[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 10]
[House]
[Page 14394]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        HEALTH CARE PERSPECTIVES

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Arkansas (Mr. Crawford) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. CRAWFORD. Mr. Speaker, today I want to bring two very contrasting 
perspectives to the floor with regard to health care. One of them 
starts with an individual that we are all familiar with, and when he 
talks, people listen.
  On March 1, 2010, Warren Buffett said:

       I would much rather see a plan C that really attacks costs 
     in regard to health care. And I think that's what the 
     American public wants to see. The American public is not 
     behind this bill. And we need the American public behind the 
     bill.

  Now, he has changed his position two or three times and it is hard to 
get a bead on exactly how he feels about ObamaCare, but when he talks, 
people listen. The problem is the people we need to hear from the most 
aren't being heard.
  I got a letter from Christy in Jonesboro, in my district, and I'm 
going to share that letter with you today. It says:

       As I was listening to the radio this morning, people were 
     calling in about how ObamaCare is already affecting them. I 
     just want you to know a little about our family.
       My husband and I are 48 years old, have been married 29 
     years, and have three daughters, ages 16, 18, and 23--all 
     still living at home, although the 23-year-old does work a 
     full-time job.
       My husband has been an auto-body mechanic for most of his 
     life. This has taken a serious toll on his body as a result 
     of strenuous physical labor paired with breathing chemicals. 
     He has worked at numerous body shops--always looking for a 
     better environment/pay/benefits. I will say, as a body man's 
     wife, the people making good livings in this area are the 
     body shop owners and the health insurance companies.
       Every shop he ever worked at offered him health insurance, 
     but the premiums were always around $200 a week just for him. 
     There was no way we could afford $800 a month for something 
     that may or may not happen.
       Our family of five has rarely been sick. I have tried to 
     practice preventative health care by what I feed my family 
     because I'm positive a large percentage of health costs are 
     due to diet.
       My husband makes $500 a week, on average; my daughter makes 
     a little over $300 a week. Our rent is $800 a month. 
     Utilities run $200. We can barely afford the $47 liability 
     insurance on my husband's vehicle. My daughter pays the $95 
     liability insurance on her vehicle.
       We have barely been able to buy groceries, and I know how 
     to shop frugally. We have no credit cards or expensive 
     habits. We use the library a great deal. My question is: What 
     will we do when we are fined because we don't have health 
     insurance? There is absolutely no way we can afford health 
     insurance for a family of five.
       It is hard to go day by day watching what is happening with 
     the government of this once great Nation. I am so discouraged 
     and disappointed, and I try not to fear the future when it 
     comes to the American Government, which will dictate my 
     future regardless. Thank you for your time.
       Respectfully, Christy in Jonesboro, Arkansas.

  I want Christy to know, and I want everybody in America to know, that 
I hear you. Those guys that are driving the nails, those guys that are 
turning the wrenches, the nurses that are providing health care, the 
firemen who are doing their jobs working the 40-hour week, barely 
making ends meet, and we're piling more and more debt on this country--
$1.3 trillion in additional costs, when Social Security and Medicare 
are nearing bankruptcy. It's unconscionable.
  I want folks to know, certainly in my district and folks across the 
country, that there are people here that hear you. And we're going to 
work for you and try to fix this problem because we can't sustain this 
any longer.

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