House Proceeding 11-07-09 on Nov 7th, 2009 :: 1:00:30 to 1:09:15
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1:00:27 to 1:00:48( Edit History Discussion )

Dan Burton: billions of dollars and hurt the economy. i would just like to say i hope will read it. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so orde the gentleman from texas will be lettered. mr. sessions: i would like to the time that

1:00:30 to 1:09:36( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Louise McIntosh Slaughter
Bill: H.R. 3962: Affordable Health Care for America Act

For Bill

1:00:53 to 1:01:14( Edit History Discussion )

Louise McIntosh Slaughter: left on both sides, please. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from new york has 28 minutes. and the gentleman from texas has 28 1/4 minute. mr. reserve our time. gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentlewoman from new york. ms. slaughter: i thank you, mr. speaker.

1:01:15 to 1:01:35( Edit History Discussion )

Louise McIntosh Slaughter: let me say once again to get to this great debate we are greatly in your debt, mr. speaker, to find ourselves here morning. the legislation that we take up today is the culmination of a fight for health care reform that dates back at least a century. and has been one of the greatest

1:01:36 to 1:01:57( Edit History Discussion )

Louise McIntosh Slaughter: political struggles of our era. it shouldn't be this way. many years ago every other western nation enacted broad health care coverage for its citizens, but not in the united states. only in this country has there been such a visserly anti-government urge to resist something that benefits almost everyone.

1:01:58 to 1:02:19( Edit History Discussion )

Louise McIntosh Slaughter: only here do efforts to bring about improved health care for all americans crash against entrenched interests and corporate resistence. and only here do arguments about reforming insurance spark ideological attacks from the far right. one need only to have looked out the windows of the capitol earlier this week to see t

1:02:20 to 1:02:40( Edit History Discussion )

Louise McIntosh Slaughter: manifestation of that anger. thousands of protestors showed up to threaten us into not voting in favor of this bill. if they expected us to run for cover or vote against this bill, they are going to be disappointed. hearing those extreme views only made most of us more confident that we are doing the right thing here today by approving

1:02:41 to 1:03:02( Edit History Discussion )

Louise McIntosh Slaughter: this bill. throughout the years, those same voices of opposition, whether it's republicans or corporate interests, have rallied against reform. it is worth pointing out for the record that republicans who want to participate in this process did. we had more than 100 hearings, heard from 181 witnesses,

1:03:03 to 1:03:25( Edit History Discussion )

Louise McIntosh Slaughter: democrat and republican, and considered hundreds of amendments fully 121 were approved in the committees, including 22 from republicans. their input has been heard when they wanted to participate. in 1912 roosevelt split from the

1:03:26 to 1:03:48( Edit History Discussion )

Louise McIntosh Slaughter: republican party to lead a mor progressive effort that championed health care for all american but he lost the next election to woodrow wilson and the effort failed. later president franklin d. roosevelt would lead another charge on this front as part of the new deal platform. and while roosevelt s able win passage of social security

1:03:49 to 1:04:09( Edit History Discussion )

Louise McIntosh Slaughter: over great and extreme opposition, again by the people who oppose us today, he was able to do social security in 1935 but he was not able to extend that coverage americans for health. still later, president harry truman made another try for health care followed by

1:04:10 to 1:04:31( Edit History Discussion )

Louise McIntosh Slaughter: president lyndon johnson who was able to pass leglation in 1965 that implemented medicare and medicaid. once again it passed over republican opposition that extends to this day. president richard nixon followed up on president johnson's great society by seeking to

1:04:32 to 1:04:53( Edit History Discussion )

Louise McIntosh Slaughter: federal programs and favoring broad health insurance. sadly those efforts derailed. . and by the time that president clinton tried to debate it in

1:04:54 to 1:05:14( Edit History Discussion )

Louise McIntosh Slaughter: 1993, it was so polarized that the entire process collapsed almost before it started. i don't need to remind most of my colleagues here about the awful villification of reform embodied by the harry louise television campaign and by ma house threats -- male hous threats by going to senior

1:05:15 to 1:05:35( Edit History Discussion )

Louise McIntosh Slaughter: citizens by going to the quote-unquote ronk wrong doctor could result in a $10,000 fine and perhaps prison time. those ads and those mail order ads were paid for by both insurance companies and were led by the republicans. and the same forces are still

1:05:36 to 1:05:56( Edit History Discussion )

Louise McIntosh Slaughter: fighting us. the insurance industry and the big drug companies have part nerd with extreme right friends to try and stop this effort -- partnered with extreme right friends to try and stop this effort in its track. we've seen that this past summer. now, let me say this loud and clear, eliminating the strangle

1:05:57 to 1:06:18( Edit History Discussion )

Louise McIntosh Slaughter: hold that being insurance companies have on health care is one of the best parts of this bill. and for the first time 85% of the premium dollars have to go for health care, not for outrageous salaries and compensation. we are poised for victory. we stand here today on the

1:06:19 to 1:06:40( Edit History Discussion )

Louise McIntosh Slaughter: brink of history with the opportunity to make good on our promise that will forever improve the lives of nearly 36 million americans who have no health insurance. this is the most important vote we will ever take, and i am proud to stand here today. this bill we could end the don't have insurance to cover

1:06:41 to 1:07:02( Edit History Discussion )

Louise McIntosh Slaughter: sudden illness or an accident. or the parents of a child who has severe brain trauma before he reaches his teenage year within a year or reach his lifetime cap on insurance and though he was not yet a teenager would be forever uninsurable in the united states of america. we will stop telling to women

1:07:03 to 1:07:23( Edit History Discussion )

Louise McIntosh Slaughter: as we discussed last night in the rules committee that they have to pay 48% more for health insurance because as explained last night, it's all do that because women have different diseases. we want to hear an end to that. little towns in america have had to close up or to end coverage for their employees

1:07:24 to 1:07:45( Edit History Discussion )

Louise McIntosh Slaughter: because they could not afford the exorbitant insurance premiums? small business has to compete with big business. and now this year we have literally thousands of organizations on our side favoring the bill. from aarp who would never go

1:07:46 to 1:08:07( Edit History Discussion )

Louise McIntosh Slaughter: would hurt senior citizens because that is their life's work, the consumers union, the american cancer society and the american medical association all joined in this cause. now, the reason we are here at this moment is because of the leadership of our speaker, ms. pelosi, who is a powerful

1:08:08 to 1:08:29( Edit History Discussion )

Louise McIntosh Slaughter: leader, a compassionate woman and an inclusive colleague who deserves all the credit for bringing us here today. it is this moment us event momentous today. we need to recall the words of

1:08:30 to 1:08:51( Edit History Discussion )

Louise McIntosh Slaughter: the late senator kennedy who spoke as far back as 1978 for the lackf health care coverage in this country. senator kennedy said, quote, one of the most shameful things about modern america is in our unbelievably richland, the quality of health care available to -- rich land, the quality of health care

1:08:52 to 1:09:13( Edit History Discussion )

Louise McIntosh Slaughter: available is unbelievably poor and the cost is unbelievably high, end quote. i agree with senator kennedy. we cannot afford not to pass this legislation now is our chance to fix health care system and improve thlives of millions of americans and make more corporations in amera competitive in a global

1:09:14 to 1:09:15( Edit History Discussion )

Louise McIntosh Slaughter: economy.