[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 7]
[House]
[Page 9558]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                  DON'T DISMANTLE AFFORDABLE CARE ACT

  (Mr. ESPAILLAT asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute.)
  Mr. ESPAILLAT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the ACA and 
all it has done to protect the health of our country's young people.
  As we gather today, everyone seems to be analyzing yesterday's 
elections results. Other folks have taken a deep dive to analyze 
whether or not Russia elected our President. And as all of this is 
happening, the Senate has been meeting in secrecy to dismantle the 
Affordable Care Act that, for millions of young people and millions of 
young Americans, has been a lifesaver. Since its enactment, the ACA has 
cut uninsured rates for Americans age 18 to 34 by more than 40 percent.
  Guided by political expediency instead of principle, my Republican 
colleagues are jamming this bill through an approval process without 
hearings or input from healthcare professionals and with no regard to 
millions of Americans whose lives will be affected by it. This is a 
shocking breach of our constituents' trust.
  The ACA lifted a heavy burden off the shoulders of millions of 
Americans, and now is not the time to kick these individuals to the 
curb. We are better than that, America.

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