[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 4]
[House]
[Page 4659]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                    ACCESS TO AFFORDABLE HEALTH CARE

  (Mr. VEASEY asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. VEASEY. Mr. Speaker, 7 years ago today, President Barack Obama 
signed the Affordable Care Act into law. Since then, the ACA has helped 
millions of Americans gain access to affordable healthcare insurance.
  We all know what is at stake in this Republican bill. It is a bill 
that actually has a big old tax in it called the age tax that makes our 
seniors pay more.
  In addition to that, it prohibits Medicaid reimbursement for Planned 
Parenthood, and Republicans are actively working hard to make access to 
reproductive care even tougher for low-income women.
  Let me tell you this about Texas: In 2014, Planned Parenthood had 34 
centers that served over 120,000 women. Additionally, these centers in 
my home State of Texas provided birth control to over 93,000 women, 
conducted over 134,000 STD tests, 16,000 pap smears, and 16,000 
mammograms.
  These crucial services allow women across Texas to take control of 
their own health care and help them plan for a family when they are 
ready.
  Republicans claim that their replacement plan puts patients first, 
but limiting a woman's ability to seek care when she seems fit directly 
contradicts that goal.

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