[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 10]
[House]
[Pages 14439-14440]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              OBAMA CARES

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 3, 2013, the Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. 
Wilson) for 30 minutes.
  Ms. WILSON of Florida. Mr. Speaker, this is my own little ``non-
filibuster'' in the House of Representatives. I simply cannot stay 
quiet when a crowning achievement for the American people is under 
attack.
  The term ``ObamaCare'' was coined by Republicans in 2010 to mock the 
Affordable Care Act. Well, this is one place where I agree with the 
Republicans. I believe that ObamaCare is the perfect name for the 
Affordable Care Act because the Affordable Care Act is proof that Obama 
cares. He cares about America's families. He cares about mothers. He 
cares about fathers. He cares about young people. He cares about 
babies. He cares about seniors. He cares about the future of the 
American people. Yes, Obama cares.
  We know that Obama cares because insurance companies can no longer 
deny 17 million children with preexisting conditions health coverage. 
We know that Obama cares because 105 million Americans with life-
threatening diseases no longer have to live in fear of maxing out on 
their lifetime dollar limits on their insurance coverage. We know that 
Obama cares because more than 3 million young people up to age 26 can 
now have coverage because insurance companies can no longer remove them 
from their parents' plans.
  Mr. Speaker, I do not want to say that the people in Congress who 
oppose ObamaCare do not care, but I need help in understanding this 
dilemma. Where do they live? Who do they represent? Who could oppose 
health care for their constituents?
  The opponents of ObamaCare have not proposed a single serious 
alternative to provide health care coverage. Their constituents get 
sick, too. Have these Members of Congress ever been sick? Have they 
ever had a sick family member without insurance coverage? Have they 
ever been to a public emergency room? They should be afraid for their 
neighbors, their friends and family who may someday become jobless, 
uninsured, and sick. They will lose everything that they own.
  Who do these people represent? Do they represent robots? Do they 
feel? Do they bleed? Do they have pain?
  Members of Congress should be encouraging people to get coverage and 
expand access to health care. We can stop the crisis of uninsurance 
that is killing people, draining our tax dollars, and degrading our 
health system. Instead, too many legislators are spreading myths and 
half-truths about the only plausible plan that exists right now to end 
our health care crisis.
  ObamaCare is not a government takeover. To the contrary, it is an 
improvement on our private, free market-oriented health care system. 
You will have choices. You will have access. If you are unemployed with 
no health care, you will likely get it. If you are employed with health 
care, you will likely experience no change in your present health care 
coverage. If you are

[[Page 14440]]

on Medicare, do not be frightened. You will experience no changes in 
your Medicare coverage.
  The Federal Government is simply making it easier and cheaper for 
people who have no insurance to get insured. The Federal Government 
will subsidize your health care bills according to your income status. 
ObamaCare is trying to ensure that no one's livelihood is destroyed by 
a serious illness.
  When I was an elementary school principal, I worked to help a 
homeless family whose children were attending my school. The father was 
a professional man--an optician--whose lifetime was destroyed when he 
hit his lifetime cap for health care coverage because of serious 
medical conditions related to sickle cell anemia. They suffered. They 
lost everything--their home, their dignity, their health. The whole 
school joined in to help them through this crisis. This family was 
forced to work incredibly hard to survive. They would not have had to 
face such a hardship if the Affordable Care Act protections were in 
place.
  We know that ObamaCare is about women because pregnancy can no longer 
be considered a preexisting condition. We know that ObamaCare is about 
young people because young people--the likeliest to be involved in auto 
crashes or motorcycle crashes or drug use--will be insured. They are 
not invincible, as they so often believe. As it stands now, someone has 
to pick up the tab when they make a mistake. They need to be insured.
  Have you been to a public emergency room lately? It's a nightmare. 
People everywhere are suffering, waiting endlessly for their turn. So 
many of these patients are not insured and cannot pay. Not only do they 
suffer, but the taxpayers and public health system also suffer. The 
costs are passed on down the line. What a relief it would be for our 
public hospitals and for the taxpayers if we could ensure that every 
person in America that was eligible has health insurance.
  This is about fiscal responsibility. People want to be insured. They 
want the peace of mind and stability. ObamaCare is about the economic 
future of this Nation because the Affordable Care Act ensures that 
Americans pay for all the health care services they use. Preventive 
care would save so much money and save so many lives.
  Mr. Speaker, no one said that this would be easy. Progress is never 
easy. We went through this struggle with Social Security in 1935. 
Before Social Security, senior citizens suffered and died in poverty. 
Social Security provoked a tremendous backlash from conservatives. 
Members of Congress even fought to strip domestic workers and 
agricultural workers of their benefits in order to keep African 
Americans out of the system. We had to fight, but we ultimately 
succeeded in building a Social Security system that keeps tens of 
millions of Americans out of poverty. We have come a long way.
  We went through this struggle with Medicare in 1965. Back then, 
Republicans, including then-California Governor Ronald Reagan, declared 
that Medicare was a ``Soviet-style health model'' and the end of 
freedom in America. But we ultimately succeeded in building a health 
care system for the elderly that prevents untold suffering and death.
  ObamaCare is about 30 million lives. October 1, 2013. It's about 
marching forward in the proud tradition of Social Security and 
Medicare. It's about marching toward the goal of a society that truly 
cherishes human life.
  Nobody said that it would be easy. We knew it would be difficult. We 
knew it would be hard. We've been here before. We fought hard--and we 
won. And we're on our way to another crowning achievement in the 
history of this Nation, simply because Barack Hussein Obama cares.
  I yield back the balance of my time.

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