiency, 
promotes wellness, guarantees universal coverage, and encourages 
investment in treatments and cures for the 21st century.
  Madam Speaker, I look forward to working with my colleagues in 
Congress, the President, health care providers, community advocates, 
business leaders, families, and patients across the country to find 
real solutions that permanently address the longstanding need to health 
reform in America.

                          ____________________