[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 8]
[House]
[Page 10252]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              HEALTH CARE

  (Mr. LARSEN of Washington asked and was given permission to address 
the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. LARSEN of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to declare that 
the Supreme Court ruling on the Affordable Care Act affirms there's no 
going back to the health care of 2009 or even to the health care of 
1789. Improvements to health care are taking root right now in this 
country. That progress must continue. The Supreme Court decision today 
is a welcome victory for middle class families and bolsters the 
necessary changes taking place in health care today.
  Now we must keep Medicare sustainable and affordable by closing the 
prescription drug doughnut hole and cracking down on fraud. Now we must 
make sure middle class families have diverse options for high-quality, 
affordable health care. Now we must ensure that we meet the needs of 
northwest Washington State seniors, veterans, and families. Northwest 
Washington has already seen improvement. Seniors in the Second District 
who were in the doughnut hole have saved more than $800 on prescription 
medications so far this year. More than 173,000 people in northwest 
Washington State have health insurance that covers preventive care 
without copays or deductibles.
  It is time to move forward on health care. And today, America took a 
great step.

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