[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 5]
[House]
[Pages 7063-7089]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




          REPEAL OF PATIENT PROTECTION AND AFFORDABLE CARE ACT


                             General Leave

  Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to 
include extraneous material on H.R. 45.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from Tennessee?
  There was no objection.
  Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 679, I call 
up the bill (H.R. 436) to repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable 
Care Act and health care-related provisions in the Health Care and 
Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, and ask for its immediate 
consideration in the House.

[[Page 7064]]

  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to House Resolution 215, the 
amendment printed in House Report 113-59 is considered adopted, and the 
bill, as amended, is considered read.
  The text of the bill, as amended, is as follows:

                                H.R. 45

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. REPEAL OF PPACA AND HEALTH CARE-RELATED PROVISIONS 
                   IN THE HEALTH CARE AND EDUCATION RECONCILIATION 
                   ACT OF 2010.

       (a) PPACA.--Effective as of the enactment of the Patient 
     Protection and Affordable Care Act (Public Law 111-148), such 
     Act is repealed, and the provisions of law amended or 
     repealed by such Act) are restored or revived as if such Act 
     had not been enacted.
       (b) Health Care-Related Provisions in the Health Care and 
     Education Reconciliation Act of 2010.--Effective as of the 
     enactment of the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act 
     of 2010 (Public Law 111-152), title I and subtitle B of title 
     II of such Act are repealed, and the provisions of law 
     amended or repealed by such title or subtitle, respectively, 
     are restored or revived as if such title and subtitle had not 
     been enacted.

     SEC. 2. BUDGETARY EFFECTS OF THIS ACT.

       The budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of 
     complying with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, shall 
     be determined by reference to the latest statement titled 
     ``Budgetary Effects of PAYGO Legislation'' for this Act, 
     submitted for printing in the Congressional Record by the 
     Chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the House of 
     Representatives, as long as such statement has been submitted 
     prior to the vote on passage of this Act.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Debate shall not exceed 2 hours equally 
divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the 
Committee on Education and the Workforce, the chair and ranking 
minority member of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and the chair 
and the ranking minority member of the Committee on Ways and Means.
  The gentlewoman from Tennessee (Mrs. Blackburn) and the gentleman 
from California (Mr. Waxman) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Tennessee.
  Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  You know, it is just absolutely amazing that we are once again here 
on the floor to repeal ObamaCare, but it is a necessary step that we 
find that we have to do.
  It is so interesting being out in my district. Whether I am talking 
to State-elected officials or county-elected officials or talking to 
those who are employers in our district--those who are job creators--
repeatedly we hear from them: this is a bill that turned into a law 
that is too expensive to afford.
  One of the reasons--and I would point this out--this is a copy of the 
law as published. What it has turned into is 13,000 pages of 
regulation. Indeed, I wanted to bring that tower of red tape here to 
the floor today. It is seven feet tall and growing. It was too big to 
be allowed on the House floor.
  It is amazing that much regulation that has come from this 2,700-page 
bill. Now we find out from The Washington Post and The New York Times 
that Secretary Sebelius had conversations with some companies and 
organizations asking them to help fund getting this started.
  Why is this happening? Three years ago, we were told it would be an 
$800 billion bill. And guess what? When we went to the Budget Committee 
this year, $2.6 trillion is the estimated cost of this bill. So 
insurance--more expensive. It was to save households $2,500 a year, but 
instead they're already paying $3,000 more. And the survey that 
Chairman Murphy ran for us in the Energy and Commerce Committee shows 
that the cost will go anywhere up to about 400 percent, depending on 
who you are, what group you're in. That's what you're going to see your 
insurance cost go up to.
  We hear from physicians. Harder to get in to see a physician? Yes, it 
is.
  Our goal should be about how do we preserve access to affordable 
health care for all Americans. Instead, what my friends across the 
aisle have done is to focus on how do you centralize health care, run 
up the cost, and decrease access. That is the reason that we are here 
on the floor today.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. WAXMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 2 minutes.
  I rise today in opposition to the Patients' Rights Repeal Act because 
what the Republicans will do is take away all the benefits the American 
people are already seeing under this law and they will stop the full 
implementation of it to provide millions of people with health 
insurance opportunities.
  Our Republican colleagues say they want to provide access to health 
care. They want to do something about people with preexisting 
conditions. They say they care about stopping discriminatory practices. 
They want to lower the deficit. They want to stop rising health care 
costs. This bill, the Affordable Care Act, is the one piece of 
legislation that takes major steps on these issues.
  Republicans offered nothing but opposition over and over again. This 
is the 37th time the House will vote to repeal the patients' rights 
bill. From the very beginning, the Republicans opposed it. They said it 
will kill jobs, and they were wrong. They said the law would drive up 
health care costs through the roof. They were wrong. We're seeing the 
slowest growth in health care spending in decades.
  They've ignored the significant benefits that are helping tens of 
millions of people, such as 3 million young adults who have coverage 
through their parents' plans, 6 million seniors who have saved over $6 
billion on their prescription drugs, 13 million Americans who have 
received over $1 billion in rebates from their insurers, over 100 
million Americans who have access to free preventive care who no longer 
face lifetime limits on their coverage. And the Congressional Budget 
Office still confirms that the law cuts the deficit by $100 billion in 
the first decade and more than $1 trillion in the second.
  The Republican Patients' Rights Repeal Act undoes all of these 
benefits. They add to the deficit, and they send us back to the days 
when insurance companies were in charge, costs were skyrocketing, and 
tens of millions either had no coverage--especially if they had 
preexisting conditions--or coverage that they could depend on.
  I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on this legislation, and I 
reserve the balance of my time.
  Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. Speaker, at this time I yield such time as he may 
consume to the chairman of the Health Care Subcommittee, the gentleman 
from Pennsylvania (Mr. Pitts).
  Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, on Monday, in two separate forums, I met with 
members of the Lancaster County and the Chester County Chambers of 
Commerce, representing dozens of businesses and municipalities across 
my district, about the implementation of the Affordable Care Act. Every 
single one of them had grave concerns with the law. They're confused 
and deeply concerned about how it will affect their ability to provide 
care and jobs.
  We're only a few months away from implementation of the employer 
mandate, and there are many unanswered questions. Each employer I 
talked to had pressing questions, but time and again I had to tell them 
that I didn't have an answer because HHS, the IRS, or the Department of 
Labor hadn't issued rules or guidance yet.

                              {time}  1500

  This uncertainty is leaving them paralyzed, holding off on hiring and 
wondering whether they will be able to provide coverage for their 
employees.
  It is not just businesses that are hurting. I heard from school 
districts operating on tight budgets who said they have no choice but 
to outsource loyal hourly employees like cafeteria workers and special 
ed aides, going to part-time work.
  Workers are losing their jobs, losing work hours, losing benefits to 
this bureaucratic nightmare. Let's stop the damage, and let's repeal 
the train wreck before it occurs.
  Mr. WAXMAN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that our time from 
the Energy and Commerce Committee

[[Page 7065]]

be controlled by our subcommittee ranking member, Congressman Frank 
Pallone from the State of New Jersey.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Without objection, the gentleman from New 
Jersey will control the time.
  There was no objection.
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 2 minutes.
  I rise today in opposition to the Patients' Rights Repeal Act. I 
greatly respect my colleagues on the other side from Tennessee and from 
Pennsylvania, but I have to say they are simply obstructionists.
  This is what we get from the GOP on a daily basis. Nothing happens 
here in the House of Representatives. We know there is a problem. 
Historically, there has been a problem with health care and a lot of 
people not having insurance or having discriminatory practices or not 
being able to get on their parents' insurance policy. So we as 
Democrats came up with a solution, and that solution is working.
  We have kids now--almost 6 million or 7 million kids--that are now on 
their parents' policies. We have a situation where we are plugging up 
the doughnut hole in Medicare for part D prescription drugs for 
seniors. We have all kinds of preventive care that is out there 
relative to women's health. And the list goes on and on. These things 
are happening. Beginning next year, most Americans will have health 
insurance.
  What do I hear from the other side? They don't want solutions. I'll 
be honest with my colleagues: if you really care, why don't you make 
some suggestions, and maybe we can work together. Anything can be 
improved. I don't say that anything can't be improved.
  But, no, they come on the floor, and what do they want to do? Just 
repeal it, which is not a solution. It basically would eliminate all 
the progress that we have made in terms of health care.
  Yes, costs are not going up as much. And, yes, people are getting 
rebates if their insurance companies charge them too much. All these 
things are happening because of the Affordable Care Act.
  All I hear from you is: no, obstructionism. No, we have to repeal 
this because this is such a terrible thing. Bringing in all these 
distractions about what the Secretary of Health and Human Services is 
doing.
  This is not what you are elected to do. You are not elected to come 
here and just repeal things and say how bad everything is. You are 
supposed to come up with solutions. I never hear it from the other side 
of the aisle. I simply do not hear it, which is why I get very upset 
the 37th time, the 38th time we are going to vote on the same thing, 
which is repeal of the Affordable Care Act.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 15 seconds to respond.
  We trust our constituents and the American people. We don't need 
government control of this. Certainly we don't need the IRS policing 
our private health care information. There is nothing affordable about 
the Affordable Care Act, and that is why we are concerned.
  At this point, I want to yield 1 minute to the chairman of our 
conference, Mrs. McMorris Rodgers, from Washington.
  Mrs. McMORRIS RODGERS. Mr. Speaker, when President Obama's health 
care proposal became law, he told us that it would lower costs, improve 
quality, cover everyone with preexisting conditions, and ensure that 
those under 26 would remain insured. But today, when we pull back the 
curtain, the American people see that this law has just made things 
worse.
  The President promised that premiums would go down. In fact, he said 
families would see an average decrease in premiums by $2,500. Instead, 
the average family has seen premiums go up by over $3,000. And they are 
hitting young people hard, some facing increases up to 200 percent and 
many losing insurance.
  The President promised those with preexisting health conditions would 
be covered. Unfortunately, just over 100,000 people enrolled in the 
program before he declared it ran out of money.
  The President promised that his plan would lead to all Americans 
having health insurance. But CBO already estimates that 30 million 
people will still be uninsured even after the law is fully implemented.
  We need to replace this policy with one that helps Americans.
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to our chairman emeritus 
from Michigan (Mr. Dingell).
  Mr. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, this is a prodigious waste of the time of 
the House working on a bad piece of legislation. I rise today in strong 
opposition to the Patients' Rights Repeal Act.
  My Republican colleagues are up for the 37th time with this nonsense, 
and they are fully determined to take away all of the rights that we 
have given under the Affordable Care Act to the people of the United 
States.
  People are going to go back in the doughnut hole, courtesy of the 
Republicans. No longer will people be protected against being excluded 
from insurance because of preexisting conditions. And it is going to be 
possible now for insurance companies to kick people off insurance plans 
because they get sick while they have a policy. Kids are not going to 
go on their parents' policies after they are 26 if we pass this 
nonsensical legislation.
  Einstein said that expecting a different result from things done over 
and over again is proof of insanity. Well, this is insanity. But worse 
than that, it is a waste of time of the people in the Congress and the 
money of the United States citizens who pay our wages.
  This is a bad proposal. Vote it down.
  Mr. Speaker, it has often been said by many, including everyone from 
Albert Einstein to Benjamin Franklin, that the very definition of 
insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different 
results.
  We gather here in this Chamber today not to work on behalf of the 
American people, but instead to partake in our 37th round of insanity--
repeal of a law that is already helping our struggling American 
families.
  I ask my colleagues on the other side of the aisle: just what part of 
helping the American people are you opposed to? Are you content in this 
preposterous display that is, by its very definition, insanity?
  You are reinstating the lifetime cap on coverage for people--
including children--telling them there's nothing more that can be done 
for them, because their insurance provider said so.
  You are ending the closing of the so-called ``donut hole'' and 
allowing millions of seniors to see increases in prescription drug 
costs, amounting to thousands and thousands of dollars in additional 
burdens on our seniors.
  You are eliminating tax credits for more than 4 million American 
small businesses that stand to benefit from providing coverage for 
their workers, ensuring they can continue to work and provide for their 
business in good health and wellness.
  You are telling the American people that it's fine for insurance 
companies to drop them from coverage just because they got sick.
  You are returning our American children to the uncertain and 
vulnerable times when ``preexisting conditions'' meant their life and 
livelihood was less important than the bottom lines of insurance 
executives.
  You are denying care for 6.6 million young people who qualify to stay 
on their parents' plan until age 26. Is that your preferred way of 
protecting and promoting the future leaders of our nation?
  My friends, all that this 37th repeal vote offers is yet another 
piece of evidence in proving the newfound insanity of this body, 
further emulating the ``do-nothing'' Congress that was the 112th.
  This is not what we should be wasting our time with--this is nothing 
more than political posturing so House Freshmen can make the same 
foolish mistakes of their most immediate predecessors.
  This is not a vote for the American people, rather it is a callous 
disregard for the health and well-being of those who continue to work, 
each and every day, to make our nation great, provide for their 
families and ask for nothing more than a fair shot at the American 
Dream.
  I will remind my colleagues that the very best way of protecting the 
American Dream is by protecting the American people--the very best 
asset our country holds.
  We should be doing the nation's business in a cooperative manner, not 
working to further divide all of us who are so deeply in need of 
bipartisanship and unity.
  Today's insane and useless vote will bring the total amount of 
taxpayer dollars wasted on

[[Page 7066]]

hours upon hours of legislative attempts to repeal the Affordable Care 
Act to $52.4 million dollars in just three years since it became the 
law of the land, and just one year since the Supreme Court upheld it 
and ensured the care and cost-saving measures that all American 
families deserve.
  I ask you, my colleagues, to oppose this insane legislation, end this 
further waste of taxpayer dollars, and bring this body back to the 
honest and necessary job we owe to the people we're blessed to 
represent.
  Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. Speaker, at this time, I yield 1 minute to the 
chairman of the Oversight and Investigation Subcommittee at Energy and 
Commerce, the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Murphy).
  Mr. MURPHY of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, the health care bill, 
indeed, has some good things in it: no lifetime cap, kids on their 
parents policy, people can't be denied, and some prevention. But good 
intentions do not guarantee good results.
  Because of the guarantee of this bill, we were told it would lower 
costs; and we are now in a position where it may cost families more, 
and they won't be able to cover it.
  On top of $835 billion in taxes, our Energy and Commerce Committee 
did a study. Getting responses from 17 insurance companies, they 
reported there will be a 96 percent increase in cost for those getting 
a new policy, 73 percent for those keeping, and some will be as high as 
413 percent. Some will see lower costs, but most Americans will see 
some increase in the health care costs.
  That is a reason why we need to repeal this and get back to really 
reforming health care, keeping the good parts. But Americans cannot 
afford this. And when it is not affordable, it is not accessible care.
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New 
York (Mr. Engel).
  Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, here we are again voting for the 37th time to 
repeal the Affordable Care Act, a law the Supreme Court has deemed 
constitutional. This is nothing more than a feel-good moment for new 
Members of the GOP who didn't get to vote on repeal in the last 
Congress.
  If the new standard for scheduling votes is to provide wish 
fulfillment for Members of Congress, then I have a few requests:
  If we are going to vote almost 40 times to repeal health care 
coverage for millions of Americans, I would like to have the chance to 
vote against the Defense of Marriage Act 40 more times. I had the 
pleasure to vote against it in 1996. I am sure there is a new 
generation of Members who would like to vote against it, and I would 
like to do it again.
  Furthermore, I regret being a teenager when the Civil Rights Act was 
voted on. I would like a chance to lend my support to that landmark 
law.
  To be able to cast a vote to go to war against Nazi Germany would be 
very satisfying to me.
  I have contributed to Social Security my whole life; and since my 
father was not a Member of Congress in 1932, I would like to vote on 
his behalf to support the creation of Social Security.
  I was a student of history in my youth, and I feel very strongly that 
the Compromise of 1850 was the point of no return leading to the Civil 
War. I would like a chance to vote against it.
  I ask that the Republican leadership add all of these to the agenda 
in the weeks to come.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired.
  Mr. PALLONE. I yield the gentleman an additional 30 seconds.
  Mr. ENGEL. Clearly, we have plenty of time available for wish 
fulfillment, rather than substantive measures such as the economy, 
immigration reform, and putting people back to work.
  So I would like an opportunity to vote again on many different things 
as well.

                              {time}  1510

  Mrs. BLACKBURN. At this time, I yield 1 minute to a member of the 
Energy and Commerce Committee, the gentleman from Georgia, Dr. Gingrey.
  Mr. GINGREY of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, today, we are once again voting 
to totally repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, 
ObamaCare.
  Now, the most senior members of the Energy and Commerce Committee 
from the Democratic side stand up here and say this is the 37th time 
that we have voted for total repeal. No, it's the third time. We are 
voting for total repeal for a third time because Republicans and 
Democrats and 65 percent--young and old--of the people across this 
country demand total repeal. They know that they don't want the 
government taking over one-sixth of our economy and Washington 
bureaucrats imposing a massive tax increase on middle class Americans 
and small business owners.
  As the government becomes more involved in health care, doctors and 
patients become further removed--more involved, further removed--from 
their own health care decisions, and this will result in a more 
expensive and a more dysfunctional system. Patients should have more 
control of their medical decisions, and reform should be driven at the 
State level rather than rushing through legislation that we have to 
read to find out what's in it. Now, Mr. Speaker, small businesswomen 
and men have to read a stack of rules and regulations 7-feet high to 
find out that, truly, the devil is in the details.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired.
  Mrs. BLACKBURN. I yield the gentleman an additional 15 seconds.
  Mr. GINGREY of Georgia. As both a physician and a taxpayer, fully 
repealing ObamaCare is my top priority, and I am proud that we will 
soon take yet another step toward this critically important goal.
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from 
Texas (Mr. Green).
  Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to the 
Patients' Rights Repeal Act.
  Here we go again, and my colleague from Georgia knows it: 37 times, 
counting today, that the Republican majority has tried to repeal the 
Affordable Care Act, a law that was upheld by the Supreme Court, a law 
that will help not only millions of uninsured but everyone with health 
insurance because the Affordable Care Act improves coverage.
  ``Repeal'' means that insurance companies can once again deny 
coverage for preexisting conditions. It means college-aged dependent 
children will be kicked off their parents' insurance. Medicare 
beneficiaries will lose access to vital preventative screenings. Also, 
insurance company practices of the past, which frustrated the insured 
and drained their savings, will be allowed to return.
  The Affordable Care Act means more than 80 percent of premium dollars 
are spent on health care. That was in the Affordable Care Act. The law 
prevents insurance companies from providing their executives 
extraordinary perks while failing to provide health care to their 
customers.
  But this will never happen again. The repeal of the Affordable Care 
Act will not be successful. It wasn't successful the first 36 times. It 
won't be today. That's because the American people need it. The law 
isn't perfect. The medical device excise tax and the Independent 
Payment Advisory Board should be addressed. This majority refuses to 
work with our side to fix the problems. The American people want to see 
Congress work together to fix problems. What they don't want is more 
political theater.
  Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. Speaker, at this time, I yield 1 minute to the 
gentleman from Florida (Mr. Bilirakis), a member of the committee.
  Mr. BILIRAKIS. I support repealing the misnamed Affordable Care Act 
because it is a law that Americans cannot afford.
  A recent report from the Energy and Commerce Committee shows that 
health insurance premiums for small businesses could rise by an 
astonishing 400 percent. For my home State of Florida, the report notes 
that individuals enrolled in some current plans could see increases of 
over 100 percent. In the small group market, we expect to see increases 
as well. This law is not affordable for individuals or small 
businesses. The health law tries to hide these new costs through 
subsidies and tax credits paid for through new taxes and cuts to 
Medicare.

[[Page 7067]]

  We need to repeal this job-crushing, premium-rising, government-
expanding law. I am proud to be a cosponsor of H.R. 45, and I support 
repealing this unaffordable act.
  Mr. PALLONE. I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I just want to set the record straight that there is no 
government takeover in the ACA, which is contrary to what my Republican 
colleagues are saying.
  The ACA is built on expanding private sector coverage by improving 
options in the individual market and by encouraging employers to 
provide coverage. The claim that the ACA is a government takeover is 
totally unfounded. A system built on private insurance, private doctors 
and private hospitals is not a government takeover.
  I yield now 1 minute to my colleague from California (Mrs. Capps).
  Mrs. CAPPS. I thank my colleague for yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today, yet again, in opposition to the Patients' 
Rights Repeal Act as 3 years and 37 repeal attempts later, the majority 
is still playing politics with the health care of real people.
  Thanks to ObamaCare, 27 million American women now have access to 
preventative health screenings and health care without cost-sharing. 
They can receive cancer screenings, annual wellness physicals and 
contraceptives without extra costs. Seniors in my district saved an 
average of $600 last year on prescriptions, and as we close the 
doughnut hole, the savings will be even greater and families no longer 
have to worry that their children will be denied insurance due to a 
preexisting condition.
  Repeal would take away these benefits and protections, raising costs 
for families. It would return us to a broken system, all the while 
increasing the deficit. It is time to move on. Let's spend our time 
working on new solutions instead of repeatedly placing partisanship 
over progress. I urge the defeat of this bill.
  Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. Speaker, at this time, I yield 1 minute to our 
chairman emeritus of the Energy and Commerce Committee, the gentleman 
from Texas (Mr. Barton).
  Mr. BARTON. I thank the gentlelady from Tennessee.
  You've seen the TV commercial about oil filters where somebody brings 
their car in, and they haven't had their oil changed, and the guy says, 
Well, they could have paid me before by changing the oil filter or they 
can pay me later when they bring the car in.
  That's why we're here today. We're going to repeal this Act. We can 
repeal it today or we can repeal it later, but it's going to be 
repealed.
  My friends on the minority side talk about all the good things of it 
and act like there is no government intervention. There is just a 
government mandate that you have to have insurance. There is a 
government mandate that employers have to provide it. There is a 
government mandate on what has to be included in that coverage. There 
is a government price control on the price of the premiums. Of course, 
there is a mandate that everybody in the country has to have insurance, 
and the IRS can enforce that as a penalty if, in fact, you choose not 
to participate in that mandated program. Other than that, there is no 
government involvement in this law.
  So, my good friends, I would say: vote with us to repeal it now so we 
don't have to come back later next year or the year after when health 
care is in a shambles, and we will repeal it then.
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from 
Pennsylvania (Mr. Doyle).
  Mr. DOYLE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in opposition to the Patients' 
Rights Repeal Act.
  Today is actually an embarrassment. Today, for the 37th time, we vote 
to repeal the Affordable Care Act--a messaging vote that is surely dead 
on arrival when it reaches the Senate.
  I would say to my good friend from Texas, you can repeal it in this 
House 37 more times, and it's going to be just as dead when it gets 
over to the Senate.
  This is a waste of our time. A CBS analysis last year said that 
Congress spent 80 hours--2 full weeks of work--on repeal votes that 
cost the taxpayers $48 million. Bryce Covert and Adam Peck of Think 
Progress estimated that, since then, we've spent an additional $6 
million, bringing the total to $55 million on 37 symbolic votes to 
repeal the Affordable Care Act and waste our time here on the floor of 
the Congress. Just think what we could have done with $55 million. We 
could make sure college students have access to Federal work study 
grants. We could keep low-income kids in preschool.
  Quit wasting the taxpayers' money and this Congress' time. You should 
be ashamed of yourselves.


                Announcement by the Speaker Pro Tempore

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair will remind all persons in the 
gallery that they are here as guests of the House and that any 
manifestation of approval or disapproval of proceedings or other 
audible conversation is in violation of the rules of the House.
  Mrs. BLACKBURN. At this time, I yield 1 minute to one of our 
freshmen, the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Collins).

                              {time}  1520

  Mr. COLLINS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 
45, and I thank our leadership for bringing this legislation to the 
floor because contrary to popular opinion, patients' rights were the 
ones in jeopardy a few years ago, and that's what we're restoring.
  Architects of ObamaCare have said it is ``so complicated and if it 
isn't done right the first time, it will just simply get worse.''
  By ``done right,'' they really mean that the administration simply 
has to write enough of the right regulations.
  Nearly 20,000 pages of ObamaCare-related regulations are already on 
the books, including 828 pages that were issued in a single day earlier 
this year. This tidal wave of regulations should be no surprise to 
anyone who bothered to read the health care bill before they voted on 
it.
  With the truth of our economic condition and the real contents of the 
health care bill beginning to sink in, I don't believe there's a better 
time to consider repealing ObamaCare than right now.
  Mr. Speaker, I strongly support this bill.
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from 
Illinois (Ms. Schakowsky).
  Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in opposition to the 
Patients' Rights Repeal Act.
  Rather than more rhetoric, I challenge my Republican colleagues to 
explain to the American people why we should take away the benefits and 
protections that ObamaCare already provides and will provide; explain 
to the 125,000 young adults in Illinois that they have to get off their 
parents' policies, even if they're sick; explain to the 134,000 seniors 
in Illinois who have saved over $235 million on their prescription 
drugs why we need them to pay more for their drugs; and explain to the 
1.4 million Illinoisans who will finally have the opportunity to obtain 
quality, dependable health insurance coverage--sorry, politics trumps 
expanding their access to health services.
  I urge my colleagues to take a stand for the health of the American 
public. Vote ``no'' to the Patients' Rights Repeal Act.
  Mrs. BLACKBURN. At this time, I yield 1 minute to another of our 
freshmen, Mr. Holding of North Carolina.
  Mr. HOLDING. Mr. Speaker, ObamaCare is bad policy for patients, for 
doctors, for seniors, for young folks, for small businesses, for 
medical technology and pharmaceutical companies, and for families.
  Mr. Speaker, folks in my district tell me time and time again that 
they are most concerned about the increase in the cost of health care, 
and ObamaCare does nothing to address those concerns. In fact, recent 
reports have suggested exactly the opposite.
  Mr. Speaker, I think Senator Baucus was dead on when he said that he 
sees a huge ``train wreck'' coming down the line in regards to 
ObamaCare.

[[Page 7068]]

  ObamaCare was shuffled through Congress with back-room deals and 
false promises. American families deserve better. They deserve to make 
their own choices about health care, not the government. That is why 
I'm proud to rise today and join my colleagues in repealing this 
misguided and misnamed law.
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I now yield 3 minutes to our Democratic 
whip, Mr. Hoyer from Maryland.
  Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, apparently the Republicans are opposed to 
ObamaCare.
  I know that comes as a shock to America, so we need to tell them one 
more time or 37 times or maybe a 38th or 39th or 40th or 100th time.
  I don't know how many times we have to replay the election. There was 
an election in which this was one of the principal issues, and the 
proponent of health care for all Americans was elected by most 
Americans.
  Mr. Speaker, this vote, as we all know, is a waste of our time; it 
is, however, a political exercise. This will be the 37th vote to repeal 
health care reform since the Republicans took control of the House. 
It's exactly the same as the bill that we considered in July. That 
partisan bill was dead on arrival in the Senate, just as this one will 
be; and everybody knows it.
  In fact, The New York Times reported that since 2011:

       Republicans have spent no less than 15 percent of their 
     time on the House floor on repeal in some way.

  Since 2011, they've spent 15 percent of their time on this House 
floor trying to repeal health care for all Americans.
  When President Obama was reelected after campaigning on the 
Affordable Care Act as a major first-term achievement with the 
unanimous opposition of Republican colleagues and after the Supreme 
Court said, yes, this is a constitutional exercise of the Congress' 
authority, Speaker Boehner said, ``ObamaCare is the law of the land.''
  I had hoped that would be the end of wasted time and $52.4 million in 
taxpayer money on legislation to nowhere that would strip away benefits 
for millions and millions of Americans. Sadly, however, this vote is 
more of the same.
  It would increase out-of-pocket costs on preventive services for 105 
million Americans, including 34 million seniors on Medicare and 71 
million Americans covered under private plans.
  It would allow insurance companies to reimpose arbitrary lifetime 
limits on coverage for more than 100 million people.
  It would allow insurance companies once again to discriminate against 
and deny care to as many as 17 million children with preexisting 
conditions. CantorCare tried to reverse that and had to be pulled from 
this floor because even a Republican-sponsored attempt at dealing with 
preexisting conditions was rejected by our Republican colleagues.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired.
  Mr. PALLONE. I yield the gentleman an additional 30 seconds.
  Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, the clock will not be turned back. ObamaCare 
is the law of the land. Those are not my words, but Speaker Boehner's.
  You say this vote is necessary so that freshman Members have a chance 
to get on record on a major issue. If they haven't gotten on record 
now, they're not going to get on record.
  If that is the standard for getting a vote on the floor, then let us 
have a vote on replacing the sequester which you have denied freshmen 
the chance to vote on all year. That is what we ought to be spending 
our time on, getting our country on a sound fiscal path, creating jobs 
and growing our economy. Instead, we tread water; we waste time as we 
continue to debate for the 37th time the repeal of health care for all 
Americans.
  Mrs. BLACKBURN. At this time, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from 
South Carolina (Mr. Rice).
  Mr. RICE of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, this may be the 37th time 
that the House has taken up the repeal of ObamaCare, but this is my 
first time; and I and the constituents that sent me here want my vote 
recorded to repeal this poorly crafted, job-killing law.
  Last week, colleges in my district graduated more than 2,000 students 
eager to enter our workforce. These week-old college graduates in my 
district will be met with real-life challenges immediately thanks to 
the President's health care law. Over 50 percent of recent college 
graduates are unemployed. Five years after the recession, national 
unemployment remains unacceptably high.
  Seventy percent of small businesses cite the Affordable Care Act as a 
reason not to hire. Businesses large and small are considering cutting 
their workforce and reducing hours to avoid the requirements of the 
Affordable Care Act in January.
  Working families in America are hurting, and the Affordable Care Act 
is adding to their pain. The CBO estimates that 30 percent of employers 
will stop offering employer-sponsored health insurance next year.
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I ask how much time remains on each side.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from New Jersey has 5\3/4\ 
minutes, and the gentlewoman from Tennessee has 7\1/2\ minutes 
remaining.
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, at this time I yield 1 minute to the 
gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Castor).
  Ms. CASTOR of Florida. Mr. Speaker, the Affordable Care Act is 
working for families and small businesses all across America.
  Did you know that the Affordable Care Act provides tax credits to 
small businesses that offer health insurance to their employees and 
that over 360,000 small businesses have taken advantage of those tax 
credits so far and millions more remain eligible?
  Speaking of young people, in the State of Florida alone, over 224,000 
young people have been able to have health insurance because they've 
now been able to stay on their parents' policies.

                              {time}  1530

  Mr. Speaker, 1.3 million Floridians have received $124 million in 
rebates from insurance companies, an average of $168 per family, 
because of important consumer protection provisions in the law that say 
insurance companies can't charge families too much.
  Medicare is stronger, the doughnut hole is closing, and the 
Affordable Care Act is a godsend to so many families who have 
preexisting conditions, whether it is cancer or diabetes or some other 
chronic condition.
  To my Republican colleagues, let's come together to work on the 
economy and creating jobs rather than another deja vu of repealing 
health care and wasting time.
  I urge everyone to vote ``no'' on the Patients' Rights Repeal Act.
  Mrs. BLACKBURN. I yield myself 15 seconds to respond to a couple of 
things.
  We are working on jobs. One of the items that concerns us is that, 
according to the CBO, implementation of the ObamaCare bill with its 
13,000 pages, 7-foot tall tower of red tape would cost this economy 
800,000 jobs. We also know that it's grown to being a $2.6 trillion 
program.
  At this time I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from North Carolina 
(Mr. Pittenger).
  Mr. PITTENGER. Mr. Speaker, I rise to join a chorus of people who 
recognize the ineffectiveness of the Affordable Care Act which, 
frankly, Mr. Speaker, is not even affordable. The CBO also said that 
there's $1.8 trillion now added to the cost of ObamaCare.
  We've seen the impact on physicians. Physicians, particularly those 
with specialties, don't want to continue in their practice. People in 
medical school, they don't want to continue. People in undergraduate, 
they don't want to go to med school. There's a dearth, Mr. Speaker, of 
availability in the future of physicians.
  We've seen premiums skyrocket. In North Carolina alone, premiums have 
increased 284 percent.
  We've seen the impact of 7 million people now who cannot take their 
own personal health insurance that they were promised.
  We've seen a risk pool that no longer has funding available.
  Mr. Speaker, the American people deserve better, and we're going to 
work

[[Page 7069]]

hard to ensure that we have a competitive health care program that will 
deliver true health provisions for the American people.
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New 
York (Mr. Tonko).
  Mr. TONKO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in opposition to the Patients' 
Rights Repeal Act. That's right, America, the repeal of patients' 
rights, brought to you by the Republican majority of the House. It is 
the 37th vote to repeal ObamaCare.
  While far from perfect, the Affordable Care Act was a serious attempt 
to solve a serious problem. By contrast, the legislation we are 
considering today is not serious, and the only problem it portends to 
solve is offering new Members of this body an opportunity to vote on a 
bill that isn't going anywhere.
  I assure you, there's no lack of real problems for this body to 
address. As of March, the unemployment rate for most of my 
congressional district was at 7 percent. Does anyone in this Chamber 
think we should sit on our laurels with 7.3 percent unemployment? 
Instead of holding 37 votes to repeal the Affordable Care Act, is it 
too much to ask that we just hold one vote on the American Jobs Act, 
legislation that included both Democratic and Republican ideas that 
would put more money in the pockets of small businesses and put 
countless Americans back to work? These political votes are a foolish 
waste of time, and the American people deserve better.
  In closing, I would urge my colleagues to oppose this blatantly 
political legislation and return to a focus on legislation that creates 
jobs, grows the economy, lays the foundation for sustainable 
prosperity, and doesn't strip away health care benefits for millions of 
Americans.
  Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. Speaker, at this time I yield 2 minutes to the 
gentlelady from Minnesota (Mrs. Bachmann), who is the author of H.R. 
45.
  Mrs. BACHMANN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlelady from Tennessee who 
has been a champion for the repeal of ObamaCare for years and years.
  Mr. Speaker, in light of the recent revelations that have just come 
out within this last week regarding the outrageous activities of the 
Internal Revenue Service pointed against the people of the United 
States, every American should be concerned about the negative 
consequences of this bill, ObamaCare.
  The Supreme Court has ruled that ObamaCare is in fact a tax. Knowing 
that it's a tax, the logical conclusion is that the entity in the 
United States that will be tasked with enforcing tax policy is the IRS.
  I'm a former Federal tax litigation attorney. I worked for the 
Treasury Department. We had only one client; it was the IRS. The IRS is 
the only entity that enforces tax policy in the United States, and 
ObamaCare is enforced by the IRS--probably the most feared Federal 
agency in the United States Government. It concerns me. It should 
concern every single American listening to our voices today that the 
IRS has admitted this week that they directly targeted Americans, 
including Christians, including those who support the State of Israel, 
including those who are for jobs and less debt, including 
conservatives, Tea Partiers. They were targeted; why? Because of what 
they believe--their religious beliefs, their political beliefs--and the 
IRS targeted them for punishment, or for reward, depending upon how 
their ideas lined up with the administration's ideas.
  You see, this dysfunctional implementation of ObamaCare and the 
ongoing assault on nonnegotiable constitutional liberties is enough to 
convince every single one of us who are the people's representatives to 
seek full repeal of this law. It's our job, Mr. Speaker, to defend 
liberty. We're all sworn to protect and defend the Constitution, and 
that's why, today, we have to end this horrible piece of legislation 
and stand up for people.
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I believe the other side has more time, and 
so at this time I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mrs. BLACKBURN. At this time I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from 
Arizona (Mr. Salmon).
  Mr. SALMON. Mr. Speaker, I'm driven today to rise because I agree 
wholeheartedly with Senator Max Baucus, that ObamaCare is a train wreck 
to our economy. As a proud cosponsor of H.R. 45, I unequivocally 
support a full repeal of this onerous law.
  Since the Supreme Court has delineated it as a tax, it's clear that 
obligations or commitments to not raise taxes on the middle class have 
gone by the wayside. In fact, this will be one of the largest tax 
increases on the middle class known to man. In fact, there's a hidden 
tax in this bill on medical devices, lifesaving medical devices.
  My mother, 90 years old, has a pacemaker, and that keeps her alive. 
The next time she gets one, she's going to have to pay a tax on that, 
and so is every other senior citizen who has a pacemaker. I think this 
is just flat out wrong.
  Also, the Maricopa Community College district just recently 
reclassified 700 professors from full-time status to part-time status 
so they don't have to pay this onerous tax.
  Mr. Speaker, this is a terrible bill. It needs to be repealed.
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, the gentleman from Arizona keeps talking 
about the terrible things in the health care reform bill. But let me 
just say, in his State, if the ACA was repealed, that would mean in 
Arizona, drug costs for over 65,000 seniors would have been $102 
million higher; 69,000 young adults would not have had coverage through 
their parents' plans; 917,000 women and 434,000 seniors and people with 
disabilities would not have had access to free preventive care; 414,000 
people would not have received $28 million in rebates from their 
insurance companies; and next year, 948,000 people will not have access 
to quality, dependable health insurance coverage.
  And so these are the facts, the real problem that happens in the 
State of Arizona, if this bill were to pass and the health care reform 
were to be repealed.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mrs. BLACKBURN. At this time I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from 
South Carolina (Mr. Sanford).
  Mr. SANFORD. I rise with a chorus of others in this whole notion of 
repealing ObamaCare primarily because of its financial impact. At the 
end of the day, if you look at the Government Accountability Office 
numbers, what they show is that there's $6.2 trillion of cumulative 
impact here over the next 10 years. If you look at the Congressional 
Budget Office numbers, what they show is increasing numbers in $800 
billion increments. And, in fact, if you look at American tax reform 
studies, what they show are 20 new or raised levels of tax that go with 
this bill.

                              {time}  1540

  I think, more importantly, it turns on its head this whole notion of 
the Hippocratic Oath, which has been a 200-year tradition in this 
country of doctors working directly for a patient.
  And finally, and I'd say most importantly, it turns upside down this 
American tradition of not having the government force on the consumers 
the notion of the purchase of a product. It's for that and many other 
reasons that I join again with a chorus of others in urging repeal of 
this bill.
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, at this time I'd like to yield 1\1/2\ 
minutes to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Van Hollen), the ranking 
member of our Budget Committee.
  Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr. Speaker, voting to repeal the Affordable Care Act 
for the 37th time is a waste of resources and another example of the 
refusal to focus on the important issues of jobs and the economy right 
now. It's also an example of bad budgeting.
  One of the things I don't think our Republican colleagues have 
focused on is that their claim to have a balanced budget rests on the 
savings and the tax revenue in the ObamaCare bill. So if you repeal all 
of ObamaCare, which this bill says it wants to do, the Republican 
budget will immediately be out of balance in 10 years. Here's how it 
works:
  If you look at the Republican budget, in 10 years, they claim that 
there's a $7

[[Page 7070]]

billion surplus. But the reality is it also contains in it Medicare 
savings--we heard that issue demagogued during the last Presidential 
campaign--and it also includes ObamaCare revenue. And if you take out 
that over $400 billion in Medicare savings and the revenue in 
ObamaCare, poof, the Republican budget is way out of balance.
  And, Mr. Speaker, it's not just me saying that. Here's what The 
Heritage Foundation said. They also point out that the Republican 
budget depends on ObamaCare.
  So, long story short, you can't have it both ways. You can't repeal 
ObamaCare and go home and tell people you did that and, at the same 
time, say you have a balanced budget.
  Mrs. BLACKBURN. I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. 
Messer).
  Mr. MESSER. I thank the gentlelady.
  I rise in support today of ObamaCare repeal.
  I can't begin to highlight all the problems of ObamaCare in 1 minute, 
so I will instead focus on this simple fact: ObamaCare is the biggest 
assault on the 40-hour workweek in this country in a generation.
  Under ObamaCare, government mandates and penalties kick in for every 
employee that works more than 30 hours a week. Employers can't afford 
ObamaCare's mandates and penalties, so they're scaling back the hours 
of their employees to less than 30 hours as a result. And that's bad 
for workers. It means many working moms will be forced to look for a 
second job to find the hours they need to pay their bills and feed 
their family.
  In my hometown of Shelbyville, for example, it has already meant that 
some part-time teacher's aides must work less so the local school 
system doesn't go bankrupt. That's bad for teachers and students. And 
the problems are just beginning.
  Mr. Speaker, it's time to repeal ObamaCare and restore the 40-hour 
workweek. Forty may be the new 30 when it comes to aging, but 30 is the 
new 40 when it comes to the ObamaCare workweek.
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, how much time remains?
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from New Jersey has 1\1/2\ 
minutes remaining, and the gentlewoman from Tennessee has 1\1/4\ 
minutes remaining.
  Mr. PALLONE. I yield myself the balance of the time, Mr. Speaker.
  Mr. Speaker, I just heard the gentleman from Indiana say, We can't do 
this; we can't do that. I mean, this is the problem with the other side 
of the aisle, with the Republican side of the aisle: they always 
believe that we can't do anything here in the House of Representatives.
  The fact of the matter is that Democrats saw the problem. The problem 
was discriminatory health insurance practices. The problem was young 
people not being able to get on their parents' insurance policies. The 
problem was women not being able to access health care and so many 
Americans, 40, 50 million Americans, that did not have health 
insurance.
  And what did we do as Democrats?
  We found a solution to the problem, which was the Affordable Care 
Act, and it was working. The discriminatory practices are going away. 
More and more people are going to have health insurance. Most Americans 
will have health insurance by the beginning of 2014. And the doughnut 
hole for prescriptions drugs for seniors is being closed. All these 
things are answers that the Democrats have brought through the 
Affordable Care Act for the problems that existed with our health care 
system.
  And all I hear from the other side of the aisle is, We can't do this; 
we can't do that.
  Well, we've done something. Don't just come here and tell us we have 
to repeal it. As I said before, if you have a solution, you want to 
work with us to improve things, that's fine; but don't come here for 
the 37th and 38th time and say, We're just going to repeal the 
Affordable Care Act.
  You never come up with a positive solution to the problem. In this 
Congress, all we hear from the Republican side of the aisle is, We want 
to repeal everything; we want to waste time.
  Don't continue to do this. This bill is a complete waste of time. It 
passes here, it goes to the Senate, and nothing happens.
  Let's keep this bill, the Affordable Care Act, in place. It's doing 
wonderful things for the American people.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
  This law has become 13,000 pages of regulation. It has gone from 
costing $800 billion to $2.6 trillion.
  It's so interesting to hear people talk about solutions and wanting 
government to do things. Mr. Speaker, the American people can solve so 
many of these problems. They know the answers do not come out of 
Washington, D.C. They come from our communities. They come from our 
State legislatures. They come, solutions come from employers that are 
fighting every single day to keep people employed.
  One of the biggest impediments to job growth, indeed, including the 
800,000 jobs this bill will cost us, this law, ObamaCare, costing us 
800,000 jobs over the next 10 years, is keeping people working full-
time.
  We know what the problems are. We're saying, Look, admit it was a 
mistake. The American people don't want it. It's too expensive to 
afford. Let's get it off the books.
  And we do come forward with solutions. We come forward with keeping 
patient-centered, health care centermost for our constituents. That's 
what they want. They want options. They do not want regulation and 
mandates by the Federal Government, who can't seem to solve the 
problems that are in front of them right now, whether it's the IRS or 
anyone else.
  Let's repeal this bill and pass H.R. 45.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Kline) and 
the gentleman from California (Mr. George Miller) each will control 20 
minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Minnesota.
  Mr. KLINE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 45, 
the legislation that will repeal the President's job-destroying health 
care law, and yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, our Nation is mired in a jobs crisis, and the 
President's health care law is making it worse. Since ObamaCare was 
first enacted in 2010, Federal bureaucrats have written nearly 20,000 
pages of new regulations--20,000 pages.
  Colleagues on the other side of the aisle have talked about how many 
times we've tried to get rid of this menace and what's changed. Well, 
as we know, very famously, we had to pass the bill to find out what was 
in it, but even then we didn't know what was in it. We're now at 20,000 
pages of regulations and still counting.
  Meanwhile, America's job creators are struggling to manage the full 
effects of the law in their workplaces.

                              {time}  1550

  Ed Tubel has owned and operated Sonny's Real Pit Barbecue for more 
than 30 years. At a recent hearing in North Carolina, Mr. Tubel 
outlined the difficult choices he now faces, including higher prices 
for customers and fewer hours for workers. Brett Parker, vice chairman 
of Bowlmor Lanes of New York, testified in 2011 that his business may 
also have to shift workers to part-time hours in order to ``protect 
existing jobs.''
  As chief human resources officer with Rowan-Cabarrus Community 
College, Tina Haynes stated the college must consider cutting the 
number of courses offered to students. She also described the health 
care law as a ``massive administrative burden that comes with 
unanticipated costs.'' And Gail Johnson, president and CEO of an early 
childhood learning center, warned in 2011 that ObamaCare would ``force 
entrepreneurs to invest less into growing their business'' and slow the 
growth of small businesses.
  These men and women live each day with the consequences of the health 
care law. No doubt, others across the country have similar stories to 
tell. There are a number of good reasons

[[Page 7071]]

why Congress should repeal the government takeover of health care. It 
is driving up the cost of care, and millions will lose the health care 
coverage they have and like. Yes, Mr. Speaker, if you like your 
coverage, you may not be able to keep it. According to CBO, at least 7 
million people fall into that trap.
  But for many Americans, one reason stands above the rest: jobs. Our 
Nation's workers and employers cannot afford the Democrats' job-
destroying health care law. I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on 
H.R. 45.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield the balance of my time to the gentleman from 
Tennessee, Dr. Roe, and ask unanimous consent that he be allowed to 
control that time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Without objection, the gentleman from 
Tennessee will control the balance of the majority's time.
  There was no objection.
  Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 4 
minutes.
  I rise today in opposition to the Patients' Rights Repeal Act. Mr. 
Speaker, we meet today for the 37th attempt to take away the basic 
health care rights from millions of Americans. Yet, despite all of 
these votes, the Affordable Care Act remains the law of the land. And 
it will remain the law of the land even after today's vote. That's a 
fact.
  So why are we here for the 37th time? Are Republicans afraid that 
Americans are now able to get basic preventive health care screening 
with no copay? Are they afraid that Americans will now no longer be 
gouged or denied coverage because of preexisting conditions? Are 
Republicans fearful that the insurance companies can't cut off 
lifesaving care just because somebody got sick? Because they can't do 
that now with the Affordable Care Act.
  Why on Earth would anyone fear American families being put back in 
charge of their health care? But we're here, yet again, to satisfy the 
majority's needs to have another meaningless vote. This obsession with 
repeal by the majority is bordering on the absurd. It's time to move 
on, for goodness' sake. Open season is set to begin in 5 months. 
Americans without affordable insurance will be able to shop for plans 
in an open and transparent marketplace with the help of tax credits for 
those who qualify. Employers of small businesses will be able to shop 
for appropriate health care for their employees and for their 
businesses with the help of tax credits.
  It's our duty as public servants to help our constituents navigate 
this new law, not spend our time obstructing it. That's how California 
has approached the reform. We've worked in a collaborative way with all 
of the stakeholders. And that's how the government should work, because 
they know that it will help families struggling to afford health 
insurance.
  Take, for instance, a family of four making $60,000 in California who 
buys their own insurance. Today, they pay some $12,500 on average for 
insurance. That's more than $1,000 a month. But starting in January, 
this family will save almost $5,000 a year because of the Affordable 
Care Act. Think about what this family can do with that extra $400 a 
month. It means paying your bills, it means saving money for your kids' 
education, it means repairing your car. This is what the Affordable 
Care Act can do. This is what ObamaCare does. This is what the 
Republicans are trying to hide from the American people.
  Our country has been debating health care for more than a century. 
They keep saying there's other alternative solutions. It's funny that 
none of them came forward. None of them came forward during this debate 
with those alternative solutions, and health premiums were skyrocketing 
in double-digits year after year after year. For decades, we debated 
how to make sure all Americans have access to health care that won't 
bankrupt them if they get sick. For decades, we debated control of the 
national health spending by ensuring that everyone is covered. For 
decades, we debated how to control uncompensated care that cost 
families dearly. And it took the leadership of Speaker Pelosi and 
President Obama to bring positive change for families and businesses 
struggling under the weight of health care costs.
  The fact of the matter is this plan currently today is working for 
millions of Americans, for millions of seniors, for millions of young 
Americans and for millions of young people born with preexisting 
conditions. That's what this legislation is about, lowering the cost of 
prescription drugs for senior citizens and making sure that people can 
get preventive care without copays. The Republicans want to yank that 
all away, and they don't have a plan to provide that health care 
security.
  Interestingly enough, the other day in The Wall Street Journal was a 
full discussion about how this health care package is entrepreneurial 
because people who feel that they're job-locked will now be able to go 
out and start businesses because they know they'll have health care 
insurance for themselves or for their spouses or for the kids, and 
they'll be able to become the entrepreneurs they want to be. There's a 
discussion among large employers because people will leave and take 
their ideas and start their own businesses. That's what this health 
care enables Americans to do for the first time, not be locked into a 
job because of the fear of the insecurity of not having health care for 
your family and what that means.
  This is an entrepreneurial act. This is liberating people. This is 
freeing people from the financial fear of the loss of health care. 
Never again, with the passage of this legislation, will an American 
lose health care because they lost their job, because somebody died in 
their family or because a child was born with a preexisting condition. 
Never again. The Republicans don't have an alternative. They only have 
obstruction and repeal as part of their program.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. ROE of Tennessee. I yield myself 2 minutes.
  Today, I rise in strong support of H.R. 45, the repeal of a flawed 
health care reform bill.
  I came to this body 4\1/2\ years ago understanding that the greatest 
problem with the American health care system was cost and access. I 
knew this because I practiced medicine in east Tennessee for 31 years. 
I also have been involved with health care reform in Tennessee 
beginning in 1993 with our attempt to reform our Medicaid program 
called TennCare. I knew here what not to do. ObamaCare is what not to 
do. We saw costs skyrocket, and we saw our then-Democratic Governor cut 
benefits and cut the rolls, therefore rationing care.
  We need health care reform today in this country, but we need 
patient-centered health care reform where patients, their families, and 
their physicians make health care decisions, not government bureaucrats 
with 20,000 pages worth of rules or insurance companies.
  Health care should not be a partisan issue. I, as a physician, have 
never seen a Republican or a Democrat heart attack. I have never 
operated on a Republican or Democrat cancer in my life.
  We were made promises during the health care debate: your insurance 
premiums would go down, jobs would be created, and access would be 
expanded. What's really happened? Insurance premiums have skyrocketed 
by as much as 100 percent. We're looking at tax increases for 
individuals, taxes on productive companies, and taxes on lifesaving 
medical devices. Small business owners are being forced to cut hours, 
delay investment, and stop hiring just to stay afloat. This comes at a 
time when families need more income to make ends meet, not less hours 
to work and higher insurance premiums.
  Are patients getting lower costs? It's an emphatic ``no.'' And maybe 
the biggest insult of all, the IRS will determine if your insurance 
coverage is adequate.
  Mr. Speaker, I stand ready to repeal this flawed bill and work with 
my Democratic colleagues on health care reform that will truly work for 
the American people, and I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman 
from New Jersey (Mr. Andrews.)

[[Page 7072]]


  Mr. ANDREWS. I thank my friend for yielding.
  It is right and good that people should passionately pursue their 
points of view in democratic debate. But it's also our obligation to 
work from the same set of facts. I have sat here and listened to my 
friends for the better part of an hour, and I do think it's important 
that we reflect a correct record on a lot of things, first of all, 
about the deficit. We have a neutral referee here on questions about 
spending and taxes called the Congressional Budget Office, and several 
Members on the other side have approvingly quoted what the CBO says on 
different things.
  Here is what the CBO says about this law:

       Repealing this law will add at least $100 billion to the 
     deficit.

  Now, our friends disagree with that, but the referee that they hired, 
that we live by, says repeal of the law adds $100 billion to the 
deficit.
  We hear that health insurance premiums have gone up by an average of 
$3,000 per year. I don't know the source of that claim. Someone should 
share that with us. But I do know this: the cost-control strategies in 
the new law which involve the establishment of a competitive insurance 
market so the insurance companies don't have huge market control hasn't 
taken effect yet and doesn't take effect until January 1 of 2014. This 
is characterized as government control of health care.

                              {time}  1600

  Here's what the law actually says: it says a person without health 
insurance can get a subsidy to choose among private insurance plans, 
like Blue Cross and Blue Shield, like Kaiser Permanente, and make their 
choice.
  There is nothing in this law--and I would challenge any of my friends 
on the other side, Mr. Speaker, to show us one word that says that the 
doctor-patient relationship is in any way impeded or impaired by this 
law. They can't find those words because they're not there.
  The bill is referred to as a job-killing health care law, right out 
of the polling and focus groups of the Republican Party. Here's the 
facts: in the months before the law was signed, the country was 
bleeding jobs; 750,000 jobs lost in the month of January of 2009 when 
the President was inaugurated. Since the law was signed, the private 
sector has added 3.5 million jobs. Now, you can argue, well, it would 
have been four and a half or five. Have that argument if you want. But 
since the law was signed, the number of jobs in the private sector has 
gone up by a lot, not down. That's what the private sector has done.
  One of the gentlewomen referred to CBO saying 800,000 jobs are being 
lost. Apparently CBO is okay in that fact. Here's what that report 
really says: it says that a lot of people who are older--in their late 
fifties and early sixties--who are working because they feel they have 
to work for health insurance are likely to take early retirement. 
That's where the 800,000 job difference comes from. That's what the 
report says if you read it.
  We've heard ObamaCare is a tax. That is true. ObamaCare is a tax on 
two kinds of people--people with investment income in excess of about a 
quarter-million dollars and people who can afford health insurance, 
choose not to buy it, and choose to have our neighbors and our 
constituents who do buy health insurance pay their bills when they go 
to the emergency room. That is true.
  We've heard we have to protect the Constitution. Well, we are 
protecting the Constitution. With all due respect, your side litigated 
this and lost. The Supreme Court of the United States heard the claim 
this is unconstitutional and said you were wrong.
  Finally, we hear about the assault on the 40-hour workweek. 
Massachusetts, under a Governor named Romney, did something very 
similar to this law--imposed an employer mandate. Here's what happened 
in Massachusetts: while the rest of the country was shedding 3.6 
percent of its full-time jobs, Massachusetts lost 2.8 percent of its 
full-time jobs.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen). The time of the gentleman 
has expired.
  Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. I yield the gentleman 30 seconds.
  Mr. ANDREWS. I thank my friend.
  Massachusetts added nine-tenths of 1 percent of part-time jobs to the 
workforce. The country was 0.8. So if this bill is going to force all 
of these employers to drop their hours from full time to part time, why 
didn't it happen in Massachusetts?
  This has been a fact-free debate up until this time. The country 
deserves better. The House deserves better. We should oppose this 
absent-minded repeal.
  Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Madam Speaker, I yield myself 15 seconds.
  I just left in my office the Tennessee insurance commissioner who 
said the first of January, the individual market, 40 to 75 percent 
higher premiums; the smaller-group market, 50 to 55 percent higher. 
Plans would be less rich, with higher copays, higher deductibles, young 
healthy males get a huge increase. Instead of having eight statewide 
plans, we're now down to two and maybe one.
  I now yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Montana (Mr. Daines).
  Mr. DAINES. Earlier this week, I sent an online survey out to my 
constituents with one simple question: Do you support efforts to repeal 
ObamaCare? Thousands of Montanans responded, and by a 3-1 margin they 
made it clear that ObamaCare needs to be repealed.
  And as we speak, the American people are lighting up Twitter. Check 
it out yourself. They're tweeting about the harms of ObamaCare in three 
words. Actually, the hashtag is: ObamaCare in Three Words.
  But while Americans are saying things like ``job-crushing mandates'' 
and ``premiums are skyrocketing,'' 1 hour ago the White House tweeted 
back and said this: ``Because. It's. Law.'' Well, I have three words 
for the White House: arrogance of power.
  Madam Speaker, if the President is unwilling to listen to the voice 
of the people, then the House will, because this is the people's House. 
ObamaCare is a bad law, plain and simple.
  I was elected to serve the people of Montana and represent their 
voice in this Congress, and that's what I'm doing today. Montanans have 
spoken loud and clear: they want this law repealed. That's why I will 
vote to repeal it.
  Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman 
from Virginia (Mr. Scott).
  Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Madam Speaker, I rise today in opposition to 
the Patients' Rights Repeal Act.
  Today, if people want to talk about repealing health care reform, 
it's important that they talk about exactly what repeal means.
  Repeal means that young people under 26 will have to get off their 
parents' policies.
  Repeal means that seniors will have to suffer through the doughnut 
hole that we're in the process of closing.
  Repeal means an end to tax cuts to small businesses who are providing 
health coverage for their employees.
  Repeal means that next year all Americans who expect to be able to 
afford health insurance will not be able to afford it, and all 
Americans with preexisting conditions who expected to be able to buy 
health insurance at the standard rate will not be able to buy it.
  Repeal means that those who think they will need health security if 
they switch jobs, they will lose that security when they switch jobs.
  Repeal means an end to the laws against insurance abuses, like 
unreasonable rate increases and cancellation of policies when you most 
need them. There will be an end to that if we repeal.
  If people want to talk about repealing the Affordable Care Act, they 
should talk about what's going to happen to young people, to those with 
preexisting conditions, to seniors in the doughnut hole, and the future 
affordability of health care.
  Madam Speaker, we should not repeal the Affordable Care Act, we 
should oppose the legislation.
  Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Madam Speaker, I now yield 2 minutes to my

[[Page 7073]]

 good friend from Indiana (Mr. Bucshon).
  Mr. BUCSHON. Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong opposition to 
ObamaCare for the reasons we've heard already here today. However, I 
would like to explain how this ``train wreck'' is affecting Indiana and 
costing good-paying Hoosier jobs.
  Indiana is home to over 300 medical device companies, creating over 
54,800 jobs that pay an average salary of $59,706 per year, and the 
medical device industry provides $50 billion to Indiana's economy.
  Companies have already decided not to expand and many across the 
country have announced layoffs. The device tax is so dangerous that our 
friends in the U.S. Senate voted recently 79-20 to repeal the medical 
device tax, and last Congress the House voted in a bipartisan manner to 
repeal the tax.
  Yet we've heard from the White House that the President doesn't 
support repeal because they need the money to support ObamaCare. This 
tax is a job killer and stifles innovation. It must be repealed.
  ObamaCare is full of these types of examples. This near government 
takeover of our Nation's health care system is riddled with more taxes, 
burdensome regulations, and unintended consequences that are costing 
jobs and compromising the quality of health care available to 
Americans. Not to mention many full-time employees are being cut back 
to part time so that employers can comply with all the requirements of 
the law. My constituents are telling me that this is happening as we 
speak back in Indiana.
  Before coming to the House, I practiced medicine for 15 years. That 
experience tells me that this law fails to help patients get access to 
quality, affordable health care, prevents businesses from expanding, 
and is not helping us create much needed jobs.
  It also puts government bureaucrats between the patient and their 
doctor--government bureaucrats in an agency that is intrusive, 
untrustworthy and targeting American citizens based on politics. Yes, 
Madam Speaker, ObamaCare vastly expands the IRS and is dependent on the 
agency for its implementation. That's why I'm proud to stand here today 
with my colleagues to support our Nation's patients by voting to repeal 
this disastrous law so we can replace it with commonsense, patient-
centered reforms.
  Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman 
from New York (Ms. Velazquez).
  Ms. VELAZQUEZ. I thank the gentleman for yielding.
  Madam Speaker, I rise today in opposition to the Patients' Rights 
Repeal Act.
  The U.S. Supreme Court's ruling upholding the health care bill was a 
historic win for this Nation's small businesses and their employees. In 
fact, 62 percent of all small businesses didn't have access to health 
insurance for themselves, their employees, and their families. That 
ruling proved that the Affordable Care Act was a good law.

                              {time}  1610

  The benefits small businesses are already seeing reiterate this fact, 
and yet we find ourselves voting again on repealing this landmark law. 
Once more we must vote on a bill that will not help a single small 
business invest, hire, or secure a loan. If you want to help small 
businesses, put people back to work.
  In addition to the small business health care tax credit, which has 
already helped 360,000 small businesses providing health insurance to 
up to 2 million workers in this country, the medical loss ratio has 
ensured that businesses of all sizes were getting the most out of their 
premium dollars, saving them nearly $321 million--money that they could 
put back into their companies.
  The future of health reform holds more promise. Banning denials for 
preexisting conditions reduces ``job lock'' and encourages more than 
1.6 million prospective entrepreneurs to launch new companies.
  At a small business hearing last month, Ms. Louisa McQueeney credited 
the ACA with providing her company ``better coverage and greater peace 
of mind.'' The ACA will soon prohibit insurers from hiking rates on 
small firms without justification and end discrimination based on 
gender. So, I agree with Ms. McQueeney when she says, ``Frankly, it 
can't come soon enough.''
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentlewoman has expired.
  Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. I yield the gentlewoman an 
additional 30 seconds.
  Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Contrary to beliefs, the ACA gives small businesses 
better access to quality coverage. Passage of today's bill would strip 
new protections that provide bargaining power to small companies. That 
is why I will continue to oppose any efforts repealing a law that is 
beneficial to millions of small firms, and I urge our colleagues to 
vote ``no.''
  Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Madam Speaker, I now yield 2 minutes to the 
gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Cotton).
  Mr. COTTON. Madam Speaker, every time Cato the Elder spoke in the 
Roman Senate, he said, whatever the topic, ``Carthage must be 
destroyed.'' As long as Carthage survived, the freedom and prosperity 
of the Roman people would never be secured.
  As then with Carthage, so now with ObamaCare: as long as it remains 
on the books, the health, prosperity, and freedom of the American 
people will never be secure.
  ObamaCare raids $700 billion from Medicare, meaning seniors across 
Arkansas will have their health care rationed as doctors refuse to see 
new Medicare patients.
  ObamaCare creates an unelected and unaccountable panel of bureaucrats 
to ration and deny needed medical care for Arizona seniors.
  ObamaCare will cause insurance premiums to skyrocket by as much as 60 
to 100 percent for Arkansas families.
  ObamaCare raises 21 taxes by more than $1 trillion and will cost at 
least $1.7 trillion in the first decade alone.
  ObamaCare violates our freedom of conscience by using taxpayer 
dollars to fund abortion.
  ObamaCare is corrupt to its rotten core. The government has exempted 
hundreds of the President's cronies from the law. The Secretary of 
Health and Human Services is right now shaking down private companies 
for millions of dollars to promote ObamaCare.
  And, of course, the IRS, expanded by 2,000 agents, will be the main 
enforcement agency for ObamaCare, the very IRS who we now know targets 
the President's political opponents for harassment and intimidation.
  Madam Speaker, ObamaCare must be repealed. I urge the Congress to 
repeal this abominable law, and I urge the American people to vote out 
of office every politician who voted for it 3 years ago.
  Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman 
from Connecticut (Mr. Courtney).
  Mr. COURTNEY. Madam Speaker, I rise today in opposition to the 
Patients' Rights Repeal Act. This is now number 37, the 37th time that 
we have debated this issue. We have now built up quite an archive of 
hysterical predictions by the Republicans during all these debates and 
3 years of experience to see how those predictions have actually panned 
out.
  Prediction number one, ObamaCare was going to kill Medicare Advantage 
plans. Has that happened? No. In 2013, this year, 14.5 million 
Americans have enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans, up from last year, 
which was 12.8 million. And while the enrollment is up, the cost has 
stayed flat, even. The monthly premium, average monthly premium for 
Medicare Advantage this year versus last year, went up $1 a month.
  Health savings accounts, the GOP said that ObamaCare would kill 
health savings accounts. This year, in 2013, health savings accounts 
have never been higher. 13.5 million Americans are in a health savings 
account, up from 11.4 million in January 2011. The President of the 
Health Savings Administrators was quoted recently as saying, ``You're 
going to see an explosion of health savings accounts assets.''
  We have heard that it is going to kill jobs. We have already heard 
from Mr.

[[Page 7074]]

Andrews 6.7 million new private sector jobs have been created since 
March of 2010, many of them, by the way, in health care--over 800,000.
  But, lastly, all the predictions about busting the budget and 
creating higher new costs. We heard yesterday from the Congressional 
Budget Office that Medicare cost growth has been at the most moderate 
level since Medicare was created in 1965. The index of per capita 
Medicare expenditure last month rose less than 1 percent, again, 
shattering records over the history of the Medicare program. And it is 
doing it the smart way, by greater oversight of fraud, by better 
coordination of care, by more preventive care such as giving seniors 
the prescription drugs that the Republican prescription drug program 
denied them back in 2003.
  This program, like any program, can always be improved, and I have 
worked with Dr. Roe in terms of the IPAB repeal. Let's do that.
  Let's stop wasting our time on a mindless repeal of measures that are 
working.
  Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Madam Speaker, I now yield 1 minute to the 
gentleman from Pennsylvania, Keith Rothfus.
  Mr. ROTHFUS. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Tennessee for 
yielding.
  I rise in support of H.R. 45.
  President Obama made a lot of promises when pushing his health care 
law through Congress. He promised that it would make health care more 
affordable and accessible. He promised that if you liked your health 
care plan, you would be able to keep it. Western Pennsylvanians will 
tell you that President Obama has failed to keep these promises.
  We recently saw one of these failures when the Community College of 
Allegheny County reduced the hours of many part-time employees because 
it could not afford the increased cost of health insurance. This is 
just one of the many sad side effects of a law that puts the government 
in the driver's seat of our health care system while taking patients 
and doctors along for the ride.
  Western Pennsylvanians do not want a law that will turn a doctor's 
waiting room into the waiting room for the Department of Motor 
Vehicles. They want commonsense and patient-centered reform that makes 
health care more affordable and accessible for workers, seniors, and 
families.
  Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. I yield 1 minute to the gentleman 
from California (Mr. Cardenas).
  Mr. CARDENAS. Madam Speaker, I rise today in opposition to the 
Patients' Rights Repeal Act.
  This is the 37th time Congress is wasting time attempting to repeal 
this law. My friends across the aisle could focus on putting this 
helpful and urgently needed law into effect.
  Forty-one million more Americans will have the opportunity to get 
health care under this law. One in four of them are hardworking Latino 
Americans who want to protect their families and provide for them. They 
will finally be able to live without fear that they are not one illness 
away from going into bankruptcy. Now you want to take that promise away 
from them.
  Earlier this year, my friends across the aisle committed themselves 
to engaging Hispanic Americans. How can they say they genuinely want to 
address our needs when they vote to destroy a law that is vastly going 
to represent 41 million Americans having access to health care and, of 
those, 10 million Latinos having access to health care?
  A point of personal privilege, Madam Speaker. I would like to take 
the opportunity to thank my wife for being married to me for 21 years. 
Today is our anniversary, and here I am on the floor working. 
Hopefully, we will have some good work done today.

                              {time}  1620

  Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Madam Speaker, very briefly, Republicans and 
Democrats did vote to repeal the 1099 and the IPAB and to repeal the 
device tax and the CLASS Act. Then we hear we didn't have any 
solutions. There were 80 amendments to this bill. None of them were 
ruled germane to the bill. I had 10 amendments on which I wanted to 
work with the other side. The Republican substitute was voted on, which 
is an across-State-lines association of health plans actually funding 
high-risk pools for preexisting conditions, HSAs and consumer-driven, 
putting the patient in charge of health care decisions.
  I now yield 1 minute to my good friend from South Carolina, Joe 
Wilson.
  Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. Thank you, Dr. Roe, for yielding.
  Today, House Republicans will vote for the 37th time to repeal or 
defund ObamaCare.
  Prior to its deal-making passage in 2010, the National Federation of 
Independent Business, America's largest organization of small 
businesses, warned that the implementation of the government health 
care takeover would destroy 1.6 million jobs due to mandates and tax 
increases, crippling small businesses.
  To make matters worse, at a time when our Nation is experiencing 
record unemployment, President Obama has called on the IRS, an agency 
currently in the midst of scandal, to hire thousands of new agents to 
enforce ObamaCare. Based on the recent reports, it is clear that the 
IRS should not be expanded to include the authorization of controlling 
health care for the American people.
  Today's vote will give us an opportunity to repeal a crucial job-
destroying bill that, in turn, will provide small businesses the 
certainty they need to begin hiring again and to put American families 
back to work. As a proud cosponsor, I urge my colleagues on both sides 
of the aisle to vote in favor of the bill.
  Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. May I inquire of the Chair how much 
time is available on both sides.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from California has 4\1/2\ 
minutes remaining, and the gentleman from Tennessee has 7\3/4\ minutes 
remaining.
  Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Madam Speaker, it is now my pleasure to yield 1 
minute to the Republican Majority Leader, the gentleman from Virginia, 
Eric Cantor.
  Mr. CANTOR. I thank the gentleman for the time.
  Madam Speaker, today, I rise in support of the full repeal of 
ObamaCare.
  Moms and dads across America are worried. They are worried about 
their health, the health of their kids, the health of their aging 
parents. They are struggling to understand how the new health care laws 
will affect their prescription prices, their emergency room visits, 
whether they can keep their doctors or, worse, whether they can keep 
their jobs.
  These families want the best for themselves and their children, and 
so do we. House Republicans want patient-centered health care reform 
that lowers costs, increases access, makes the health care system 
easier to enter and easier to navigate. ObamaCare is not the answer.
  While both parties agree that we must make health care more 
accessible, we in the majority fundamentally disagree that more 
government is the answer. Sweeping mandates on individuals and 
businesses will not improve our health care. We do not wish to see 
unelected, Federal bureaucrats come between patients and their 
doctors--limiting choices, lowering quality and raising costs.
  Madam Speaker, this act, which is the ObamaCare law and which is set 
to be implemented 8 months from now, is a threat to American patients 
and their families. When this law was first debated in 2009 and signed 
in 2010, the White House promised the American people that ObamaCare 
would lower costs for families and businesses. That promise has been 
broken. Nothing could be further from the truth.
  If you like the health care coverage you currently have, you really 
don't know if you will be able to keep it under ObamaCare. Many 
employers are delaying hiring decisions because of provisions outlined 
in the law, and people with preexisting conditions are now being denied 
the coverage the President promised. There are more complaints about 
the law than praise--and for good reason.

[[Page 7075]]

  It is now projected that ObamaCare will send health care premiums 
skyrocketing in the individual and small group insurance markets. When 
fully enacted, this law is expected to pose new financial burdens on 
America's youngest adults and many working families. Moreover, due to 
the projected cuts to Medicare Advantage, many of our seniors will face 
a type of health care that they didn't bargain for. This act should not 
be considered a reform but a bureaucratic overreach that makes a mess 
out of our health care system and gives incredible power to the 
Internal Revenue Service.
  President Obama has already signed seven bills originating in the 
House that repeal or defund parts of this health care law, but if we 
are serious in wanting to deliver real results for the people who sent 
us here, we should repeal ObamaCare and replace it with the health care 
that the American people desire.
  Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. I continue to reserve the balance of 
my time.
  Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Madam Speaker, I now yield 1 minute to my 
friend from North Carolina, Richard Hudson.
  Mr. HUDSON. Now, I don't have much in common with the leadership in 
the Senate, but today I stand in agreement with Senator Max Baucus, who 
characterized the implementation of ObamaCare as a ``train wreck.''
  Disasters occur when the government oversteps its bounds. We've seen 
it with ObamaCare, as it is the most egregious example. We've also seen 
this week what happens when Federal agencies target people for their 
political beliefs, and we've seen the same kind of overreach with 
violations of the First Amendment rights of reporters and journalists 
and in the failure to answer questions about the origins of the 
terrorist attack in Benghazi.
  Legislatively, ObamaCare is the most egregious example of government 
overreach we have ever seen, and a disaster, ladies and gentlemen, is 
ensuing. Hardworking Americans are losing their jobs, families are 
paying more in taxes, and seniors are losing much-needed Medicare 
coverage--and this bill hasn't even been fully implemented yet.
  Health care has always been and should always be a relationship 
between a patient and a doctor of one's choice, not a government 
mandate to be managed by faceless bureaucrats in Washington, D.C. The 
Federal Government has no authority to be the manager of the physical 
well-being of every American. I support its full repeal.
  Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. I continue to reserve the balance of 
my time.
  Mr. ROE of Tennessee. May I inquire about the time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Tennessee has 5\3/4\ 
minutes remaining, and the gentleman from California has 4\1/2\ minutes 
remaining.
  Mr. ROE of Tennessee. I now yield 1 minute to the gentleman from 
Texas, Randy Weber.
  Mr. WEBER of Texas. I rise to implore Congress to listen to the 
American public and to pass H.R. 45.
  If you think the Unaffordable Care Act is a good deal, then as an 
American you have to ask yourself:
  Do you believe the IRS acts in your best interests? My conservative 
guess is: not on the best days.
  Ask yourself: Were all of the events swirling around Benghazi 
shrouded in mystery or bathed in sunlight and transparency? Not on your 
life.
  Ask yourself: Were the phone records of the AP reporters and the 
privacy that should have been afforded to them protected? Not on the 
best days.
  Ask yourself: Is the government here to help? No.
  The government that is in the process of bankrupting Social Security, 
of bankrupting the post office and that is on the verge of killing 
Medicare and Medicaid now wants to come tell us, Trust us. We're from 
the government. We're here to help.
  Madam Speaker, I don't think the American public can afford that kind 
of trust or help. The answers are not here in Washington, D.C. They're 
back with Americans. Listen to the American public.
  I am Randy Weber. Let's pass H.R. 45. That's the way I see it from 
where I sit.
  Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. I yield myself 2 minutes.
  The previous speaker just said that we should listen to the American 
people. When the American people listen to the Congress of the United 
States, they assume that all of the Republicans in the country are 
against this health care bill and that all of the Democrats are for 
this health care bill.
  Yet, if you look at the Kaiser Family Foundation's most recent poll 
on this, you'll find out that 96 percent of the Democrats and 83 
percent of the Republicans support the tax credits for small business, 
which are now the law of the land, and 360,000 small businesses are 
getting those tax credits.

                              {time}  1630

  Ninety percent of the Democrats and 74 percent of the Republicans 
support closing the doughnut hole, and the doughnut hole is in the 
process of being closed. Democrats and Republicans agree in the country 
that this is a good deal.
  Eighty-seven percent of the Democrats and 72 percent of the 
Republicans are excited about the creation of health care exchanges 
where they can go and shop for health care just as the Members of this 
Congress do in open season when they can pick and choose from different 
plans. In California, there will be 33 plans offered by private health 
insurance companies that they can pick and choose from. They think 
that's a good idea. They think it's a great idea.
  Eighty-four percent of the Democrats and 68 percent of the 
Republicans think it's a great idea that children will not be thrown 
off their parents' policy, as is the law today.
  That's why you've only voted to repeal. On the first day you took the 
majority in this Congress, you voted to repeal and you instructed the 
committees to come up with an alternative. You've had 37 votes on 
repeal, and you've had no action by the committees on the alternative.
  So you have a plan that is meeting the needs of American families, 
millions of Americans of all walks of life, small businesses, big 
businesses, employees at both, children, seniors, people with 
preexisting conditions, and your answer is to repeal, like that's 
progress.
  No, that's not progress. That's the failure to have an alternative 
and creative thinking about how to deal with the health care problems 
of the American people. ObamaCare does that, the Affordable Care Act 
does that, and that's what this Congress did.
  With that, I reserve the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair would like to remind Members to 
address their remarks to the Chair.
  Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Madam Speaker, I would now like to yield 1 
minute to Scott Perry of Pennsylvania.
  Mr. PERRY. Madam Speaker, in 2010, this body was told by Speaker 
Pelosi that it needed to pass the bill so the American people could 
know what's in it. Well, Madam Speaker, if the American people would 
have known of the toxic consequences that ObamaCare would have, I'm 
certain they would not have allowed this legislation to be passed. I 
rise today to expose some of the ramifications that ObamaCare will have 
on Americans when it is fully implemented in 2014.
  In my home State of Pennsylvania, premium rates in the individual 
market will increase by approximately 30 percent, and on a national 
level there will be a 73 percent rise in premium costs for those 
keeping insurance. For those interested in getting a new plan, you're 
going to see an average increase of 100 percent in cost compared to 
today.
  Due to the employer mandate, as many as 20 million to 65 million 
Americans will likely lose their employer-sponsored health care.
  Well, Madam Speaker, it's 3 years later, and we still don't know 
everything in this legislation, but we do know who's picking up the 
tab: hardworking families and job-creating small business owners.

[[Page 7076]]


  Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. I yield 1 minute to the minority 
leader.
  Ms. PELOSI. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding, and I 
thank him for his leadership and that of Mr. Levin and Mr. Waxman as 
the chairs of the three committees when this legislation, so 
transformative in the lives of the American people, was passed by the 
House of Representatives and now for coming to the floor today--I don't 
know what the word is--to even counter some of the ridiculousness that 
is being said on the other side of the aisle in relationship to the 
Affordable Care Act. The fact is that what's happening today is the 
Patients' Rights Repeal Act. That's what they want to do is repeal 
patients' rights.
  Why are they doing this? Do you think it's a good idea to do this on 
Women's Health Week, to repeal legislation that gives a wide range of 
free preventive services to women, protection being dropped for women 
when they are pregnant or when they are sick and they no longer will be 
charged higher premiums than men? Of course the Republicans want to 
repeal that today on Women's Health Week. But knowing soon that a woman 
will no longer be a preexisting medical condition is just one piece of 
it.
  The fact is this is not a serious effort to repeal the act. That's 
not going to happen. What this is is another example of jobs evasion in 
several ways.
  First of all, it is our job to come here and act for the good of the 
American people. Right now, the American people see that good as the 
creation of jobs. What is it, 134 days into this Congress and the 
Republican majority has yet to vote one bill out to create jobs? That's 
job evasion.
  Here we are today with yet another one of their subterfuges. Let's 
not talk about jobs; let's use up time. What does it add up to? Up 
until now, it has been $54 million and 43-some days spent on this, the 
37th effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act.
  What we should be doing is what the Republicans have asked for, 
regular order, to go to the budget table, to reconcile the differences 
between the House and the Senate so that we can put forth a budget that 
creates jobs, that reduces the deficit, that strengthens the middle 
class. Instead, we're wasting the taxpayers' dollars and time on 
legislation that is going to undermine protections for the American 
people when it comes to their health and well-being.
  This bill today just gives us another opportunity for our side to 
talk about the transformative nature of the Affordable Care Act.
  If there were no reason to pass such a bill, if everyone loved his or 
her own health care and health insurance premiums, if that were the 
case, we would still have had to pass the legislation because the 
status quo in health care in our country was unsustainable from a 
financial standpoint. It was unsustainable for families, for 
individuals, for small businesses, and for corporate America.
  The cost of health care was a competitiveness issue. As we try to 
retain our position as number one in the world--a competitive issue--
the cost of health care was rising. It certainly was unsustainable for 
cities, States, and the Federal Government. Our budget could not 
sustain the rapid increase of health care to our budget.
  That is why, when the Speaker asked, the nonpartisan Congressional 
Budget Office responded by informing House Republicans in a letter sent 
yesterday reiterating that repealing the Affordable Care Act would 
increase the deficit by $109 billion over the next 10 years. They said 
that this is a figure that they had given the Speaker last July. There 
may be some little changes in it between now and then, but that was 
approximately where the figures were.
  So if you want to reduce the deficit, you don't repeal the Affordable 
Care Act because you will increase the deficit by $109 billion over the 
next 10 years. The purpose of the bill was not only to improve the 
quality of health care, increase accessibility to many more people and 
to lower the cost, but that in lowering the cost, it would reduce the 
deficit.
  So it's a bill, and pretty soon many more Americans will be taking 
advantage of it. So far, over 100 million Americans have taken 
advantage of the preventive services and over 100 million Americans are 
no longer subjected to lifetime limits on their insurance coverage. 
That's a remarkable thing. Seniors who are in the doughnut hole have 
seen their prescription drug costs reduced by around $6 billion. Right 
now young people can stay on their parents' insurance policy until 
they're 26 years old.
  The list goes on and on about the preventive exams that are free to 
seniors. The list goes on and on about what benefits the action that 
the Republicans are taking today would repeal that are good for the 
health and well-being of the American people. This bill is not just 
about health care; it's about the good health of the American people.

                              {time}  1640

  It's about prevention. It's about wellness. It's about electronic 
medical records that will change everything in terms of access to care 
and the quality of your care because your records are wherever you are. 
It's entrepreneurial.
  Our Founders, in their dedication, in their sacrifice, in their 
courage called for life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness as goals 
of our new Republic, of our democracy; and this bill honors the vows of 
our Founders in just that way--a healthier life, the liberty to pursue 
your happiness. If you're an artist or if you're a photographer or a 
writer, if you want to be self-employed, if you want to start a 
business, if you want to change jobs, whatever it is, you are no longer 
job-locked because you can only go as fast in reaching your passion and 
your aspirations as your health insurance program will take you.
  If you have a child with a preexisting medical condition, or if 
you're concerned with being sick yourself, you no longer are confined 
in your pursuit of happiness by the cost of a health care premium or 
the ability to even get one. It is entrepreneurial.
  We even see articles now, and, Mr. Chairman, you have pointed them 
out in the public media about young people, or not even young people, 
but people who want to leave companies and start their own businesses. 
They're waiting for this bill to be fully implemented so they have that 
freedom to go forth.
  So while I think it is a waste of the public's time to take this bill 
up on the floor of the House, to hear my colleagues talk on the floor, 
you think either they don't know what they're talking about, or they 
do. But in either case, they're not presenting the facts about what 
this legislation does.
  It is going to be right up there with Social Security and Medicare as 
pillars of economic and health security for the American people. It is 
going to make us more competitive internationally because our 
businesses will not have an anvil of the rising cost of health care. It 
reduces the deficit, improves the health and well-being of the American 
people. It's about the entrepreneurial spirit of America. It honors the 
vows of our Founders of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
  This legislation should be rejected; and pretty soon more people, as 
they take advantage of the legislation, will see just how important it 
is to them individually and how important it is to the health and well-
being of our country.
  Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Madam Speaker, I now yield 1 minute to Mr. Doug 
LaMalfa from California.
  Mr. LaMALFA. Madam Speaker, I'm pleased to be able to join my 
colleague, Mrs. Bachmann, on this legislation.
  We do have a history in the past of repealing bills, such as 
Prohibition. It has been done, so this one would have near the same 
status in size by the time it's all done.
  I'm from California. We know a lot about boondoggles in California, 
going back to high-speed rail and other issues like that. They call 
this the Affordable Care Act, and it's still being done with a straight 
face. Really? Price tag: it was advertised as $900 billion. Now it's 
approaching $2 trillion.

[[Page 7077]]

  Jobs--48 percent of business owners are saying that they're holding 
off on new hires because of the ObamaCare health care takeover.
  Taxes--again, affordable? There's over a trillion dollars in new 
taxes with more in sight. How are we calling this affordable?
  We've had seven different measures to repeal portions of the Obama 
health care takeover, with more on the way.
  And this part is really great: thousands of new IRS enforcers will be 
hired to help implement ObamaCare. Isn't that great. I ask you to 
support H.R. 45.
  Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. I yield the balance of my time, 1\1/
2\ minutes, to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Andrews) to close.
  Mr. ANDREWS. Madam Speaker, on the east coast it's almost the end of 
the workday. And we know that somewhere a mom who stood on her feet all 
day in a retail store, or broken her back all day in a nursing home, 
will come home, and she will see that her son or her daughter isn't 
feeling very well, is too sick to eat dinner, can't seem to sleep 
through the night.
  Most of us in this country have the privilege of taking that child to 
the pediatrician or to the emergency room right away. Right away. But 
for over 40 million people in this country, they don't have that 
privilege. She'll hesitate because she'll think, maybe my daughter will 
get better by the morning, because a trip to the emergency room for 
that family might also mean a trip to the bankruptcy court.
  We are here today to honor her work, not disrespect it. Almost every 
day here the Wall Street bankers, the oil barons, the big shots get 
their way. Her day is coming on January 1, 2014, because for the first 
time in this country's history, we'll do more than talk about the fact 
that we honor her. We will honor her work and honor her family with 
affordable health insurance. That day is coming.
  This charade won't stop it. No amount of misrepresentation will cease 
it. That day is coming. Her work will be honored. The Affordable Care 
Act will be implemented.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman from California 
has expired.
  Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my 
time.
  Madam Speaker, I came here 4\1/2\ years ago in a bipartisan way to 
work on health care reform which this country desperately needed. We've 
now had 3 years to look at the Affordable Care Act, and I wish the bill 
had done as everyone had described here today. I wish that it had done 
that. I wish that costs had gone down. I wish that businesses were 
hiring everybody because of this bill. I wish that taxes were not going 
up. But none of these are true. They are. And I wish that we had 
debated this bill in an open manner here by regular order, the Senate 
version of the bill on this very floor of the House, which we did not.
  So I asked our insurance commissioner today in Tennessee, if we did 
not pass this bill--and you just heard me say earlier in the debate 
about premiums going up 50-plus percent--I said if we did absolutely 
nothing, what would happen to rates in Tennessee? They would go up 
about 8 to 10 percent. We would be much better off in my State and 
around this country; and, again, I came here in a bipartisan way not to 
work on a partisan bill, which is what this is.
  Madam Speaker, we need to repeal this bill and to replace it with 
patient-centered reforms that put patients and doctors back in charge 
of health care decisions.
  With that, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Camp) and 
the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Levin) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Camp).
  Mr. CAMP. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I rise today in support of H.R. 45, legislation to repeal ObamaCare. 
In March of 2010, then-Speaker Pelosi famously said, with respect to 
the President's health care law:

       We have to pass the bill so that you can find out what's in 
     it.

                              {time}  1650

  Well, Washington Democrats passed that bill, and virtually every week 
since has been an expensive, eye-opening experience.
  Over the past 3 years, it's become clear that ObamaCare is 
irreparably flawed, fails to deliver on its promises and causes serious 
harm to our economy. The legislation before the House is the first step 
toward fixing all of these problems. We must first repeal this onerous 
law and then move forward and work with stakeholders to develop step-
by-step, commonsense reforms that actually lower the cost of health 
care and respect the patient-doctor relationship.
  The President's health care law is, at its core, a flawed policy. It 
puts the Federal Government precisely where it doesn't belong, between 
Americans and their doctors. Instead of families deciding what coverage 
is best for them, or families and employers deciding how much they can 
afford, this law has the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the 
IRS making those decisions.
  ObamaCare also falls short of almost every one of the President's and 
congressional Democrats' promises for the law. It doesn't control 
costs, doesn't let Americans keep the insurance they have and like, 
doesn't protect jobs, doesn't ensure seniors have access to their 
doctors and hospitals, and doesn't prevent 21 new tax increases, 
including more than a dozen that will hit middle class families. Simply 
put, it's a resounding failure.
  If that wasn't enough, the health care law is causing serious harm to 
our economy at a time when it's struggling to climb out of the hole dug 
by the administration's failed economic policies.
  We've received countless reports of businesses reluctant to hire, or 
shifting employees from full-time to part-time employment because of 
the steep costs associated with complying with the law. This is simply 
unacceptable. Well over 11 million Americans remain unemployed.
  Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in voting to repeal 
this burdensome law and continue working toward real reform that lowers 
costs and improves the quality of health care in this country.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. LEVIN. I yield myself such time as I shall consume.
  I rise today in opposition to the Patients' Rights Repeal Act.
  Here we go again. This vote is more than just a sideshow. It's an 
embarrassing spectacle that has consumed House Republicans for more 
than 2 years, to the detriment of our economy and millions of Americans 
looking for work.
  Republicans, on this, have their legislative heads in the sand and 
their feet in cement.
  The Republicans are blind to the benefits that so many are already 
experiencing through ACA. It's already helping millions of Americans, 
with many millions more set to gain insurance coverage through the 
marketplaces next year.
  With their feet in cement, 37 times House Republicans will have voted 
to repeal all or part of ObamaCare.
  More than 50 million--50 million--taxpayer dollars have been spent by 
House Republicans through the dozens of hours Republicans have devoted 
to floor votes to try to repeal ObamaCare, which even Speaker Boehner 
acknowledged last year is the law of the land.
  Since the beginning of 2011, Republicans have spent no less than 15 
percent of their time on the House floor trying to repeal ObamaCare, 
when they know it would not happen.
  Yet, not once this year, not once, have Republicans turned their 
focus toward job creation. What we have here, repeal, is a Republican 
obsession.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. CAMP. At this time I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from 
Louisiana (Mr. Boustany), a distinguished member of the Ways and Means 
Committee.
  Mr. BOUSTANY. Madam Speaker, as a physician with 30 years' 
experience,

[[Page 7078]]

clinical experience, I rise to vigorously oppose ObamaCare once again. 
We need to repeal this abomination. Why?
  Just take a look at this chart. Where's the doctor, and where's the 
patient?
  Well, look at the corner. Physician's way here in the corner. 
Patient's way over there.
  And what's at the center of this?
  The Department of Health and Human Services with the Secretary. And 
at the top, the IRS. And we all know what's going on with the IRS 
today. How can we trust an entity like that to enforce this abomination 
of a health law?
  Doctors and patients deal with very personal information, very 
personal. That's why you have to preserve the sanctity of the doctor-
patient relationship. And having all this between the doctor and the 
patient is basically a recipe for massive failure. That's why we must 
repeal it. That's why I stand with my colleagues to repeal it.
  Let's do the right thing. Let's go step by step and get sensible, 
real reforms that will make Americans proud of their health care 
system.
  Mr. LEVIN. I now yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New York (Mr. 
Rangel).
  Mr. RANGEL. Madam Speaker, I think all of us came to this august body 
with the mandate that we should try to improve the quality of life for 
our constituents and, therefore, the United States, the people that 
made our country so great. Education, health care, jobs, these are the 
things we want to do.
  But it's reached a point that this is no longer just putting 
Democrats in a political advantage. What it is doing is embarrassing 
the entire Congress, and I dare say, people in the country recognize 
that there's something wrong going on in Congress.
  Now, those of you that have taken Civics 101 know that there is no 
intention to repeal this act.
  People are waiting to get jobs. They're waiting, really, to get 
health care. And we're on the move for that.
  I've been here over 4 decades, and darn it the devil, we've been 
trying to get universal care. We're almost there.
  Now, if you're talking about repeal, it takes a majority of both 
Houses to pass this bill. The President's going to veto it. And you 
have to have two-thirds of both Houses in order to repeal. That is not 
going to happen, and you know it.
  Mr. CAMP. I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Price), 
a distinguished member of the Ways and Means Committee.
  Mr. PRICE of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I appreciate the Chair's 
leadership on this.
  This law has been in place now for a little over 3 years. So, as a 
physician, let's look at the symptoms of this law. Cost of premiums: 
increasing. Access to your doctor or your plan: already more difficult. 
Quality of health care going down because of Washington interference. 
Innovation: terribly affected, harming quality in this country. Choices 
for patients: decreased.
  So let me get this straight. Increasing costs, less access, lower 
quality, less innovation, limiting your choices.
  Madam Speaker, that's a life-threatening and terminal diagnosis.
  It's time to repeal the ACA and adopt patient-centered health care, 
where patients and families and doctors make medical decisions, not 
Washington and the IRS.
  Mr. LEVIN. I now yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from 
Washington (Mr. McDermott), who's the ranking member on the Health 
Subcommittee.
  Mr. McDERMOTT. Well, Madam Speaker, it's Thursday. Everybody's going 
home. Got to have your press release ready.
  So here we come. The thirty-seventh time they're going to try and 
repeal the Affordable Care Act.
  Now, you've heard a lot of nonsense already in two speakers, absolute 
untruths told right here about killing jobs and about rising premiums.
  Washington State put out their premiums yesterday, and their premiums 
for young people are down by 15 percent. All that hyperbole about going 
up 450 percent, or whatever we hear, is nonsense. It is simply 
fearmongering and, you know, the deficit comes down, insurance is more 
affordable and accessible and, at the most, 33 percent have been 
convinced by this stuff over here.
  In my home State, people are ready and willing to do it. Our Governor 
went out and set it up, and we're going to go and do it.
  Now, the only thing the Republicans are angry about is that 
ObamaCare's going to become the law. It's being implemented. It's going 
to be in place in October. It drives them nuts that they can't figure a 
way to stop it.

                              {time}  1700

  They've come out here once a month to try and repeal it over and over 
and over again, and they keep failing. That's pretty close to the 
definition of mental illness: doing the same thing over and over again 
and thinking you're going to get a different result. You are not going 
to get a different result. The fact is that this is about votes. We 
have a new crop of freshmen who are getting their campaigns ready, and 
they've got to have that check in the box that says, I voted against 
ObamaCare. Vote ``no.''
  Mr. CAMP. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished member 
of the Ways and Means Committee, the gentlewoman from Tennessee (Mrs. 
Black).
  Mrs. BLACK. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding. I 
stand here today outraged by the fact that the Internal Revenue Service 
has been targeting conservative groups since as early as 2010. This is 
not a Republican or Democrat issue. This is a First Amendment issue, 
one that should be a wake-up call about the dangers of the new, 
expansive powers afforded to the IRS under ObamaCare. No government 
agency, particularly one with such corruption and apparent disregard 
for the Constitution as the IRS, has any business accessing or 
monitoring Americans' personal health information.
  As I speak here today, government bureaucrats are building the 
Federal data services hub, the largest personal information database 
ever created by the U.S. Government. And because of ObamaCare, five 
major government agencies are compiling information for the data hub, 
including the IRS, HHS, Department of Justice, Department of Homeland 
Security, and Social Security Administration.
  What this hub means is that government bureaucrats are gaining 
unprecedented access and power over the American people's financial, 
health, and personal information through the implementation of 
ObamaCare.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentlewoman has expired.
  Mr. CAMP. I yield the gentlewoman an additional 30 seconds.
  Mrs. BLACK. The IRS scandal begs the question: How can President 
Obama and the congressional Democrats continue to support ObamaCare, a 
law that gives more power to the IRS? Ultimately, the IRS scandal is 
yet another example of why ObamaCare must be repealed--for the sake of 
our health care, our economy, and our constitutional freedoms.
  Mr. LEVIN. I now yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Massachusetts, 
a distinguished member of our committee, Mr. Neal.
  Mr. NEAL. Madam Speaker, today I rise in opposition to the repeal of 
the Patients' Rights Act. Seventy-one million Americans have already 
taken advantage of this opportunity for preventive health care 
services, 100 million Americans no longer will have a lifetime limit on 
their health insurance program, and young adults can stay on their 
parents' health insurance until they're 26. Ninety-eight percent of the 
people of Massachusetts are insured. The number regularly polls in the 
high 70s for customer satisfaction.
  Let me just state this with some degree of certainty: the best 
hospitals in the world are in Massachusetts. Arguably, the best doctors 
in the world are in Massachusetts. Certainly the best teaching 
hospitals in the world are in Massachusetts. They've made it work. 
People are happy with the plan. If you're going to get sick, I say this 
to my Republican friends, as well, I'm going to get you a spot in 
Massachusetts.

[[Page 7079]]

  Here's the point that we ought to be discussing today: the 
implementation of this successful plan. And I want to say this today 
tongue-in-cheek, but also with some satisfaction, we should thank 
Governor Romney for working with a Democratic legislature to make sure 
that the model for the Affordable Care Act was in place.
  Let me say that again: thank Governor Romney for helping to make sure 
this plan was successful.
  Mr. CAMP. I yield 1 minute to a distinguished member of the Ways and 
Means Committee, the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Young).
  Mr. YOUNG of Indiana. Madam Speaker, when ObamaCare was being 
debated, its champions and cheerleaders indicated it would create 4 
million jobs, including 400,000 jobs almost immediately. I find it 
deeply disturbing, then, that when I travel back to my district in 
Indiana, I hear from constituents that jobs are already being lost and 
hours are being cut in anticipation of this law's implementation.
  I've heard from numerous constituents who work low-wage, hourly jobs 
like school support employees: cafeteria workers, janitors, bus drivers 
and so on. They're being told that, due to ObamaCare's employer 
mandate, they will no longer be allowed to work more than 29 hours a 
week. ObamaCare's proponents have created an incredibly perverse 
incentive here. Who in their right mind endorses a law where the best 
business decision is to lay people off, and during a very down economy 
to boot?
  If we're serious about addressing rising health care costs and 
putting Americans back to work, we should repeal this law, and repeal 
it now, and replace it with sustainable, bipartisan health care 
solutions.
  Mr. LEVIN. I now yield 1 minute to another member of our committee, 
the distinguished gentleman from the State of Connecticut (Mr. Larson).
  Mr. LARSON of Connecticut. I have an idea: What if The Heritage 
Foundation had an idea to reform our entire health care system? Even 
better, as Mr. Neal says, what if that idea was piloted successfully by 
a Republican Governor in a Democratic State who would go on to become 
their nominee for President? What if that idea were brought to fruition 
nationally through the Affordable Care Act so it could provide American 
citizens, especially the uninsured and those with preexisting 
conditions, to become the focus of our energy and concern in 
Washington? An emphasis on wellness by seeking to enhance the best in 
the private sector, the best in the academic sector and the public 
health initiatives that have guided this great country of ours?
  What if we do what the American people expect us to do, instead of 
quibbling over partisan issues--rolling up our sleeves and coming 
together for a solution to the American people?
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired.
  Mr. LEVIN. I yield the gentleman an additional 30 seconds.
  Mr. LARSON of Connecticut. What if we come together, and instead of 
quibbling over the Affordable Care Act, we rolled up our sleeves and 
put the Nation to work? Every day we waste in ideological turmoil is 
another day lost in the opportunity to help the American people and the 
key, as Mr. Ryan states, to driving down our national debt. Come 
together with us, Republicans, solve this issue for America.
  Mr. CAMP. At this time, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished 
gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Graves).
  Mr. GRAVES of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I rise today to say it is time 
to pull ObamaCare out root by root. We all know that it increases 
premiums and squeezes the family budget. We know that it does not let 
you keep the plan that you have today. We all know that ObamaCare is 
crushing jobs and forcing many parents who have full-time jobs today 
into tomorrow's part-time jobs.
  And now we have some new information as we prepare to vote. The chief 
enforcers of this law, the IRS, have been outed as partisan political 
operatives. They've harassed, bullied, and suppressed the political 
opponents of the Obama administration. And now they want to be in 
charge of our health care? Give me a break. I don't think so.
  Members, this is your chance. This is your chance to weigh in on the 
IRS scandal. A vote to repeal is a vote to stop the IRS, but voting to 
keep ObamaCare is a vote to empower the IRS as the health care police 
of the United States. The choice is easy. Vote to take power away from 
the IRS, not to give them more.
  Mr. LEVIN. I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. 
Doggett).
  Mr. DOGGETT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in opposition to the Patients' 
Rights Repeal Act. Like a broken record repeating the same old, 
scratchy, sad verse, these Republicans cannot stop repeating their 
record of indifference to the health care crisis. They've given up on 
``repeal and replace'' because all they ever cared about was the repeal 
part. As the Party of No, this year they have not advanced a single 
health care proposal as an alternative.
  I only wish that the Affordable Care Act were as good as they think 
it is bad. But to the millions who have received refunds from insurance 
company monopolies for overcharging, to the millions who are no longer 
denied coverage by the fine print in an insurance policy they didn't 
write, to the seniors who are getting some help on their prescription 
drugs and preventive care, to the millions more who will be able to 
finally apply in October for coverage they do not have now, and for the 
small businesses who will receive assistance in supplying their 
employees with the coverage they have been unable to afford in the 
past, you know, this ObamaCare works pretty well.

                              {time}  1710

  Together, we could make it better. We could make it more accessible 
for more individuals--like the many people in Texas who will be denied 
by Governor Perry's decision to refuse 100 percent of the cost of 
Medicaid protection. Together, we could provide more cost-effective 
care and do something more about spiraling health care costs. But 
really, the only true Republican alternative to ObamaCare is ``nothing 
care.''
  Mr. CAMP. I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentleman from 
Michigan (Mr. Benishek).
  Mr. BENISHEK. Madam Speaker, I rise today to urge support of H.R. 45, 
legislation that will repeal the President's massive and unaffordable 
health care law. As a doctor, I am extremely concerned with many 
different aspects of the bill, which is broad and overreaching.
  When this law was passed, I was in northern Michigan treating 
patients and wondering how this bill would change the relationship 
between a doctor and his patients. I can tell you that after my 30 
years of experience and after continuing to speak with doctors, nurses, 
hospital administrators, and patients across northern Michigan, there 
are innumerable problems with this law, and it needs to be repealed.
  Thanks to ObamaCare, we will face severe problems with access to 
quality health care. We are looking at massive cuts to reimbursements 
to hospitals and other care providers, cuts that will end up limiting 
access to care.
  ObamaCare does not fulfill the most basic promises that were used to 
pass this law. Health care costs have not gone down. My constituents 
are not able to ``keep their plans.''
  These are just some of the reasons why I urge all of my colleagues to 
support this bill so we can work together to provide patient-centered 
reform that will reduce costs and expand access.
  Mr. LEVIN. I now yield 2 minutes to another member of our committee, 
the distinguished gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pascrell).
  Mr. PASCRELL. Madam Speaker, I rise today in opposition and in 
support--in support--of the Patients' Rights Repeal Act.
  Madam Speaker, you know we've gone through this many times. You've 
attempted in committee and subcommittee to try to undercut the 
patients' rights to health care, and it wasn't successful.
  By the way, the IRS is not the individual agency that is the 
operative of

[[Page 7080]]

health care. Where in God's name did you get that from? There hasn't 
been much truth spoken today on the floor over there.
  Whether in town halls or small group meetings, I ask this question 
when we talk about health care. I ask individuals to raise their hands 
if they're against, number one--you ought to raise your hands, too--
closing the Medicare doughnut hole for seniors; are you for that or are 
you against it? Allowing children to stay on a family's health plan 
until they're 26 years of age; are you for that or are you against it? 
Ensuring Americans are not denied insurance for preexisting conditions; 
are you for that or are you against that? Or helping American families 
avoid medical bankruptcy.
  Every meeting not one hand goes up. How many over there? Raise your 
hand. Free country. I'll wait 2 seconds. Maybe you didn't hear me.
  In New Jersey, a report by the New Jersey Public Interest Research 
Group explained that by repealing health reform, employers would see 
health costs grow by more than $3,000 a year and, most shocking, New 
Jersey would have 10,000 fewer jobs.
  Let's get it straight. In conclusion, let me ask my colleagues, in 
voting, those who will vote for repeal, is the opposition willing to 
increase the deficit? Because you already used the money from the 
Health Care Act to pay your budget, or else it doesn't even balance in 
50 years. Are they willing to give the power back to the insurance 
companies? You've got to ask that question.
  We've come down to the skinny right now. This is down to the bare 
bones. Are you willing to allow premiums to escalate? Better ask 
yourself those questions.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair reminds the Members to address 
their remarks to the Chair and not to others in the second person.
  Mr. CAMP. I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentleman from 
Florida (Mr. Radel).
  Mr. RADEL. Heavy-handed government has been chipping away at our 
freedom and your freedom and your opportunity for generations, whether 
it's Big Government Democrat programs or, to be bipartisan, Big 
Government Republican programs. And that brings us to this debate today 
on the Affordable Care Act, which is not affordable and it is not about 
health care. It is about control.
  Your freedom, your choices between you and your doctor no longer 
between you and your doctor. Someone from here in D.C., in some way, 
shape, or form will be involved in your most personal decisions. 
Freedom and opportunity, the freedom to choose insurers, insurance, and 
your doctor in a truly free market now gone.
  This repeal is about your opportunity, which ObamaCare is already 
taking away from you. I want you to have a job. I want you to work more 
than 39 hours a week.
  This repeal is about your freedom. I want you to keep more money in 
your pocket. I want you to have low premiums. I want you to have a 
choice--your choice, not Washington, D.C.'s.
  This Affordable Health Care Act is not affordable and it is not about 
health care. It's about control.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair reminds the Members to address 
their remarks to the Chair and not a perceived viewing audience.
  Mr. LEVIN. Madam Speaker, may I inquire as to how much time remains 
on each side?
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Levin) has 
9 minutes remaining, and the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Camp) has 
10\1/2\ minutes remaining.
  Mr. LEVIN. I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. 
Crowley).
  Mr. CROWLEY. Madam Speaker, I rise today in opposition to the 
Patients' Rights Repeal Act.
  We've heard a lot about the fact that this is the 37th vote to take 
away health care from hardworking Americans, but let me put that in 
context.
  Under the Republican majority, we have spent over 56 hours on the 
floor debating repeal of the law of the land--and that doesn't even 
come close to capturing how much committee time, amendment debate, and 
general grandstanding has been spent on this bill.
  Now, it is tempting, but I'm going to avoid illustrating this point 
with comparisons like telling you how many times you could have watched 
``Gone With the Wind'' in that same amount of time--although, as a 
matter of fact, you could have watched it 15 times. What I want to talk 
about is what else we could have done with that 56 hours of Congress' 
time and energy:
  We could have acted on a real jobs plan to get our economy moving;
  We could have come together on a plan to avert the devastating 
sequester cuts that are hitting our Head Start programs, our cancer 
patients, and our military, just to name a few;
  We could have moved forward on immigration reform, gun violence 
prevention, or infrastructure development, but we haven't.
  Now, my colleagues on the Republican side of the aisle have been 
using a chart--an incomprehensible chart, something that no American 
can understand--to try to demonstrate how the Affordable Care Act 
works. Well, it just so happens I have a chart right here. This is the 
Republican plan to deal with the absence of the Affordable Care Act. 
It's right here. This is the chart. This is the chart right here. I 
will try to explain it to you. In fact, it's self-explanatory. They 
have no plan. They have no plan to substitute the repeal of the 
Affordable Care Act. In fact, they haven't a plan for health care at 
all.
  So, my colleagues, my colleagues, I just wish my colleagues on the 
other side of the aisle would spend as much time building America up as 
they've tried to tear it down because, frankly, my colleagues, I do 
give a darn.
  Mr. CAMP. I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentleman from Ohio 
(Mr. Wenstrup).
  Mr. WENSTRUP. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 45 to 
repeal ObamaCare.
  Madam Speaker, as a physician, I know our health care system is 
broken, but this form of Washington meddling only makes it worse. The 
President's law puts too much control in the hands of the Federal 
Government, creating a complex system that emphasizes government 
intrusion over actual patient care.
  There is no reason for the IRS to play a role in our health care 
system, favoring one and punishing another. Medical decisions already 
cause deep anxiety in the lives of too many Americans. Why compound 
that with the weight of an audit?
  Our goal should be simple: respect you as a patient and connect you 
to the doctor that you deserve. Patient-centered solutions place you, 
the patient, at the center of our health care system, simplifying your 
life, not pushing you to the corner of Big Government sprawl.
  Madam Speaker, the American people deserve full repeal.

                              {time}  1720

  Mr. LEVIN. I now yield 2 minutes to another member of our committee, 
the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Davis).
  Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois. Madam Speaker, I rise today in 
opposition to the Patients' Rights Repeal Act.
  As some of my colleagues on the other side prepare to vote in favor 
of this legislation, I want to make sure that the American people know 
that they are taking 13 million Americans' rebates that they got from 
insurance companies last summer, totaling at least $1.1 million.
  They will be voting to repudiate the fact that beginning last summer, 
millions of women began receiving free coverage for preventive 
services.
  They will be voting to take away the fact that 17 million children 
with preexisting conditions can no longer be denied coverage by 
insurers.
  And they will be voting to take away the coverage of 6.6 million 
young adults, who, up to age 26, are able to be on their parents' 
insurance coverage, half of whom without it would have no coverage at 
all.
  They will actually be voting, Madam Speaker, to take America's health 
care backwards. We can't afford to go there.

[[Page 7081]]

  I urge that we vote ``no.''
  Mr. CAMP. Madam Speaker, at this time, I yield to the distinguished 
chairman of the Health Subcommittee for the purposes of controlling the 
balance of our time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Without objection, the gentleman from Texas 
(Mr. Brady) will control the time.
  There was no objection.
  Mr. BRADY of Texas. Madam Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to a new 
leader in health care, the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Yoho).
  Mr. YOHO. Madam Speaker, I stand today to show my support for H.R. 
45, the repeal of the largest legislative piece of malpractice ever 
passed through the Halls of Congress.
  This one bill, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, 
ObamaCare, has done more to disrupt our economy and bring uncertainty 
to the marketplace than anything I have witnessed.
  My colleagues on the other side talk about jobs and no job creation 
on this side. We are working to create jobs here by repealing this 
bill. This is the number one job-killing bill in America, and it has 
rocked the engine that drives our economy--the business owner and the 
entrepreneur that create the jobs. Without jobs being created, the 
hardworking Americans will lose their jobs and they are going to lose 
their health care.
  Instead of health care reform, Congress created a health care tax. It 
is a tax that will be paid by all Americans young, old, rich, or poor.
  Today, in response to the people who have had enough, the White House 
declared this: ``It's the law.'' My response on behalf of the people I 
represent is this: Not for long.
  Mr. LEVIN. I now yield 2 minutes to another distinguished member of 
our committee, Mr. Blumenauer, from the State of Oregon.
  Mr. BLUMENAUER. Madam Speaker, this is, as has been pointed out, the 
37th attempt to repeal the health care reform. It has been my privilege 
to run 37 marathons in my career, but at least when you run a marathon 
you get someplace.
  Millions of people are benefiting from the health care reform. Over a 
third of a million small businesses are getting tax credits to be able 
to help insure their employees. We are seeing aggressive efforts at 
better care, lower cost, eliminating lifetime limits, keeping young 
people on their parents' insurance policies.
  Madam Speaker, we are finding across America there are literally 
hundreds of thousands of people working on the implementation of this 
legislation. Is it perfect? I haven't seen a perfect bill, especially 
one that is dealing with 17 percent of our economy. It is a dramatic 
improvement over what we have got. But instead of working with us to 
refine and improve over the course of the last 4 years, we go through 
these pointless exercises without offering an alternative.
  My friend, my colleague from New York (Mr. Crowley), had their plan: 
a blank piece of poster board. No specifics; no effort to come forward 
with something that would do a better job of meeting the needs of 
seniors' prescription drug problems, young people, patient protection, 
lifetime limits, payment reform.
  I will tell you, in Oregon I have met with thousands of professionals 
in the health care arena who are working cooperatively on making sure 
that Oregon is a model of how to do it right.
  The health care reform train has left the station. We are not going 
to be repealing it today. We ought to be working to refine it in the 
future.
  Mr. BRADY of Texas. I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to a new member of the 
Ways and Means Committee, a job creator, a businessman himself, who has 
had to deal with rising health care costs, the gentleman from 
Pennsylvania (Mr. Kelly).
  Mr. KELLY of Pennsylvania. I thank the gentleman for yielding.
  Madam Speaker, it is interesting to hear as we go through this 
tonight about just how important and how great a piece of legislation 
this is. I've got to tell you, there is an old saying out there: ``Of 
all the words of mouth and pen, the saddest are what could have been.'' 
This could have been a miraculous piece of legislation.
  Wouldn't it have been wonderful if both sides of the aisle had been 
able to work on it? Wouldn't it have been wonderful to have some debate 
and some amendment on it? Wouldn't it have been wonderful not to have 
to wait until midnight and shove it down the American people's throat? 
And wouldn't it have been wonderful for guys like me who have small 
businesses to be actually able to look at this and think to the future 
that, you know, I can actually plan?
  ObamaCare is making this Nation sick. It is having a terrible effect 
on our economy. They keep people from hiring.
  But do you know what it does, and it is the worst thing of all? It 
drives a wedge between business owners and business operators and their 
employees and their associates. That is the biggest problem. We are 
trying to make those people--the owners, the managers of the 
businesses--the bad guys.
  Listen, the bad guy in this case is the United States Government. We 
have done something that is absolutely reprehensible. You cannot do 
that to people who make a living working with each other and then put 
them on opposite sides of a case. Better health care? Absolutely. 
Affordable, accessible? Absolutely. This piece of legislation did not 
do that.
  I am intrigued by the amount of passion that we see now from the 
other side when there was so little concern at the time it was crafted 
to even bring the providers to the table and ask their opinion. You 
talk about having a piece of legislation ready. It is law. We know it 
is law. But do you know what? We are not going to quit trying until we 
go to the will of the American people.
  I will tell you all, please go out to your constituents, go out to 
the people who actually create the jobs and find out how difficult we 
have made it for them with this piece of legislation.
  Mr. LEVIN. Madam Speaker, how much time is remaining on each side, 
please?
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Michigan has 3\1/2\ 
minutes remaining, and the gentleman from Texas has 6\3/4\ minutes 
remaining.
  Mr. LEVIN. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. BRADY of Texas. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman 
from Alabama, a former district attorney, State legislator, and county 
commissioner, who understands how communities struggle with health 
care, Mr. Brooks.
  Mr. BROOKS of Alabama. Madam Speaker, I rise to proudly vote to 
repeal ObamaCare, the most dysfunctional law to ever pass United States 
Congress.
  Why is ObamaCare dysfunctional? For the vast majority of Americans, 
ObamaCare guarantees worse health care at higher costs.
  Why is ObamaCare dysfunctional? ObamaCare imposes 21 new taxes on 
America; thereby, according to the Congressional Budget Office, costing 
800,000 Americans to lose their jobs.
  In my home State of Alabama, just one of those tax increases imposes 
roughly $200 million a year in higher tax burdens on Blue Cross/Blue 
Shield, costs that will translate into higher premiums for Alabama 
citizens.
  Why is ObamaCare dysfunctional? Those 21 tax increases come nowhere 
close to paying for the increases in ObamaCare costs, thereby either 
denying health care to American citizens or forcing even higher taxes 
on already stressed family incomes.

                              {time}  1730

  Why is ObamaCare dysfunctional?
  It gives Americans worse health care.
  Doctors and patients will largely be shut out of costly lifesaving 
health care decisions. Instead, Independent Payment Advisory Board 
bureaucrats will decide whether ObamaCare will pay for the treatments 
that save your life or risk ending it.
  Why is ObamaCare dysfunctional?
  It suppresses the research and development necessary for the 
discovery of the next generation of lifesaving diagnostic tools and 
medical cures.
  Why is ObamaCare dysfunctional?
  It drastically drives up health insurance premiums for Americans who 
work for a living.

[[Page 7082]]

  Madam Speaker, while my friends across the aisle bemoan today's vote 
to protect Americans from a dysfunctional ObamaCare, I rejoice that 
Republicans in the House of Representatives say that when American 
lives are at stake, we will never give up, and we will never, never 
surrender.
  Mr. LEVIN. I continue to reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. BRADY of Texas. At this time, Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to 
a long distinguished Member of this House and one who is very 
knowledgeable of health care and the costs to families and businesses, 
the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Kingston).
  Mr. KINGSTON. I thank the gentleman for yielding.
  In my role as chairman of the Health and Human Services Subcommittee 
of Appropriations, we oversee the budget for ObamaCare. I can tell you 
that the money is not there even for implementation. The request was 
for $1.2 billion. Now it has accelerated up to $1.7 billion, and there 
is no funding for it available. So here we are on the eve of the 
largest takeover of a private sector function in United States history, 
and the money is not there to implement it.
  So what does the Secretary of HHS do? She goes to the private sector 
and says, We need to get money from you to implement ObamaCare.
  Now, that is like the Mafia's shaking down businesses for protection 
money. I'm not saying at all that the Secretary would be trying to do 
that purposely, but it is similar to it. How can you ask people for 
money, whom you regulate, in order to implement a program that they're 
going to fall under? That is just repugnant to any American, and we 
can't let that happen.
  The money is not there. We need to vote ``no'' and send this thing 
back to committee and look at it another day and in another way.
  Mr. LEVIN. I now yield 1 minute to the gentlelady from Texas (Ms. 
Jackson Lee).
  Ms. JACKSON LEE. I thank the gentleman for his time.
  Madam Speaker, I rise today in opposition to the Patients' Rights 
Repeal Act.
  I simply want to say thanks. My good friend Mr. Crowley indicated 
that there is no plan on the other side, but look at the list that I 
can give, and let me just emphasize Texas:
  For the gentleman from the business community, 360,000 small 
businesses are using the health care tax credit for their workers that 
is provided by the health insurance under the Affordable Care Act;
  There are 17 million children with preexisting conditions in the 
country who no longer can be denied coverage by insurers;
  Then, of course, what we are finding out is those who treat those 
with cancer are suffering because there are cuts in Medicare and those 
cuts in Medicare are coming because of my friends on the other side. 
The Affordable Care Act will provide an umbrella for those who are in 
need;
  Then we find out that Texas, itself, has 3.4 million women and over 
1.8 million seniors and people with disabilities who are benefiting 
from the Affordable Care Act.
  More importantly, we have articles that suggest that the poverty in 
Texas is going up and that Texas has the highest uninsured people in 
the Nation. How can people from Texas vote against this? How can they 
vote against this?
  Madam Speaker, I rise in opposition to H.R. 45, the 37th attempt by 
House Republicans to repeal the Affordable Care Act. This bill is as 
bad as the previous 36 and has no chance of becoming law. And that is a 
good thing because the Affordable Care Act has and continues to be a 
life saver for millions of Americans.
  The leadership of this Congress may want to give new members of 
Congress the opportunity to tell the people back home that they voted 
to repeal ``Obamacare.'' Unfortunately, they are also causing anxiety 
in people who know that without the Affordable Care Act they have no 
other option for healthcare.
  I believe it is important to remind new members of this body and 
those who are closely watching this debate that the Affordable Care Act 
is law. People living in each of the Congressional Districts 
represented in this body are benefiting from the Affordable Care Act.
  Many of those most in need of the healthcare coverage provided by the 
Affordable Care Act live in the Districts of many of the new members of 
Congress. Texas, my own state, leads the list of states with the 
highest percentages of uninsured residents.
  Those states with the highest percentage of uninsured are:
  Texas with 28.8 percent; Louisiana with 24 percent; Nevada with 23.3 
percent; California with 23.2 percent; Florida with 22.8 percent; 
Georgia with 22.5 percent; Arkansas with 21.9 percent; Mississippi with 
21.7 percent, and Oklahoma with 21.4 percent.
  The highest concentration of the uninsured is the poor. The 
Affordable Care Act provides at no or nearly no cost to states an 
option to enroll those living in or near poverty into their Medicaid 
program.
  This option would help states in three ways--reduce the cost to 
states for those insured through Medicaid, reduce the numbers of poor 
persons without healthcare insurance and address the problem associated 
with the high cost of persons who arrive at local emergency rooms in 
need of very expensive critical care. Health care costs that result 
from emergency room ad hoc primary healthcare are unpaid medical 
expenses passed on to everyone.
  The idea of everyone paying something towards their healthcare was a 
Republican idea that was put into practice in the State of 
Massachusetts by then Governor Mitt Romney six years ago. Today, 
Massachusetts has the lowest percentage of uninsured residents' and a 
model for where every state could be in six years or less.
  Just taking advantage of the Affordable Care Act's Medicaid option 
would help reduce the numbers of uninsured persons living in the United 
States.
  Medicaid would provide the much needed support to our nation's most 
vulnerable by providing early diagnosis and treatment for chronic 
conditions. In many cases conditions could be caught prior to the onset 
of disease and allow medical professionals the opportunity to work with 
patients to avoid the major drivers of health care cost: diabetes, high 
blood pressure and obesity, which can lead to heart and arterial 
disease as well as kidney disease.
  Many watching today's debate may wonder why this is an issue--money 
from the federal government that would reduce their state tax burden 
associated with Medicaid. The issue is governors who reject extending 
Medicaid coverage to their state's poor. The Governors in the States of 
Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, South 
Carolina, North Carolina, Maine, Wisconsin, Iowa, Idaho, and South 
Dakota need to hear from residents who want healthcare cost to be lower 
and more people covered.
  As a resident of Texas and a Member of Congress representing a 
Congressional District in the state, I sent a letter to Governor Rick 
Perry in response to his letter of March 14, 2013, in which he re-
affirmed his opposition to expanding the Medicaid program in Texas.
  For all of the pro-business talk by the Governor over the last few 
months--his position on this issue will lead to higher local and state 
sales taxes; unduly burden local governments, and needlessly place the 
health and safety of millions of Texas children and adults at risk.
  The infusion of federal funds associated with the state accessing the 
Affordable Care Act Medicaid option would increase economic out of 
Texas by $67.9 billion.
  A May 13, 2013, editorial in the Houston Chronicle titled ``Medicaid 
costs driven by poverty,'' outlined why the Congress should be focused 
on ending the sequester and creating jobs if we are serious about 
reducing taxpayer dollars going to Medicaid.
  Poverty is the reason for higher Medicaid costs--if we work to reduce 
poverty then Medicaid costs would decline.
  Because of the Affordable Care Act, Americans are already seeing 
lower costs, better coverage, and patient protections that Republicans 
want to repeal:
  13 million Americans benefited from $1.1 billion in rebates sent to 
them from their health insurance companies last year.
  105 million Americans have access to free preventive services, 
including 71 million Americans in private plans and 34 million seniors 
on Medicare.
  Millions of women began receiving free coverage for comprehensive 
women's preventive services in August 2012.
  100 million Americans no longer have a life-time limit on healthcare 
coverage.
  Nearly 17 million children with pre-existing conditions can no longer 
be denied coverage by insurers.
  6.6 million young adults up to age 26 have health insurance through 
their parents' plan,

[[Page 7083]]

half of whom would be uninsured without this coverage.
  6.3 million Seniors in the `donut hole' have already saved $6.1 
billion on their prescription drugs.
  3.2 million Seniors have access to free annual wellness visits under 
Medicare, and
  360,000 small employers have already taken advantage of the Small 
Business Health Care Tax Credit to provide health insurance to 2 
million workers.
  Because of the Affordable Care Act 3.8 million people in Texas--
including 2.2 million seniors on Medicare now receive preventative care 
services. Over 7 million Texans no longer have to fear lifetime limits 
on their healthcare insurance. Texas parents of 300,731 young adults 
can sleep easier at night knowing that their children can remain on 
their health insurance until age 26.
  The protection provided by this law is a guarantee to 5 million Texas 
residents that their insurance companies will spend 80 percent of their 
premium dollars on healthcare, or customers will get a rebate from 
their insurance company.
  In my State, there are 4,029 people who had no insurance because of 
pre-existing conditions, but today the Affordable Care Act has provided 
them with access to coverage. The Affordable Care Act means that many 
Texans are free of worry about having access to healthcare insurance.
  However, the list of benefits from the Affordable Care Act is not 
completed. In 2014, the Affordable Care Act's final provisions will 
become available to our citizens. Insurance companies will be banned 
from:
  Discriminating against anyone with a preexisting condition;
  Charging higher rates based on gender or health status;
  Enforcing lifetime dollar limits; and
  Enforcing annual dollar limits on health benefits.
  In 2014, access to affordable healthcare for the self-employed or 
those who decide to purchase their own coverage will be easier because 
of Affordable Insurance Exchanges. There will be a one stop marketplace 
where consumers can do what Federal employees have done for decades--
purchase insurance at reasonable rates from an insurer of their choice. 
This will assure that health care consumers can get the care that they 
need from the medical professionals they trust.
  Another reason why I oppose this bill--I offered six amendments, but 
none of them were accepted by the Rules Committee. I will explain what 
my amendments would have done to improve this bill.
  Jackson Lee Amendment Number 1 would have removed all of the bill 
text following the enacting clause of the legislation, which would have 
ended this exercise to repeal the Affordable Care Act. This legislation 
is so bad it cannot be salvaged and the United States would be better 
off without it.
  Jackson Lee Amendment Number 2 would have ensured full Medicare 
reimbursement to all hospitals including physician-owned hospitals with 
at least 100 beds, provided they could produce reliable records to 
document their claims for reimbursement.
  Jackson Lee Amendment Number 3 would have authorized additional 
funding to establish Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs). These 
centers are the last line of defense provided in the bill to make sure 
those living on the margins of society--the poorest of the poor had 
access to reliable healthcare. FQHC programs would be based in clinics, 
community-based health care centers and pro-active outreach programs 
that target the homeless or marginally housed with information on how 
to get access to good healthcare.
  Jackson Lee Amendment Number 4 would have expanded state use of the 
Medicaid option of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care law when 
the uninsured rate of qualifying residents of a state exceeds 20 
percent. States wishing to opt-out of Medicaid would have the option of 
submitting a plan to reduce the rate of uninsured to 20 percent or less 
to the Secretary of Health and Human Services. This amendment would 
have benefited Texas enormously since it leads the nation in uninsured 
residents at 28.8 percent. In fact Texas has held this number 1 
ranking, of the State with the highest number of uninsured residents, 
for the last five consecutive years.
  Jackson Lee Amendment Number 5 would have established a program to 
conduct studies of minority health disparities. The amendment directed 
the Secretary of Health and Human Services to submit an annual report 
of findings regarding minority health disparities and make 
recommendations on how disparities may be reduced.
  Jackson Lee Amendment Number 6 expressed the Sense of the Congress 
that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is law in the 
United States of America. The amendment enumerated each step that made 
it the law including a decision by the United States Supreme Court. The 
amendment then directed the Secretary of Health and Human Services to 
report to Congress on the impact of the law on those it is intended to 
help. The amendment would have not allowed this Congress to revisit 
repeal until it had research on the impact of the law to guide its 
further deliberation of repeal.
  This Congress has work that needs to be done, and it has work that 
should be taken up to restore workers, their families and communities 
to sound economic health.
  I urge my Colleagues to join me in voting no on the passage of this 
bill.
  Mr. BRADY of Texas. Madam Speaker, I am honored to yield 1 minute to 
the author of the legislation that we are debating today, the 
gentlelady from Minnesota (Mrs. Bachmann).
  Mrs. BACHMANN. I thank the gentleman from Texas.
  This is a bill that is changing the course of American history, and 
it is why we need to repeal this bill today. I believe, Madam Speaker, 
that we will see this bill ultimately repealed.
  Why? Because it is women who will be hurt under this bill; it is 
senior citizens who will be hurt under this bill; and it is little 
vulnerable children who will be hurt under this bill--as well as 
families, as well as employers. All of America is at the cusp of being 
negatively impacted.
  Here is just one example: this bill was sold out of compassion. We 
wanted people with preexisting conditions to find care, but the reality 
is less than 1 percent of those with preexisting conditions were able 
to receive the assistance when the door was slammed shut.
  Why? We ran out of money.
  That's what ObamaCare has delivered--a lot of promises that can't be 
fulfilled. Before we go forward with this train wreck, let's make sure 
it ends so we can bring about cures, so we can bring about better 
developments in health care. That's what we want--health care for 
American citizens.
  Mr. LEVIN. How much time do I have remaining?
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Michigan has 2\1/2\ 
minutes remaining, and the gentleman from Texas has 2\3/4\ minutes 
remaining.
  Mr. LEVIN. I yield myself the balance of my time.
  I am from Michigan, and 75 years ago, a predecessor brought forth 
ideas that at long last we would lift the shame of millions of 
Americans who go to bed without health care. Since that time, the 
numbers have grown. Today, there are over 50 million.
  There was a reference to children. How many children today go to bed 
without a stitch of health care? Millions. How many women today go to 
bed without any health care coverage? We provided for seniors, and we 
have, so far, left most everybody out who needs some health care.
  Then someone has the nerve to come forth and say there isn't enough 
money to implement--when Republicans won't provide that money. Someone 
comes forth here and says there isn't the money to cover those with 
preexisting conditions, and Republicans won't provide the money to 
provide further help for those people.
  You talk about repeal and replace. The disgrace here is you're fixed 
on repeal, and you never have come forth to satisfy the needs and the 
conscience of the people of this country. That's a disgrace. This bill 
is a disgrace. The Republican conduct on this has been disgraceful.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. BRADY of Texas. I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  What is disgraceful are these thousands of pages of a bill that was 
rushed through this Congress with little chance to read it, laden with 
special interest provisions to buy off votes, while promises were made 
to the American people that their costs would go down, that they could 
keep their plans if they would like, and that the economy would boom. 
None of it happened, and Republicans were denied even one vote on the 
House floor to provide a real alternative. That's the disgrace.
  Today, health care costs are going up. Independent experts say it 
could double in some States. Workers are finding out they can't keep 
their plans at work and that they'll be forced into

[[Page 7084]]

the exchange. Who can afford more expensive health care? Almost two out 
of three small businesses aren't hiring because of this legislation.
  I toured a power plant in Conroe where the cost of ObamaCare is so 
high that it's the equivalent of building two new plants and of hiring 
100 new workers. That won't happen. Local businesses are cutting jobs 
and cutting hours. One restaurant owner in Houston told his managers he 
will not hire another full-time worker--period. ObamaCare simply makes 
it too expensive.
  When these concerns are voiced, what Democrats in Congress and the 
President say is, It's the law. Get over it. Just get over it.
  The bottom line is that we are fighting to repeal ObamaCare because 
it will hurt too many patients, too many people, too many families. Bad 
laws should be stopped early before people get hurt.
  Year in and year out we've wrestled with this Medicare formula to 
reimburse doctors. We got it wrong, and doctors and seniors are being 
hurt.

                              {time}  1740

  The alternative minimum tax has been a mess for years. The death tax, 
as well. Can you imagine how much pain we would have avoided if these 
bad laws had been stopped early before they hurt so many Americans?
  Make no doubt about it, we needed health reform. But the President 
and Washington Democrats got it wrong. So let's repeal it now and 
replace it with real reforms that help patients, that help families, 
that help small businesses. Let's get government out of the office 
room, let's give patients real choices, and let's lower health care 
because ObamaCare, this Affordable Care Act, has failed on all of its 
promises.
  Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. LEWIS, Madam Speaker, it is unbelievable. With so much to be 
done--so much good that we could do--this Congress stops work to vote a 
37th time to destroy health care reform. Thirty seven times! The voters 
have spoken. The Supreme Court has ruled. The Affordable Care Act is 
the law of the land and we will not go backwards.
  The American people are counting on us to do what is right; what is 
just. We made a promise of health care to the American people. We must 
keep that promise. Vote no. Keep the promise of health care.
  Mr. HOLT. Madam Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to H.R. 45, the 
``Patients' Rights Repeal Act.''
  Today's vote will mark the 37th time that this House will vote to 
repeal the Affordable Care Act. It was only ten months ago when I spoke 
in opposition to the same bill being considered today. I would like to 
remind my colleagues of what repealing health care reform would mean 
for the Central New Jerseyans whom I represent.
  Take, for example, Matt from West Windsor. Matt wrote me, ``I 
graduated from college this past May and am currently working at a job 
with new health insurance. I have a preexisting condition, and, 
shockingly, I truly would be without insurance and in big trouble if 
this legislation is reversed.''
  Carolyn from East Brunswick contacted me to say she had been laid off 
and her COBRA benefits were about to expire. Because of the Affordable 
Care Act, she could enroll at age 25 as a dependent on her father's 
Federal employee benefits plan.
  Mary from Princeton wrote to me that her son ``has cystic fibrosis 
and he would be subject to both the lifetime cap on benefits and the 
denial because of preexisting conditions were it not for the provisions 
of the health reform.''
  Matt, Carolyn, and Mary's examples are not just anecdotal: they are 
representative of the numerous affordable and comprehensive health 
coverage benefits that New Jerseyans have gained under health care 
reform--as well as what they stand to lose if the Affordable Care Act 
were repealed.
  For example, in addition to Matt, who was able to gain coverage as 
result of health care reform despite his pre-existing conditions, 1,343 
previously uninsured residents of New Jersey who were locked out of the 
coverage system because of a pre-existing condition are now insured 
through a new Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan, which receives 
funding from the Affordable Care Act.
  Carolyn is one of more than 73,000 young adults in New Jersey who 
gained insurance coverage as a result of the health care law.
  Mary and her son, along with 3 million other people in New Jersey, 
including 1.2 million women and 877,000 children, are free from 
worrying about lifetime limits on coverage thanks to health care 
reform.
  Republicans here in the House may be able to point to a business 
owner who has concerns over a provision of the law, or an adult who 
resists purchasing health insurance, but the truth is, the law has 
something to offer for every American. The Affordable Care Act requires 
that insurance companies spend the majority of your premium on health 
care--not on CEO bonuses or administrative costs. The law requires that 
Medicare coverage includes preventive services--such as flu shots and 
mammograms--without any cost sharing for our seniors. Furthermore, the 
law prohibits insurance companies from dropping someone when they get 
sick, or charging women more than men for the same health coverage. If 
you repeal the law, you take away these important provisions that make 
our health care more accessible, affordable, comprehensive, and 
reliable.
  One does not bring a proposal to a vote 37 times out of a rational, 
considered desire to improve the lives of the American people. You do 
it out of an irrational, ideological vendetta. But the problem with 
irrational vendettas is that they are so focused on ideology that they 
ignore human consequences.
  Stop ignoring Matt. Don't punish Carolyn. Don't overlook Mary and her 
son. Let's stop this foolish vendetta and do the real work we were sent 
here to do.
  Mr. HINOJOSA. Madam Speaker, we have millions of people out of work 
and a Republican majority that refuses to bring a real jobs bill to the 
floor. We have record drought across the United States and in my home 
state of Texas, and a Republican majority that has refused to bring a 5 
year farm bill to the floor. In fact the only thing this Republican 
majority knows how to do is waste the Americans people's time. Ever 
since Republicans took the majority, they have created the most 
unproductive congresses in our history. We recently spent two days to 
vote on a helium bill that could have been voice voted in 5 minutes. We 
are working in Washington this year for only 126 days. 126 days out of 
365.
  Instead of spending some of those precious work days on bills that 
can help Americans get back to work, we are here to vote for the 37th 
time to repeal Obamacare. This vote is a waste of time. This bill will 
never become law and they know that. They knew it the first 36 times we 
voted to repeal it, and they know it today, but Republican leadership 
needs to do it so the freshman tea party members can send out a press 
release and a fundraising email this weekend saying they voted to 
repeal it. Meanwhile in my district, farmers are struggling to grow 
crops, families are struggling to eat, and this Congress refuses to 
lift a finger to help them. They should be ashamed. Vote no on this 
bill.
  Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Madam Speaker, I rise today to 
express my opposition to H.R. 45, which would repeal the Patient 
Protection and Affordable Care Act. The Affordable Care Act has 
significantly improved access to health care for Americans, and I 
strongly support it.
  Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, millions of Texans are already 
seeing lower health care costs and receiving better insurance coverage. 
Over 7.5 million Texans now have no lifetime limit on most health 
insurance benefits, which will protect them from having their insurance 
cut off if they require significant medical care.
  The Affordable Care Act has lowered prescription drug costs for over 
200,000 seniors in Texas by closing the gap in drug coverage known as 
the ``donut hole.'' It has also allowed 357,000 young adults in Texas, 
who might otherwise be uninsured, to gain coverage through their 
parents' plan. Over 1.5 million consumers in Texas have received 
rebates from insurance companies because under the Affordable Care Act, 
insurers must spend at least 80 percent of premiums on medical care and 
quality improvement rather than CEO pay, profits, and administrative 
costs.
  The Affordable Care Act also promotes equal treatment for women. 
Starting in 2014, insurers will not be allowed to charge women higher 
premiums than men simply because of their gender. Because of the 
Affordable Care Act, insured women are already able to receive critical 
preventive services such as mammograms, birth control, and well-woman 
visits without paying any out-of-pocket fees.
  Today marks the 37th time that Republicans have voted to repeal or 
defund the Affordable Care Act. Unfortunately, Republicans seem to be 
treating the legislative calendar of the U.S. House of Representatives 
as a playing field for their political games. Instead, we should be 
working hard for the American people by passing legislation to create 
jobs, spur economic growth, and reform our broken immigration system.

[[Page 7085]]

  The Affordable Care Act is the law of the land and it is working. Up 
to 17 million children with pre-existing conditions can no longer be 
denied health insurance, and nearly 13 million Americans have received 
$1.1 billion in rebates from their insurance companies. Texans cannot 
afford to lose the crucial health benefits that the Affordable Care Act 
provides. That is why I plan to vote against H.R. 45 and all future 
efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act. I am proud to stand with my 
colleagues and the President to support a health system that provides 
security, accountability, and peace of mind to Americans.
  Mr. UPTON. Madam Speaker, since the law's passage over three years 
ago, the Energy and Commerce Committee has conducted rigorous oversight 
to educate the country on how the law impacts patients, providers, the 
economy, taxpayers, and states. At every turn, we have encountered an 
ugly reality filled with broken promises, rampant uncertainty, rising 
premiums, and harsh consequences on jobs and our economy.
  The alarm bells over how Obamacare will unfold are getting louder by 
the day: costs are going up, insurers are warning about premium 
increases, and small businesses are struggling with the choice about 
whether they can provide employees with coverage. One of the law's 
chief architects and ally of the president even scolded the 
administration over the looming ``train wreck.''
  But as we fast approach the law's full implementation, the Obama 
administration is in full propaganda mode, and the facts don't seem to 
matter. Last week the president publicly declared, ``And whenever 
insurance premiums go up, you're being told it's because of Obamacare. 
Even though there is no evidence that that's the case.''
  Mr. President, we have plenty of evidence, and sadly millions of 
Americans nationwide, from recent college graduates to older adults, 
will not be able to afford the law's rate shock. We have the plans of 
some of the nation's leading insurers for 2014, and the looming rate 
shock will be devastating. One of the nation's leading insurance 
companies that insures millions of folks predicts premiums will nearly 
double for individuals getting a new plan, those keeping their 
insurance will see an average increase of 73 percent, and some 
individuals could see increases of as much as 413 percent. The last 
three years have been littered with the Obama administration's broken 
promises. Today we keep our promise to the American people as we 
continue working to repeal this disastrous experiment, and work towards 
real solutions.
  Mr. GOODLATTE. Madam Speaker, ever since President Obama was first 
elected and chose to push through a federal takeover of America's 
health care system, House conservatives have led the charge to repeal 
the law commonly known as Obamacare and replace it with true reforms 
that will increase access and lower costs for consumers. With a string 
of broken promises from its authors and prominent backers, this law has 
already forced people off of the insurance they previously had, has 
increased premiums by thousands of dollars, and has reduced work hours 
for millions.
  The fundamental question facing uninsured Americans was never, ``how 
do we give the federal government more power over our lives?'' Yet 
government control over health care was what the Democrat majority 
provided. House Republicans offered alternatives that gave our 
constituents the peace of mind to know that a safety net would be in 
place for the least fortunate amongst us, and provided commonsense 
reforms to allow those uninsured or underinsured to get the insurance 
they needed at an affordable price. Unfortunately, what we got was a 
law that, as former Speaker Pelosi famously stated, ``we have to pass 
the bill so that you can find out what is in it.'' Well, we've read the 
bill, and the tens of thousands of pages of regulations to enforce it, 
and I can tell you the backlash and opposition to the law continues to 
mount.
  One small example of the absurdity of this law is provided by a 
constituent of mine who lives in Virginia. This small business owner 
has chosen to insure his employees for the last forty years, helping 
his employees afford the insurance they need to keep their families 
healthy. Because of Obamacare, this company is required to spend more 
than $30,000 to reenroll their current employees. Let me repeat that. 
Even though these employees already have health insurance, the company 
is required to pay a fee for each and every one of them, to enroll the 
employee back into the exact same plan. That $30,000, which could have 
been used to hire new workers or grow the local economy, will now be 
sent to bureaucrats in Washington. Instead of health insurance for Main 
Street, this appears to be health insurance for K Street.
  Today the House has a chance to stop growing the size of government, 
and to give power and freedom back to the American people. Instead of 
propping up health care exchanges, bureaucratic IPAB rationing panels, 
and mandates which cost Americans thousands of dollars each year, let's 
start over and focus on the real needs of access to care and reduced 
costs of insurance. We can all admit that our health insurance system 
can use strengthening, but this is not the way to do it. If you are 
serious about reforming the health insurance system in this country, 
then join me in voting to repeal Obamacare and send a message to the 
American people that we have heard their anger and outrage over this 
law and we will do what it takes to see it repealed.
  Ms. CLARKE. Madam Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to H.R. 45--To 
Repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and health care-
related provisions in the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act 
of 2010. This legislation would completely repeal the Affordable Care 
Act, which was signed into law in 2010 and was declared 
constitutionally sound by the U.S. Supreme Court last year. The 
Affordable Care Act extends healthcare coverage to all Americans 
regardless of their gender, health condition or ability to pay.
  It is a disgrace that this country, which is the wealthiest country 
in the world, denies universal healthcare coverage to its citizens. 
Repealing the Affordable Care Act will allow this disgrace to continue.
  The Affordable Care Act is a good law. Because of the Affordable Care 
Act, Americans now have access to a wide variety of free preventive 
services; insurers can no longer drop women from coverage when they 
become pregnant; Medicare is stronger due to some of the cost savings 
and other provisions in the act; Seniors are paying less for 
prescription drugs; Americans no longer face lifetime limits on care; 
and families are receiving rebates from insurance companies, when they 
unfairly inflate their costs.
  In fact, thousands of people in my district, the 9th Congressional 
District of Brooklyn, New York, are already benefiting from the 
Affordable Care Act. An analysis done in March of 2012 showed that the 
health care reform law had already:
  Provided 390 small businesses in my district with tax credits to help 
maintain or expand health care coverage for their employees;
  Provided 5,100 young adults in my district with access to health 
insurance coverage under their parents' insurance plan;
  Provided Medicare preventive services, at no costs to the patient, 
for 46,000 seniors in the district;
  And, provided $2.5 million in public health grants for community 
health centers, hospitals, doctors, and other healthcare providers in 
the district to improve the community's health.
  I have always believed that healthcare is a fundamental right, not a 
privilege. And this is why I vehemently oppose H.R. 45--To Repeal the 
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. It is wrong, and it is a 
step backwards for our country.
  Ms. ESHOO. Madam Speaker, the GOP needs to reorder its priorities. 
The American people want us to focus on jobs and strengthening our 
economy, instead of relitigating the past. Today is the 37th time the 
majority has taken up repealing patient protections for the American 
people. This is a very bad idea.
   Since January 2011, the House has been in session and held votes on 
only 281 days. Forty-three of those days have been spent on repealing 
the Affordable Care Act alone. That's 15 percent of the American 
people's time spent solely on failed attempts to repeal the Affordable 
Care Act.
   For the party that's seeking to cut their way to prosperity, 
consider this: based on the cost per day to run Congress, the 
Congressional Research Service calculated that the time spent 
attempting to repeal the health law has come with a $52.4 million price 
tag for taxpayers. This money could restore the estimated $41 million 
cut under sequestration to Meals on Wheels nutrition programs across 
the country. Or it could pay for nearly 7,000 children to participate 
in the Head Start program for a year.
   Now, consider the benefits the American people have enjoyed since 
the Affordable Care Act became law: children no longer face 
discrimination due to pre-existing conditions; students and young 
adults are gaining coverage through their parents' plans; Medicare is 
stronger, and seniors are paying less for prescription drugs and 
getting better treatment at lower cost; Americans no longer face 
lifetime limits; families are receiving rebates from insurance 
companies; and women have access to a wide range of free preventive 
services.
  Since the law was enacted in March 2010, over 800,000 jobs have been 
created in the health care industry. So when the GOP says the 
Affordable Care Act is ``killing jobs,'' it's flat out wrong.

[[Page 7086]]

   Repealing the Affordable Care Act would leave millions of Americans 
without vital patient protections and has cost the American people 
precious time and money. We should instead vote for legislation to 
create jobs, expand our economy, and strengthen the middle class.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. All time for debate has expired.
  Pursuant to House Resolution 215, the previous question is ordered on 
the bill, as amended.
  The question is on the engrossment and third reading of the bill.
  The bill was ordered to be engrossed and read a third time, and was 
read the third time.


                           Motion to Recommit

  Mrs. CAPPS. Madam Speaker, I have a motion to recommit at the desk.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is the gentlewoman opposed to the bill?
  Mrs. CAPPS. I am.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Clerk will report the motion to 
recommit.
  The Clerk read as follows:

       Mrs. Capps moves to recommit the bill H.R. 45 to the 
     Committees on Energy and Commerce, Ways and Means, and 
     Education and the Workforce with instructions to report the 
     same back to the House forthwith with the following 
     amendment:
       Add at the end of the bill the following new section:

     SEC. 3. PRESERVING CERTAIN PATIENT BENEFIT PROTECTIONS FOR 
                   WOMEN AND THEIR FAMILIES, AS GUARANTEED UNDER 
                   CURRENT LAW.

       (a) In General.--Section 1 shall not apply with respect to 
     the ACA women and families' patient benefit protection 
     provisions described in subsection (b) until such date that 
     all group health plans and health insurance issuers provide 
     equivalent protections for women and their families as 
     provided under all such provisions.
       (b) ACA Women and Families' Patient Benefit Protection 
     Provisions.--For purposes of subsection (a), ACA women and 
     families' patient benefit protection provisions described in 
     this subsection are the following, as such provisions would 
     be in effect before application of section 1:
       (1) Preventive health services coverage without cost 
     sharing.--Section 2713 of the Public Health Service Act (42 
     U.S.C. 300gg-13), relating to the coverage of preventive 
     health services without cost sharing, including well-woman 
     preventive care visits, breast cancer screening, mammography, 
     screening for gestational diabetes, and screening for 
     interpersonal and domestic violence.
       (2) Coverage for individuals with preexisting conditions.--
     Section 1101 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care 
     Act (42 U.S.C. 18001), relating to immediate access to 
     insurance for uninsured individuals with a preexisting 
     condition.
       (3) Ensuring that consumers receive value for their premium 
     payments.--Section 2718 of the Public Health Service Act (42 
     U.S.C. 300gg-18), relating to the use of health insurance 
     premiums primarily for health benefits rather than the 
     administrative costs of insurance companies, including 
     executive salaries and compensation.
       (4) No lifetime or annual limits.--Section 2711 of the 
     Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300gg-11), relating to 
     no lifetime or annual limits.
       (5) Prohibition of preexisting condition exclusions for 
     children.--Section 2704 of the Public Health Service Act (42 
     U.S.C. 300gg-3), relating to the prohibition of preexisting 
     condition exclusions or other discrimination based on health 
     status, insofar as such section applies to enrollees who are 
     under 19 years of age.
       (6) Coverage of adult children until age 26.--Section 2714 
     of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300gg-14), 
     relating to the extension of dependent coverage for adult 
     children until age 26.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentlewoman from California is 
recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mrs. CAPPS. Madam Speaker, I rise today to offer the final and only 
amendment to this bill. And I want to be clear: passage of this 
amendment will not prevent the passage of the underlying bill. If it's 
adopted, my amendment will be incorporated into the bill, and the bill 
will be immediately voted upon.
  My amendment would simply ensure that women and families do not lose 
the benefits they have already gained from ObamaCare in the event that 
the law is repealed.
  These benefits are critical to keeping families healthy and 
identifying problems when they are easier and less costly to treat--
benefits like the ability to get preventive health services without any 
copays.
  Thanks to ObamaCare, no longer must women put off critical screenings 
like mammograms or colonoscopies because of the cost. And women are now 
able to be screened for domestic violence, gestational diabetes and 
receive other preventive care without worrying about whether they can 
pay for it. Millions of us have taken advantage of these potentially 
lifesaving screenings.
  Similarly, young adults--the most uninsured age group in our 
country--now have the option of staying on their parents' insurance 
plan until they're 26. This is a real benefit, one that has already 
enabled 6.6 million young adults to keep their health insurance 
coverage as they begin to make their way in life.
  On top of these benefits, we now have protections from some of the 
most abusive insurance company practices. For example, no longer can 
insurance companies cut off your care just because you're too expensive 
to treat. For too long, individuals who paid their premiums and 
followed the rules would still be cut off after hitting arbitrary 
lifetime or annual caps on coverage.
  These are our friends, they're our neighbors who did nothing wrong. 
They just got sick or had a tragic accident. Now they are protected, 
knowing their insurance coverage will be there when they need it.
  In addition, mothers no longer have to worry that their children with 
a preexisting condition, like autism or asthma, will be denied health 
care. And starting this January, no American will be told that they 
cannot get coverage due to a preexisting condition.
  All of these benefits have been secured while holding insurance 
companies accountable to use your premium dollars on actual health 
care, not on bonuses or advertising.
  And all of these protections have been and would continue to be there 
for American families if my amendment passes.
  You truly do not realize the importance of these protections until 
you or someone you love needs them. And that is exactly the case of 
Victoria Strong. She's a young mother living in my hometown of Santa 
Barbara, California.
  Victoria's daughter, Gwendolyn, was diagnosed with a rare and 
extremely expensive disease when she was 6 months old. Despite the fact 
that she and her husband, Bill, had a good health insurance policy, one 
they paid thousands of dollars for each month, Victoria lived in 
constant fear that Gwendolyn would reach her lifetime policy limit 
before she even reached second grade, and because of her preexisting 
condition, Gwendolyn would then be uninsurable for the rest of her 
life.
  I cannot imagine how difficult it was for young Victoria to not even 
know whether her child's basic health care needs would be covered or 
not in the future, and that's exactly what so many mothers faced before 
ObamaCare. But the elimination of lifetime caps on care has given 
Victoria peace of mind, and it's done the same for millions of mothers 
across this Nation.
  That's exactly what ObamaCare is all about: fixing our broken health 
care system, fixing it for families like the Strong family, for women 
across this country, for their families. This law gets it right. And 
now we have one last vote to at least preserve the rights they already 
have.
  I believe that all Americans would be better off if we in Congress 
worked to ensure swift implementation of the law instead of wasting 
time and taxpayer dollars debating repeal for yet the 37th time. But I 
think we can all agree that taking away existing insurance protections 
from everyday Americans is the wrong thing to do just because we are 
setting out to repeal.
  I remember the numerous hearings and markups about this law, and 
there was great agreement on both sides of the aisle that these 
consumer protections were critical to improving our broken health care 
system. So no matter what you think of this bill, my amendment would 
guarantee that no American family loses the care they have paid for now 
just when they need it the most.

                              {time}  1750

  The law provides legal protection and peace of mind to the Strong 
family in

[[Page 7087]]

Santa Barbara and to all families like them across our Nation. Our 
families need this law; and if the majority is willing to vote for the 
37th time to repeal it, they at least need to vote on this amendment. I 
urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on my motion.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mrs. WALORSKI. I rise in opposition to the motion to recommit.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentlewoman from Indiana is recognized 
for 5 minutes.
  Mrs. WALORSKI. Madam Speaker, my colleagues on the other side of the 
aisle can try as much as they would like today to distract the people 
from the real issue at hand. But the fact remains today that ObamaCare 
was bad policy when it was enacted, and it's getting worse the closer 
we get to its implementation.
  When I hear from Hoosiers in the State of Indiana, from business 
owners trying to run companies to seniors seeking quality care options, 
I hear overwhelming uncertainty and concern, and ObamaCare is the 
driving force.
  To protect Americans from this impending train wreck, I support full 
repeal of this law, which has been nothing more than a string of broken 
promises. Let's just quickly look at a few.
  Broken promise number one: the President claimed that he would not 
sign a plan that adds one dime to our deficit. However, the nonpartisan 
Congressional Budget Office estimated that this bill adds almost $2 
trillion. After consecutive trillion-dollar deficits, our national debt 
is soaring towards $17 trillion. It's time to stop spending money we 
simply don't have.
  Broken promise number two: the President claimed that no family 
making less than $250,000 a year will see their taxes increase. 
However, the Joint Committee on Taxation reports that ObamaCare 
includes 21 new or higher taxes that will cost taxpayers roughly $1.1 
trillion.
  I recently had the chance to tour an orthopedic manufacturing company 
in my district in Mishawaka, Indiana. During this visit, I heard real-
life stories from real-life employees about the taxes in ObamaCare. I 
was warned that the new medical device tax will prevent the company 
from creating good-paying jobs in Indiana for Hoosiers who are out of 
work. The reality is this tax will increase the cost of medical devices 
used by our senior citizens and our wounded warriors.
  Broken promise number three: the President repeatedly claimed that 
his proposal could save families $2,500 a year in health care premiums 
when, in fact, researchers from the Kaiser Family Foundation found that 
average family premiums have instead increased by over $3,000 since 
2008. If not repealed, this law will continue to increase premiums and 
eat away at the paychecks of single moms and young families all across 
the country. The reality, Madam Speaker, this Affordable Care Act is 
not so affordable.
  Broken promise number four: the President claimed he would protect 
Medicare. But instead of protecting Medicare and making it stronger, he 
raided $716 billion from the program to fund his government takeover of 
our health. The millions of seniors who depend on Medicare deserve 
better. My mom, a Medicare beneficiary, deserves better.
  Madam Speaker, we don't need this law, period. We don't need a law 
that tramples over our freedoms by allowing the government to make our 
personal health care choices. We don't need a law that restricts our 
access to quality and affordable health care. And we definitely don't 
need a law enforced by an agency actively targeting citizens with 
opposing political views.
  I urge all of my colleagues to defeat the motion to recommit and 
stand today and repeal ObamaCare.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Without objection, the previous question is 
ordered on the motion to recommit.
  There was no objection.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion to recommit.
  The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that 
the noes appeared to have it.
  Mrs. CAPPS. Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 9 of rule XX, the Chair 
will reduce to 5 minutes the minimum time for any electronic vote on 
the question of passage.
  The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--yeas 190, 
nays 230, not voting 13, as follows:

                             [Roll No. 153]

                               YEAS--190

     Andrews
     Barber
     Barrow (GA)
     Bass
     Beatty
     Becerra
     Bera (CA)
     Bishop (GA)
     Bishop (NY)
     Blumenauer
     Bonamici
     Brady (PA)
     Braley (IA)
     Brown (FL)
     Brownley (CA)
     Bustos
     Butterfield
     Capps
     Capuano
     Cardenas
     Carney
     Carson (IN)
     Cartwright
     Castor (FL)
     Castro (TX)
     Chu
     Cicilline
     Clarke
     Clay
     Cleaver
     Cohen
     Connolly
     Cooper
     Costa
     Courtney
     Crowley
     Cuellar
     Cummings
     Davis (CA)
     Davis, Danny
     DeFazio
     DeGette
     Delaney
     DeLauro
     DelBene
     Deutch
     Dingell
     Doggett
     Doyle
     Duckworth
     Edwards
     Ellison
     Enyart
     Eshoo
     Esty
     Farr
     Fattah
     Foster
     Frankel (FL)
     Fudge
     Gabbard
     Gallego
     Garamendi
     Garcia
     Grayson
     Green, Al
     Green, Gene
     Grijalva
     Gutierrez
     Hahn
     Hanabusa
     Hastings (FL)
     Heck (WA)
     Higgins
     Himes
     Hinojosa
     Holt
     Honda
     Horsford
     Hoyer
     Huffman
     Israel
     Jackson Lee
     Jeffries
     Johnson (GA)
     Johnson, E. B.
     Kaptur
     Keating
     Kelly (IL)
     Kennedy
     Kildee
     Kilmer
     Kind
     Kirkpatrick
     Kuster
     Langevin
     Larsen (WA)
     Larson (CT)
     Lee (CA)
     Levin
     Loebsack
     Lofgren
     Lowenthal
     Lowey
     Lujan Grisham (NM)
     Lujan, Ben Ray (NM)
     Lynch
     Maffei
     Maloney, Carolyn
     Maloney, Sean
     Matsui
     McCarthy (NY)
     McCollum
     McDermott
     McGovern
     McNerney
     Meeks
     Meng
     Michaud
     Miller, George
     Moore
     Moran
     Murphy (FL)
     Nadler
     Napolitano
     Neal
     Negrete McLeod
     Nolan
     O'Rourke
     Owens
     Pallone
     Pascrell
     Pastor (AZ)
     Payne
     Pelosi
     Perlmutter
     Peters (CA)
     Peters (MI)
     Pingree (ME)
     Pocan
     Polis
     Price (NC)
     Rangel
     Richmond
     Roybal-Allard
     Ruiz
     Ruppersberger
     Rush
     Ryan (OH)
     Sanchez, Linda T.
     Sanchez, Loretta
     Sarbanes
     Schakowsky
     Schiff
     Schneider
     Schrader
     Schwartz
     Scott (VA)
     Scott, David
     Serrano
     Sewell (AL)
     Shea-Porter
     Sherman
     Sinema
     Sires
     Slaughter
     Smith (WA)
     Speier
     Swalwell (CA)
     Takano
     Thompson (CA)
     Thompson (MS)
     Tierney
     Titus
     Tonko
     Tsongas
     Van Hollen
     Vargas
     Veasey
     Vela
     Velazquez
     Visclosky
     Walz
     Wasserman Schultz
     Waters
     Watt
     Waxman
     Welch
     Wilson (FL)
     Yarmuth

                               NAYS--230

     Aderholt
     Alexander
     Amash
     Amodei
     Bachmann
     Bachus
     Barletta
     Barr
     Barton
     Benishek
     Bentivolio
     Bilirakis
     Bishop (UT)
     Black
     Blackburn
     Bonner
     Boustany
     Brady (TX)
     Bridenstine
     Brooks (AL)
     Brooks (IN)
     Broun (GA)
     Buchanan
     Bucshon
     Burgess
     Calvert
     Camp
     Cantor
     Capito
     Carter
     Cassidy
     Chabot
     Chaffetz
     Coble
     Coffman
     Collins (GA)
     Collins (NY)
     Conaway
     Cook
     Cotton
     Cramer
     Crawford
     Crenshaw
     Culberson
     Daines
     Davis, Rodney
     Denham
     Dent
     DeSantis
     DesJarlais
     Diaz-Balart
     Duncan (SC)
     Duncan (TN)
     Ellmers
     Farenthold
     Fincher
     Fitzpatrick
     Fleischmann
     Fleming
     Flores
     Forbes
     Fortenberry
     Foxx
     Franks (AZ)
     Frelinghuysen
     Gardner
     Garrett
     Gerlach
     Gibbs
     Gibson
     Gingrey (GA)
     Gohmert
     Goodlatte
     Gosar
     Gowdy
     Granger
     Graves (GA)
     Graves (MO)
     Griffin (AR)
     Griffith (VA)
     Grimm
     Guthrie
     Hall
     Hanna
     Harper
     Harris
     Hartzler
     Hastings (WA)
     Heck (NV)
     Hensarling
     Herrera Beutler
     Holding
     Hudson
     Huelskamp
     Huizenga (MI)
     Hultgren
     Hunter
     Hurt
     Issa
     Jenkins
     Johnson (OH)
     Jones
     Jordan
     Joyce
     Kelly (PA)
     King (IA)
     King (NY)
     Kingston
     Kinzinger (IL)
     Kline
     LaMalfa
     Lamborn
     Lance
     Lankford
     Latham
     Latta
     Lipinski
     LoBiondo
     Long
     Lucas
     Luetkemeyer
     Lummis
     Marchant
     Marino
     Massie
     Matheson
     McCarthy (CA)
     McCaul
     McClintock
     McHenry
     McKeon
     McKinley
     McMorris Rodgers
     Meadows
     Meehan
     Messer
     Mica
     Miller (FL)
     Miller (MI)
     Miller, Gary
     Mullin
     Mulvaney
     Murphy (PA)
     Neugebauer
     Noem
     Nugent
     Nunes
     Nunnelee
     Olson
     Palazzo
     Paulsen
     Pearce
     Perry
     Peterson
     Petri
     Pittenger
     Pitts
     Poe (TX)
     Pompeo
     Posey
     Price (GA)
     Radel
     Rahall
     Reed
     Reichert
     Renacci
     Ribble
     Rice (SC)
     Rigell
     Roby
     Roe (TN)
     Rogers (AL)
     Rogers (KY)
     Rogers (MI)
     Rohrabacher
     Rokita

[[Page 7088]]


     Rooney
     Ros-Lehtinen
     Roskam
     Ross
     Rothfus
     Royce
     Runyan
     Ryan (WI)
     Salmon
     Sanford
     Scalise
     Schock
     Schweikert
     Scott, Austin
     Sensenbrenner
     Sessions
     Shimkus
     Shuster
     Simpson
     Smith (NE)
     Smith (NJ)
     Smith (TX)
     Southerland
     Stewart
     Stivers
     Stockman
     Stutzman
     Terry
     Thompson (PA)
     Thornberry
     Tiberi
     Tipton
     Turner
     Upton
     Valadao
     Walberg
     Walden
     Walorski
     Weber (TX)
     Webster (FL)
     Wenstrup
     Westmoreland
     Whitfield
     Williams
     Wilson (SC)
     Wittman
     Wolf
     Womack
     Woodall
     Yoder
     Yoho
     Young (AK)
     Young (FL)
     Young (IN)

                             NOT VOTING--13

     Campbell
     Clyburn
     Cole
     Conyers
     Duffy
     Engel
     Johnson, Sam
     Labrador
     Lewis
     Markey
     McIntyre
     Quigley
     Wagner

                              {time}  1818

  Messrs. BILIRAKIS, TERRY, CRAMER, DesJARLAIS, POSEY, HARPER, 
LUETKEMEYER, PETERSON, KINGSTON, HARRIS and ROSKAM changed their vote 
from ``yea'' to ``nay.''
  Messrs. OWENS, JEFFRIES, Ms. SINEMA, Mr. DOYLE, Ms. PINGREE of Maine, 
and Messrs. COOPER and THOMPSON of Mississippi changed their vote from 
``nay'' to ``yea.''
  So the motion to recommit was rejected.
  The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the passage of the bill.
  The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that 
the ayes appeared to have it.
  Mr. ANDREWS. Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. This will be a 5-minute vote.
  The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--yeas 229, 
nays 195, not voting 9, as follows:

                             [Roll No. 154]

                               YEAS--229

     Aderholt
     Alexander
     Amash
     Amodei
     Bachmann
     Bachus
     Barletta
     Barr
     Barton
     Benishek
     Bentivolio
     Bilirakis
     Bishop (UT)
     Black
     Blackburn
     Bonner
     Boustany
     Brady (TX)
     Bridenstine
     Brooks (AL)
     Brooks (IN)
     Broun (GA)
     Buchanan
     Bucshon
     Burgess
     Calvert
     Camp
     Cantor
     Capito
     Carter
     Cassidy
     Chabot
     Chaffetz
     Coble
     Coffman
     Cole
     Collins (GA)
     Collins (NY)
     Conaway
     Cook
     Cotton
     Cramer
     Crawford
     Crenshaw
     Culberson
     Daines
     Davis, Rodney
     Denham
     Dent
     DeSantis
     DesJarlais
     Diaz-Balart
     Duncan (SC)
     Duncan (TN)
     Ellmers
     Farenthold
     Fincher
     Fitzpatrick
     Fleischmann
     Fleming
     Flores
     Forbes
     Fortenberry
     Foxx
     Franks (AZ)
     Frelinghuysen
     Gardner
     Garrett
     Gerlach
     Gibbs
     Gibson
     Gingrey (GA)
     Gohmert
     Goodlatte
     Gosar
     Gowdy
     Granger
     Graves (GA)
     Graves (MO)
     Griffin (AR)
     Griffith (VA)
     Grimm
     Guthrie
     Hall
     Hanna
     Harper
     Harris
     Hartzler
     Hastings (WA)
     Heck (NV)
     Hensarling
     Herrera Beutler
     Holding
     Hudson
     Huelskamp
     Huizenga (MI)
     Hultgren
     Hunter
     Hurt
     Issa
     Jenkins
     Johnson (OH)
     Jones
     Jordan
     Joyce
     Kelly (PA)
     King (IA)
     King (NY)
     Kingston
     Kinzinger (IL)
     Kline
     LaMalfa
     Lamborn
     Lance
     Lankford
     Latham
     Latta
     LoBiondo
     Long
     Lucas
     Luetkemeyer
     Lummis
     Marchant
     Marino
     Massie
     Matheson
     McCarthy (CA)
     McCaul
     McClintock
     McHenry
     McIntyre
     McKeon
     McKinley
     McMorris Rodgers
     Meadows
     Meehan
     Messer
     Mica
     Miller (FL)
     Miller (MI)
     Miller, Gary
     Mullin
     Mulvaney
     Murphy (PA)
     Neugebauer
     Noem
     Nugent
     Nunes
     Nunnelee
     Olson
     Palazzo
     Paulsen
     Pearce
     Perry
     Petri
     Pittenger
     Pitts
     Poe (TX)
     Pompeo
     Posey
     Price (GA)
     Radel
     Reed
     Reichert
     Renacci
     Ribble
     Rice (SC)
     Rigell
     Roby
     Roe (TN)
     Rogers (AL)
     Rogers (KY)
     Rogers (MI)
     Rohrabacher
     Rokita
     Rooney
     Ros-Lehtinen
     Roskam
     Ross
     Rothfus
     Royce
     Runyan
     Ryan (WI)
     Salmon
     Sanford
     Scalise
     Schock
     Schweikert
     Scott, Austin
     Sensenbrenner
     Sessions
     Shimkus
     Shuster
     Simpson
     Smith (NE)
     Smith (NJ)
     Smith (TX)
     Southerland
     Stewart
     Stivers
     Stockman
     Stutzman
     Terry
     Thompson (PA)
     Thornberry
     Tiberi
     Tipton
     Turner
     Upton
     Valadao
     Walberg
     Walden
     Walorski
     Weber (TX)
     Webster (FL)
     Wenstrup
     Westmoreland
     Whitfield
     Williams
     Wilson (SC)
     Wittman
     Wolf
     Womack
     Woodall
     Yoder
     Yoho
     Young (AK)
     Young (FL)
     Young (IN)

                               NAYS--195

     Andrews
     Barber
     Barrow (GA)
     Bass
     Beatty
     Becerra
     Bera (CA)
     Bishop (GA)
     Bishop (NY)
     Blumenauer
     Bonamici
     Brady (PA)
     Braley (IA)
     Brown (FL)
     Brownley (CA)
     Bustos
     Butterfield
     Capps
     Capuano
     Cardenas
     Carney
     Carson (IN)
     Cartwright
     Castor (FL)
     Castro (TX)
     Chu
     Cicilline
     Clarke
     Clay
     Cleaver
     Cohen
     Connolly
     Conyers
     Cooper
     Costa
     Courtney
     Crowley
     Cuellar
     Cummings
     Davis (CA)
     Davis, Danny
     DeFazio
     DeGette
     Delaney
     DeLauro
     DelBene
     Deutch
     Dingell
     Doggett
     Doyle
     Duckworth
     Edwards
     Ellison
     Engel
     Enyart
     Eshoo
     Esty
     Farr
     Fattah
     Foster
     Frankel (FL)
     Fudge
     Gabbard
     Gallego
     Garamendi
     Garcia
     Grayson
     Green, Al
     Green, Gene
     Grijalva
     Gutierrez
     Hahn
     Hanabusa
     Hastings (FL)
     Heck (WA)
     Higgins
     Himes
     Hinojosa
     Holt
     Honda
     Horsford
     Hoyer
     Huffman
     Israel
     Jackson Lee
     Jeffries
     Johnson (GA)
     Johnson, E. B.
     Kaptur
     Keating
     Kelly (IL)
     Kennedy
     Kildee
     Kilmer
     Kind
     Kirkpatrick
     Kuster
     Langevin
     Larsen (WA)
     Larson (CT)
     Lee (CA)
     Levin
     Lipinski
     Loebsack
     Lofgren
     Lowenthal
     Lowey
     Lujan Grisham (NM)
     Lujan, Ben Ray (NM)
     Lynch
     Maffei
     Maloney, Carolyn
     Maloney, Sean
     Matsui
     McCarthy (NY)
     McCollum
     McDermott
     McGovern
     McNerney
     Meeks
     Meng
     Michaud
     Miller, George
     Moore
     Moran
     Murphy (FL)
     Nadler
     Napolitano
     Neal
     Negrete McLeod
     Nolan
     O'Rourke
     Owens
     Pallone
     Pascrell
     Pastor (AZ)
     Payne
     Pelosi
     Perlmutter
     Peters (CA)
     Peters (MI)
     Peterson
     Pingree (ME)
     Pocan
     Polis
     Price (NC)
     Rahall
     Rangel
     Richmond
     Roybal-Allard
     Ruiz
     Ruppersberger
     Rush
     Ryan (OH)
     Sanchez, Linda T.
     Sanchez, Loretta
     Sarbanes
     Schakowsky
     Schiff
     Schneider
     Schrader
     Schwartz
     Scott (VA)
     Scott, David
     Serrano
     Sewell (AL)
     Shea-Porter
     Sherman
     Sinema
     Sires
     Slaughter
     Smith (WA)
     Speier
     Swalwell (CA)
     Takano
     Thompson (CA)
     Thompson (MS)
     Tierney
     Titus
     Tonko
     Tsongas
     Van Hollen
     Vargas
     Veasey
     Vela
     Velazquez
     Visclosky
     Walz
     Wasserman Schultz
     Waters
     Watt
     Waxman
     Welch
     Wilson (FL)
     Yarmuth

                             NOT VOTING--9

     Campbell
     Clyburn
     Duffy
     Johnson, Sam
     Labrador
     Lewis
     Markey
     Quigley
     Wagner

                              {time}  1826

  Mr. GUTIERREZ changed his vote from ``yea'' to ``nay.''
  So the bill was passed.
  The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.


                          Personal Explanation

  Mrs. WAGNER. Mr. Speaker, on Thursday May 16, 2013, I was in St. 
Louis, Missouri celebrating children's graduations. My son, Stephen 
Wagner today graduated from Washington University in St. Louis, and my 
daughter, Mary Ruth Wagner, has a Baccalaureate Mass for Ursuline 
Academy.
  Due to these lifetime events, I was unable to be in Washington, DC 
and vote on the legislative business of the day.
  On Ordering the Previous Question for H. Res. 215, a resolution 
providing for consideration of H.R. 45 to repeal the Patient Protection 
and Affordable Care Act and health-care related provisions in the 
Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, rollcall Vote No. 
150, had I been present I would have voted ``yes.''
  On Adoption of H. Res. 215, a resolution providing for consideration 
of H.R. 45 to repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and 
health-related provisions in the Health Care and Education 
Reconciliation Act of 2010, rollcall Vote No. 151, had I been present I 
would have voted ``yes.''
  On Approval of the Journal, rollcall Vote No. 152, had I been present 
I would have voted ``yes.''
  On Motion to Recommit with Instructions H.R. 45, rollcall Vote No. 
153, had I been present I would have voted ``no.''
  On Passage of H.R. 45 to repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable 
Care Act and health care-related provisions in the Health Care and 
Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, rollcall Vote No. 154, had I been 
present, I would have voted ``yes.''

[[Page 7089]]



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