[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 1]
[House]
[Page 405]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




           OPPOSING REPEAL OF THE AFFORDABLE HEALTH CARE ACT

  (Mr. CARNEY asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. CARNEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to oppose this 
counterproductive effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act. Instead, we 
ought to focus on how we can move forward together, Democrats and 
Republicans, to address the very serious challenge of rising health 
care costs. Among developed nations, the United States spends twice as 
much as a share of GDP on health care; yet we rank near the bottom in 
health outcomes.
  Insurance premiums more than doubled in the last decade. Absent 
reform, they are on pace to double again by 2020. These costs are 
unsustainable for Delaware families and for the Federal budget. There 
can't be serious conversation about deficit reduction without talking 
about health care cost containment. Medicare, Medicaid, and SCHIP alone 
consume one-quarter of the Federal budget. The Affordable Care Act will 
curb health care cost growth, but there is a lot more that needs to be 
done.
  I came to Congress to make the tough, thoughtful decisions necessary 
to improve the Affordable Care Act, not repeal it. And I look forward 
to working with my colleagues to do just that.

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