House Proceeding 06-23-09 on Jun 23rd, 2009 :: 1:59:25 to 2:19:25
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1:58:25 to 1:59:25( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: John R. Carter

1:59:25 to 1:59:26( Edit History Discussion )

John R. Carter: of it.

1:59:27 to 1:59:48( Edit History Discussion )

Phil Gingrey: but how are they going to see it if we're closed off from even offering it on this beloved floor? which of course is the sacred people's house. and that's why we think the rules ought to be opened. mr. gingrey: if the gentleman would yield on that point and just briefly, that's exactly right. that people in tse 435 congressional districts, republican or democrat, they

1:59:30 to 2:00:00( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Phil Gingrey

1:59:49 to 2:00:01( Edit History Discussion )

Phil Gingrey: need to know how their member would vote on an issue such as that. something that that's important to this country in this time, theyeed an opportunity to hear that debate this floor, you

2:00:02 to 2:00:22( Edit History Discussion )

John R. Carter: know, up or down, they need to know how their member votes and the point the from texas is absolutely on target and i just wanted to emphasize that. mr. carter: reclaiming my time for a moment. i think most everybody understands that these bills that come before this congress ha sometimes thousands -- well you saw the one john boehner dropped on the floor, it's about that thick.

2:00:05 to 2:00:40( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: John R. Carter

2:00:23 to 2:00:40( Edit History Discussion )

John R. Carter: i mean, they got thousands of pages of things in them. so how you vote on a bill doesn't necessary tell you what's in the weeds like a couple million dollars for missile defense or a couple billion dollars for missile defense. it doesn't tell that you and if

2:00:41 to 2:01:02( Edit History Discussion )

Steve King: it's not discussed you don't know. and there's not any way we can tell you. that's why the openness this house is so important. but its open rule, it's so important. mr. king i yield to you -- mr. king, i yield to you. mr. king: i thank the gentleman from texas and i'm watching the clock tick down here but -- i'll just conclude in a couple of minutes, but as i said, i just

2:00:45 to 2:02:05( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Steve King

2:01:03 to 2:01:23( Edit History Discussion )

Steve King: came from the rules committee and there's really not room in there for a tripod and camera and not really room for the press to operate the way they need to and not room for staff to come and make sure they're there to run the err ands we need and i know the gentleman from georgia knows this very well, he served on the rules committee. it occurs to me that if the rules is where the debate's going to take place in this

2:01:24 to 2:01:45( Edit History Discussion )

Steve King: congress, let's move the rules committee down to the floor of the house of representatives and let's elect the members of the rules committee from the full house and let's make sure they're equally represented between republicans and democrats and put the c-span cameras on them and have an opportunity to have a full -throated debate on every amendment that would be offered to the rules committee as if

2:01:46 to 2:02:05( Edit History Discussion )

Steve King: they -- as if this were actually the full house because they are functioning with the function of the house of representatives in the rules committee. we've got to turn the sunlight on hass going on up there. eith that are ear we're going to have to go -- teether that or we're going to have -- either that or we're going to have to go back to the open rules process.

2:02:06 to 2:02:28( Edit History Discussion )

John R. Carter: this is unprecedented to see the systemic destruction of deliberative democracy taking place on the third floor, out of sight of the public eye and i'd yield back to the gentleman from texas and thank him. mr. carter: we've raised a lot of issues, we talked about a lot of things. i think we've expressed our personal concern about this issue of the veracity of our c.i.a. and whether or not

2:02:10 to 2:03:10( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: John R. Carter

2:02:29 to 2:02:51( Edit History Discussion )

John R. Carter: they've been lying to the congress and to the speaker of the house, the third most powerful person and most important person in line for the presidency. these are issues that as the ethics issues week of raised recently, issues that have places they can be resolved, either in the leadership of this house or the ethics committee,

2:02:52 to 2:03:10( Edit History Discussion )

John R. Carter: they need to be resolved, madam speaker. we need these issues resolved and i would file this argument by saying, especially this intelligence issue before the world blows up in our face. i'd thank my colleagues for

2:03:11 to 2:03:32( Edit History Discussion )

Chellie Pingree: being here with us and helping me he with this today and i ap and now we'll yield back the balance of my time, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempor gentleman from texas yields under the speaker's announced policy of january 6, 2009, the gentlewoman from maine, ms. pingree, is now recognized for 60 minutes ased he isingny of the majority lead -- as the

2:03:15 to 2:08:20( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Chellie Pingree

2:03:33 to 2:03:54( Edit History Discussion )

Chellie Pingree: designee of the majority leader. ms. pingree: thank you so much, mr. chair. mr. chair, it's a great honor to be here tonight. the freshmen members would like to take a little bit of time and come to the floor and talk about issues that we find are a great concern to both this country and what we're hearing back home in our own district and so tonight i'm going to be joined by a couple of my freshmen colleagues

2:03:55 to 2:04:17( Edit History Discussion )

Chellie Pingree: and we want to devote our time to talk about the issue of health care. given the late hour we may not see as many of our colleagues as we would at other hours of the day but we know this is an important issue at any hour of the day and i'm very happy to be here and have this opportunity to talk a little bit about it.

2:04:18 to 2:04:38( Edit History Discussion )

Chellie Pingree: this is certainly an important time about the -- for the issue of universal access to health care and expanding the access to health care. i don't know about other members, but i think it's a universal feeling out there that this is the number-one issue for so many americans. i started campaigning a long time ago, i got sworn into

2:04:39 to 2:05:01( Edit History Discussion )

Chellie Pingree: office last january and i can say during the entire time i was campaigning and since i've been elected tos of to, for so many people this is their number-one issue. i hear this from individuals who don't have health care coverage, people who have insurance and don't find that their company is there when they need it, i hear it from big business owners who

2:05:02 to 2:05:22( Edit History Discussion )

Chellie Pingree: are challenged by the cost of health care from small business owners who don't know if they can continue to cover their employees, this is a universal issue. i hear it from providers, from doctors and nurses and others who say, you know, when i signed up to take care of people, to make sure that their health ca needs were to be met, i didn't expect a system thatould fall

2:05:23 to 2:05:44( Edit History Discussion )

Chellie Pingree: apart in the way that itas. this is, as i say, a universal issue. people say to me, health care ought to be a basic right, it is extremely important that this congress does something about the issue of health care and we want to see you do something. the good news is that this congress is working very hard on putting together legislation. the president budgeted for $634

2:05:45 to 2:06:05( Edit History Discussion )

Chellie Pingree: billion for health care reform in the budget that we've already passed. and the speaker of the house is committed to passing a bill by the end of jy. the president has asked us for a bill on his desk this fall. the discussion draft was released in the house just this friday and i personally can say that i'm happy to see a lot of the good things that are included in there.

2:06:06 to 2:06:26( Edit History Discussion )

Chellie Pingree: a public plan option, better insurance regulation, insurance companies won't be able to cut people out who have pre-existing conditions, reasonable amount of cost sharing and emphasis on prevention and wellness, investments in medicare and medicaid, many of the things that we've been talking about and that i hear about all the time from constituents in my

2:06:27 to 2:06:47( Edit History Discussion )

Chellie Pingree: district are in this bill. more than anything else, people say to me, you need to pass universal access to health care, you need to do something now and i feel like we are right here in the middle of this and we are moving forward on this. in my own district, like many other of my freshmen colleagues, every chance i get during the break, on weekends, we have been

2:06:48 to 2:07:08( Edit History Discussion )

Chellie Pingree: meeting with groups of indiduals and as i said, this spans from constituents who i meet in the grocery store who tell me about their individual challenges to doctors, nurses, providers,ontraditional providers, to chambers of commerce and once again, what i hear is that they all want change and they want things to

2:07:09 to 2:07:29( Edit History Discussion )

Chellie Pingree: move forward. i had the good fortune of being a state legislator in the past and this was back when i first ran for office in 1992 as a state legislator, again, one of our number-one issues and it's amazing to me now 17 years since then, it hasn't gone away and in spite of the many things we attempted to do in my home

2:07:30 to 2:07:50( Edit History Discussion )

Chellie Pingree: state, the state of maine, to take on the pricing of prescription drugs, to attempt to expand access to more individuals in our state, each and every one of those we made progress, but we haven't gone far enough. and when i hear from my colleagues, my former colleagues in the state legislature, my daughter who is the speaker of the house and i, as you can

2:07:51 to 2:08:11( Edit History Discussion )

Chellie Pingree: imagine, am very proud of her, the one thing they say to me is, you've got to do something about this. our home state, but we can't go it alone. states across the country are feeling the exact same challenge but they want now to have us at the congressional level to do something about this. now there are many things that we could talk about tonight.

2:08:12 to 2:08:21( Edit History Discussion )

Chellie Pingree: we have a few charts and graphs but let me just get started by recognizing my good friend and ohio.

2:08:22 to 2:08:43( Edit History Discussion )

John Boccieri: i know he's hearing about this quite a bit in his home district. it would be eat if you could talk a little bit about some of the issues and concerns and then we can keep going on this topic. mr. boccieri: thank you. i thank the gentlelady from maine and her extraordinary work not on on the house floor here but also on the rules committee. we appreciate your efforts to help move our country forward. there's no question, perhaps the

2:08:25 to 2:12:45( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: John Boccieri

2:08:44 to 2:09:06( Edit History Discussion )

John Boccieri: biggest issue that we will address in our freshmen tenures and perhaps for the time we serve here in the united states congress is health care. and there's perhaps and arguably no more important issue that we could tackle as get our health care costs under control. and i know the gentlelady from maine is hearing what i'm hearing back in my district and

2:09:07 to 2:09:28( Edit History Discussion )

John Boccieri: that is that people work, working families in our district, are one accident, one medical emergency, one diagnosis away from complete bankruptcy. and in fact 2007, 60% of all bankruptcies were due to medical costs. some accident that a family had sustained or unsustainable cost that have as i raisen because

2:09:29 to 2:09:49( Edit History Discussion )

John Boccieri: they contracted a disease or some sort of cancer and we need to do our part here in congress to make sure that we're working on this issue and getting these costs under croil. they predict right now that -- control. they predict right now that 60% of our gross national product for paying health care and that in a few decades that cost could

2:09:50 to 2:10:10( Edit History Discussion )

John Boccieri: grow as high as lf of our gross national product. that is absolutely unsustainable for our future and we have an obligation to make sure that our country can be competitive, that we can have a workforce that is not only well-educated and traid but has access to the basic fundamentals of prevention and healthy lifesometimes and

2:10:11 to 2:10:32( Edit History Discussion )

John Boccieri: access to seeing the doctor that they choose and when i speak to my constituents back in ohio, in northeast ohio, i talk about the five p's of health care. the five p's. the fact that we need to cover all people. now, when we talk about covering all people, we need to understand that by not doing so, it's actually costing all of us

2:10:33 to 2:10:55( Edit History Discussion )

John Boccieri: paying into the system more money. those 46 million unsured or underinsured people who can't seek access to their doctor because their health care effectively ended when they got their pink slip at their job because they can't afford a cobra payment, they are uninsured or underinsured and emergency room as eir primary

2:10:56 to 2:11:18( Edit History Discussion )

John Boccieri: care physician, they're costing all of us paying into the system four or five times more by using the hospital room, the emergency room, as their primary care physician. we neeto cover all people. and to those americans who might be listening tonight, we need to understand that the american people -- the american taxpayer right now is paying to make sure that every man, woman and child in iraq has access to universal health care coverage.

2:11:19 to 2:11:41( Edit History Discussion )

John Boccieri: now, it's inconsistent that we would pay for iraqis to see the doctor that they want to but no americans. the second p is that we have portability. is that our workers, when they get that pink slip, god forbid, that they can take their health care from job to job to job. portability, covering all people and certainly one of the third p's, one of the third p that we

2:11:42 to 2:12:03( Edit History Discussion )

John Boccieri: have in our five p's is making sure that we provide incentives for prevention because prevention should be tied into all of this with respect to healthy lifestyl and ending the chronic diseases that plague so many. . insurance companies using as a

2:12:04 to 2:12:24( Edit History Discussion )

John Boccieri: notion of disqualifying people fromeeing their prim physician. ca and getsired by another factory with another set health care opportunities d they were a diabetic, god

2:12:25 to 2:12:46( Edit History Discussion )

John Boccieri: forbid, it becomes a pre-existing condition for routine coverage. we need to end pre-existing conditions. and making sure that physicians and doctors are making and prescribing the types of health care that our pients should seek.

2:12:47 to 2:13:08( Edit History Discussion )

Chellie Pingree: those are the five p's that we have on this great dialogue here on capitol hill. i thank the gentlelady from maine on discussing this issue and hope we can have a spirited discussion. ms. pingree: you mentioned some of the cost issues and since we have a couple of charts, i thought i might put them up here right now.

2:12:50 to 2:14:20( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Chellie Pingree

2:13:09 to 2:13:31( Edit History Discussion )

Chellie Pingree: you talked about the expenses of health. and here's one that shs how our national health expenditures, as they say, gone off the chart. this is one of those charts, actual and projected that shows we can no longer afrd this. people say how are you going to pay for health care? when i talk to businesses and individuals, i say how are we

2:13:32 to 2:13:53( Edit History Discussion )

Chellie Pingree: way it is. and this is one of the charts that really shows this. let me show another one. we don't have to tell any of our constituents, we again hear it all the time, from business owners, who say and worried they can't cover the costs of their employees anymore.

2:13:54 to 2:14:16( Edit History Discussion )

Chellie Pingree: but since 2000, health care premiums have dobbled while wages have gone up by just 3%. it is no wonder that people everywhere we go are saying to us, we are just dropping our coverage. they are going without coverage or going for the $10,000 how many constituents have you

2:14:17 to 2:14:22( Edit History Discussion )

Chellie Pingree: seen say, i have a $10,000 deductible and i spend the whole year paying that $10,000.

2:14:23 to 2:14:43( Edit History Discussion )

Ted Poe: why do i even have insurance? i hear that all the time. why don't we welcome our other colleague, the other night owl, congressman illinois. mrs. halvorson: i thank

2:14:25 to 2:19:35( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Ted Poe

2:14:44 to 2:15:04( Edit History Discussion )

Ted Poe: congresswoman pingree leading the special orders health care has been a health care topic that comes up every year but no one finds the time to put the nose to the grindstone and get something done about it and it is probably the top issue to all americans

2:15:05 to 2:15:25( Edit History Discussion )

Ted Poe: every day talking about how are they going to afford the skyrocketting costs. it's an important topic for businesses across our country and especially for our national budget. tonight, i want to focus, i think, on the urgent need for health care reform. and it's a personal story for me.

2:15:26 to 2:15:47( Edit History Discussion )

Ted Poe: it's personal to me and my constituents who are struggling with the medical costs and it's personal for so many americans that are struggling with these health care costs across our country. i know what it's like for someone to struggle with health costs because of a lack of access to gl health insurance.

2:15:48 to 2:16:10( Edit History Discussion )

Ted Poe: i've seen my parents take this battle on growing up. my dad was self-employed. and my parents just couldn't afford health care. being self-employed, it was virtually an expense we could not take on. in fact, i'm not even sure i remember going to the doctor. it's something we didn't do.

2:16:11 to 2:16:32( Edit History Discussion )

Ted Poe: later on in life, my mom was only 49 when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. and i can spending all their time focusing on how to pay for the bills instead of focusing on her health. and it was very, very depressing for the whole family. and i can remember her talking

2:16:33 to 2:16:54( Edit History Discussion )

Ted Poe: about -- and remember she was only 49. shs ok today, but i can remember her spending the next 15 years of her life just wishing and hoping she could make it to 65 so she would have health care again. because virtually, we have pre-existing illness and could never have health care again.

2:16:55 to 2:17:16( Edit History Discussion )

Ted Poe: and that was so sad to our entire family. and i'm not the been through it. i hear story after story after story. and certainly true with so many people with pre-existing illnesses. my mom was very fortunate. she won her battle with breast cancer. but even today, many, many families find themselves in that

2:17:17 to 2:17:41( Edit History Discussion )

Ted Poe: same situation. and it shouldn't be that way. you know, even families who do have health insurance find these rising costs or false nse of security that they have health insurance, only to find some of these costs and some of these tests that they're denied. so in order to compensate for

2:17:42 to 2:18:02( Edit History Discussion )

Ted Poe: the care, for the insured -- uninsured, families are paying $1,000 in additional costs each year in their own health care care to cover insurance. it's obvious we need health care reform. as congress takes up this health care issue, we have to follow and focus on the following

2:18:03 to 2:18:23( Edit History Discussion )

Ted Poe: priorities. we need to reduce costs. we need to preserve everyone's choice of doctors and their plans. we need to improve the quality of care. these are the keys to successful reform health care and reforming of health care in america.

2:18:24 to 2:18:44( Edit History Discussion )

Ted Poe: american, for businesses and for and they're still rising. and as representative boccieri said, 15% of our gross national product and it's going up every year and it's becoming one of the biggest burden, not only on families, but on businesses also.

2:18:45 to 2:19:06( Edit History Discussion )

Ted Poe: so, you know, we need health care reform. we need toeduce these costs. secondly, when we are talking about health care, i don't think there's anything more important than a person's relationship with their doctor. and we need the health care reform that's going to allow you to keep that relationship with

2:19:07 to 2:19:28( Edit History Discussion )

Ted Poe: your doctor and your health care plan if you like them. and finally, we need to improve that quality of care. and we need good access to preventative medicine. and we need to encourage americans to stay healthy. this is a cultral thing and not going to happen overnight. but we need to invest in health