[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 3]
[House]
[Pages 3517-3518]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




             OPPOSE BILL REFORMING THE AFFORDABLE CARE ACT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Rodney Davis of Illinois). The Chair 
recognizes the gentleman from California (Mr. Bera) for 5 minutes.

[[Page 3518]]


  Mr. BERA. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to urge all of my colleagues, 
Democrats and Republicans, to oppose this bill that repeals the 
Affordable Care Act, and here is why.
  I stand here not as a Member of Congress, but as a doctor. When I 
took the oath to enter medicine, like thousands of other doctors, there 
are really three basic ethics in there:
  Benevolence: to do good.
  Mr. Speaker, this bill does not do anything good. It makes it harder 
for people to get health care.
  The second ethic was non-malfeasance: to do no harm.
  Mr. Speaker, this bill is going to harm millions of Americans. It is 
going to pull healthcare coverage away from folks. In fact, I have 
heard from folks who have come to my townhalls and have talked about 
how the Affordable Care Act has saved their lives. If you pull health 
care away from them, people are going to get sicker, and some people 
may potentially die.
  And the third ethic is patient autonomy: the ability of patients to 
make the choices that impact their lives.
  Mr. Speaker, this bill does not empower patients to make their own 
choices. This bill limits those choices. It takes choice away from 
them.
  This is a bad bill that goes against everything that we in the 
medical profession swear to when we enter the profession. That is why 
you see doctors standing up and opposing this bill, hospitals opposing 
this bill, and health plans opposing this bill. That is why, when 
patients see what is in this bill, you will see American patients 
pushing back.
  If you thought the townhalls have been boisterous over the last few 
months, just try to pass this bill and take necessary health care away 
from folks. You are going to see those patients showing up in your 
townhalls.
  Let's talk about some of the good things that have happened in the 
Affordable Care Act. The Affordable Care Act expanded and made coverage 
for birth control much more readily available. That is a good thing. 
Whether you are anti-choice or pro-choice, like I am, it is a good 
thing. What we have seen by expanding coverage to birth control is the 
number of unintended pregnancies are near all-time lows. That is what 
we ought to be doing.
  The Affordable Care Act expanded access to preventive health 
services. We know if we want to bring down the cost of health care, 
let's diagnose the cancer early. Let's treat it and let's save that 
life. Let's better manage disease.
  Let's not go back to the old days where the patient showed up with 
the heart attack and then we went into action. That costs us a lot 
more. Let's prevent that heart attack. Let's provide better access to 
care.
  Mr. Speaker, let's not make the President have to renege on a promise 
that he made. On the campaign trail and after being inaugurated, the 
President has said that any healthcare legislation was going to expand 
coverage, it was going to be cheaper, and it was going to be more 
accessible to patients.
  We know this bill that is being introduced does none of that. It cuts 
coverage. It is going to be more costly for people and fewer people are 
going to get it.
  Mr. Speaker, don't make the President have to renege and go against 
the promise that he made. The American public is going to hold him 
accountable for that.
  Mr. Speaker, do the right thing. Let's put American patients first. 
That is what we as doctors do every day, and that is why, again, 
doctors are against it, hospitals are against it, and health plans are 
against it.
  Mr. Speaker, let's reject this bill. I urge all my colleagues, 
Democrats and Republicans, to stand against this bill. It is a bad 
bill.

                          ____________________