[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 5]
[House]
[Pages 5992-5993]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         HEALTH CARE ROUND TWO

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Pennsylvania (Mr. Evans) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. EVANS. Mr. Speaker, what has changed since the last time the 
Republicans attempted to repeal or replace the Affordable Care Act?
  Absolutely nothing. That is right. Nothing has changed.

[[Page 5993]]

  Recent polls show that the Affordable Care Act is more popular than 
ever. Yet, the Republicans still want to get rid of a law that is 
helping to provide our most vulnerable Americans the affordable care 
they need and deserve.
  In my district, Mr. Speaker, 369,000 people who receive health 
coverage from their employers could lose their consumer protection. 
62,000 people covered by Medicare expansion could lose coverage if the 
ACA is repealed. These are the numbers of a few weeks back. It could be 
even worse now.
  This Saturday marks President Trump's 100th day in the White House. 
And this week we have a stacked agenda with tax reform, to pass a 
spending bill, to prevent government shutdown, to talks of health care 
being back in the mix.
  One may think that health care will get lost in the shuffle, but we 
have seen how this administration and the Republicans will not back 
down. They appear committed to getting rid of a law that provides 
quality, affordable health care to millions of Americans young and old.
  The American people elected us to fight an agenda that supports the 
needs of everyday Americans, hardworking Americans. Instead of cutting 
programs like SNAP, Meals on Wheels, the Community Development Block 
Grant program, we should look for ways to grow programs that help build 
stronger neighborhoods block by block.
  Over the weekend, I went to the health fair at Temple University in 
my district. Temple University Hospital has served the city of 
Philadelphia for the last 120 years. It is a job creator and a major 
employer in our community. We should be looking for ways to build up 
the engines that drive investment and grow our economy, not tear them 
down.
  Let me remind you, Republicans want to vote on the healthcare bill 
that gets rid of essential health benefits--for example, coverage for 
emergency rooms, maternity care, and prescription drugs. But because of 
the people, because of you and all of your phone calls, all of your 
emails, all of your letters, their attempt to repeal the healthcare 
bill was stopped.
  This just happened. Yes, they still want to vote on a bill that 
destroys protections for people with preexisting conditions.
  I want to tell you a story of a small-business owner in my district 
named Andrea. Andrea owns a small pet shop, Spot's--The Place for Paws, 
in Narberth, Pennsylvania. Andrea left her Philadelphia law practice to 
pursue her dream of owning a small business. Andrea has type 1 
diabetes. Without the ACA, she would not be able to get well-priced 
coverage that covers her health expenses and medication and allows her 
to keep her shop open.
  Andrea's story is like that of so many Americans across the country. 
We cannot support legislation that makes life harder for those trying 
the hardest to get ahead.
  Last week, I visited another wonderful resident in my district, 
Sister Mary Scullion. She is truly an inspirational individual who has 
made it her mission to help the most vulnerable citizens. Sister 
Scullion made a comment that stuck in my head: ``Public housing is the 
best way to cure and prevent homelessness for the future.''
  In thinking about how we view our healthcare system, I am reminded of 
my conversation with Sister Scullion. We need to work together to lift 
our people out of tough situations. We need to work together to provide 
everyone in our neighborhoods with the tools and resources they need to 
succeed.
  As I mentioned, this Saturday marks President Trump's 100th day in 
office. Interestingly enough, the President will be in Harrisburg, 
Pennsylvania--a place that I have worked for many years.
  What do we have to lose under this administration? Well, don't we 
have to lose a lot?
  Affordable housing, Meals on Wheels for our seniors, before- and 
afterschool programs for our kids, and the list goes on.
  Well, we have a lot to lose, Mr. President. We will continue to make 
our voices heard. The resistance is alive, and the resistance is 
working.

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