changed when our son was born. ethan was born with a vascular tumor that required chemotherapy. at just six weeks old, he was put on oral steroids and tylenol with codeine. because he was so small the doctors had to do surgery to insert an external port into his heart to administer the chemo. the port had to be monitored constantly to avoid infection. ethan had three surgeries and multiple rounds of chemotherapy before he was 1. ethan needed around the clock care and i had no other choice other than to the quit my job to i could provide that care. and when i quit my job we lost our health insurance. we were incredibly fortunate that ethan qualified for medicaid. without it he most likely would have lost his leg and possibly his life. not having employer-based health insurance proved to be quite expensive. we had no income.

and now we had to care for a sick child while balancing a mortgage, monthly bills and expensive insurance premiums because of my own personal health issues. thankfully his tumor healed around the time he turned one and we spent the next year catching him up to normal development. my husband and i managed to keep our heads above water for two and a half years. we lived frugly as much as possible and taking out student loans in the end we still had to sell our home and move in with family. ethan's third year was fantastic. he graduated from all of his therapies and started preschool. he was not just walking now, but run, jumping and hopping. with no pain whatsoever. in his fourth year the affordable care act was signed into law. even though ethan had proven, had overcome his illness and had

proven more than more people will ever have to that he is strong and will fight to be healthy. without the affordable care act, he would face a lifetime of struggling to get health insurance because of his medical history. the affordable care act prohibits insurers from limiting or denying benefits or coverage for children because of a preexisting condition. in october of 2010 ethan's oncologist gave him a clean bill of health for the first time in his entire life. now that insurance companies can no longer consider his preexisting condition a factor, we have been able to officially close that chapter in our lives. our family's health care struggle may be over, but there are many families still dealing with medical problems. we cannot pull the rug out from under these families who are beginning to feel the relief as a result of the affordable care

act. we worked so hard to get the law passed and while we'll keep fighting to keep it from being repealed or reversed. we work hard to move our country forward on health care and we're not going back to the days when health insurers could deny coverage to our children because of a preexisting condition or drop us when we get sick. we will keep fighting to make quality affordable health care a reality. so ensure that we are not just a country who pays lip service to family values but who truly values families and understands the struggles we face. [ applause ] >> thank you very much. in the middle of the health care debate i found myself doing a

radio talk show that allowed call-ins. and gentlemen called in and began to castigate me and president obama and all the democrats for pushing health care reform. he said that he had his insurance. he liked his insurance and he didn't want anybody fooling with it. a few moments later, a lady called in. and she says congressman, i don't have a question, but i would like to say something to that gentleman who called in a few minutes ago. maybe he likes what he has because he's never tried to use it. she said i liked what i had until i tried to use it. and she told the story of contracting cancer. breast cancer. at 48 years old after being on

her insurance since the age of 23. and at her second visit to the doctor she got a notice from the insurance company saying she was being dropped. i'm going to introduce you now elizabeth bartensteen. she will tell you her story as to why her health, her family's health is too important to leave the decisions up to the insurance company. [ applause ] >> good afternoon, everyone. my name is elizabeth dartensteen. i want to thank leader pelosi and whip hoyer and congressman clyburn for the opportunity to tell my story today. i know how important it is to have the opportunity to join my parents' health insurance plan. in october of 2009 i adjust moved back to my hometown,

richmond, virginia, for a job at a small nonprofit. i didn't qualify yet to be covered by new my employer and i couldn't join my parents' plan in the interim because i was too old. my parents wanted to help, but there was little they could do. my mom work for the a church and my dad had lost his job during the recession. and then the impossible happened. i had a horrible accident at my apartment involving my gas stove where i received second and third degree burns on my chest, arm and hands. with the help of a neighbor tifs able to walk next door, luckily there was a hospital within walking distance. and she took me to the hospital and after being admitted they decided to transfer me to the burn unit downtown because my burns were so severe. i was kept there overnight and my family and i were more scared about what was to come than we

were about the accident that had just happened. we all understood how expensive just one night in a hospital can be. so as scarey as this was to me and my family, the pain truly after that was the bills. there were lots of them. by the time all was said and done i owed tens of thousands of dollars for one night stay in the hospital. and i was completely uninsured. not only will i forever remember that fateful morning, but i'm still paying off the medical debt and likely will be for many years to come. i've definitely made health coverage a top priority ever since. and after leaving the first nonprofit job, i obtained individual coverage until i was insured at my next job. however the insurance i had at the new job was inadequate.

where the new health care reform i was able to add to my mother's plan which we did as a backup, but it was a necessary backup. now i'm in an interim job that doesn't offer health insurance and i don't have to worry about what that means for my health. i'd like to thank leader pelosi for her tremendous leadership on this issue and i'd like to thank groups like the young invincibles for giving voices to our generation in obtaining quality affordable health care. i wish the affordable health care act had been passed sooner. i don't have to worry anymore that an unexpected accident could leave me owing medical bills for years to come. now i don't have to worry about insurance conch when making a career move. thank you. [ applause ]

>> thank you very much to everyone. and now i have the privilege of introducing carmen morales. this is a pretty exciting for me because the issue of how this bill affects women is something quite remarkable because up until passage of this bill being a woman was considered having a preexisting medical condition. in recent weeks women's health has taken center stage. in the affordable care act we put women at the center ensuring women are at the center of their own health decisions and providing access to live saving preventive care. considering just a few benefits for women in the affordable care act, it bans insurance companies from dropping women when they

get sick orb when they become pregnant. it bans insurance companies for wanting a referral for ob/gyn care. you think this would be so obvious. beginning this sum every it ensures free comprehensive women's preventive care services including contraception in new plans. it ends the common practice of gender rating charging women substantially higher premiums for women than men. it ensures that being a woman is no longer a preexisting medical condition. i'm now pleased to introduce carmen morales who will share her personal story about the personal benefits of health care reform to her. thank you, carmen for being with

us. >> good afternoon, i would like to thank leader pelosi, whip hoyer and assistant leader clyburn for this opportunity. i am a nurse practitioner and a certified diabetes educator at bakersfield, california. let me tell you about how the affordable care act is making an impact in my community. recently we had a 25-year-old previously uninsured but now covered through her mother's insurance plan come to us because she found a suspicious lump. she had a very strong family history of breast cancer. she was able to get the necessary tests and treatments.

as it turned out, it was cancerous. we got her into surgery quickly. and we were able to remove the lump. and thankfully we got it all. her access to our clinic probably saved her life. because we caught it early, we were able to avoid a disfiguring and costly surgery. now she'll be able to have follow up care to make sure the disease doesn't return or come to another part of her bofdy. she will be able to get the necessary testing she needs for her other family members, her children, her daughters. and she'll be able to take care of her family. i'm going to continue to advocate for the affordable care act because i've seen how it works. how it saves lives. i want my patients to remain healthy and i want them to be able to lead productive lives.

right now in bakersfield there is a team of nurses who are out on the floors educating patients about the affordable care act. and i'm asking you to please make sure that this work does not end. it is so important. thank you. [ applause ] >> our very special guest i'm going to yield to is mom from mom ease rising to tell us what's going to happen now for a moment. >> we have brought a book full of stories from moms rising members from all across the country who have shared their stories with us to tell us how the affordable care act has helped them in their own families' lives. it also includes our story. tha.

[ applause ] >> thank you all very much. as you hear from these stories this is a liberation. this is what our founders had in mind. ever expanding opportunity for people. if you want to be a photographer, or a writer or a musician, whatever. an artist, if you want to be self-employed, if you want to start a business, if you want to change jobs, you no longer are prohibited from doing that because of -- you can't have access to health care.

especially because you do not want to put your family at risk. how many people in america do you think have a preexisting medical condition that is they may have been sick when they were little or they had cancer and now cancer free and isn't that a celebration. but you always carry the preexisting condition and the discrimination with you until now. . until now. we cannot let that be rolled back. that affects tens of millions of americans directly and their families as well. so our whole country. with that we'd be pleased to take just a few questions hopefully on this subject. yes? >> part of which would repeal this act, what's your reaction to the gop's budget in addition to not only repealing the affordable health care act but also lowering the levels from

the bca and cutting funding for other programs as well. >> the gentleman's question is about the budget in general. it does have an impact on our conversation here in terms of health care. right from the start the republicans have tried to make an assault on the affordable care act. it's hard to understand why they would be against ending preexisting conditions from keeping people from getting health insurance and women from getting preventive care and children for having the access to care that they need. but for whatever reason, they do. and bless their hearts, they act upon what they believe. they do not believe in this bill and they are trying to roll it back. we cannot let that happen. at the same time in their disstarted priority in their budget i'm a little hepped up about this today because this bill is in the process of being written, their budget bill

before it comes to the floor. they pass their bill. they'll have our alternative, i hope. but the fact is in the bill they break the guarantee, the medicare guarantee for seniors. that means seniors pay more over $6,000 more. i think steny mentioned that figure over $6,000 more. and all the money you'd have to save in advance $182,000. what could they possibly be thinking? i'll tell you what i think they're thinking. and i don't question their motivation. they don't believe in medicare. and bless their hearts, again, they're acting teir believes. their belief is that medicare should wither on the vine. and this budget is a step in the direction of medicare withering on the vine. and so we see a situation where they put forthn' bt even honor agreements in terms of what the

amount that budget should be. it breaks the medicare guarantee with sers costs. cuts jobs. it's sly a statement of our national values that a budget should be. i want to yield to mr. hoyer and mr. clyburn for any yes? >> let me say -- one thing i do want to add is there was bipartisan opposition to the budget that came budget committee. it was a totally partisan bill in terms of passage, but it was a bipartisan opposition to that bill because it has the wrong priority and in fact in my opinion will make the debt, deficit and economy worse and move in exactly the wrong direction as well as undermining the guarantee and confidence that people have that medicare

and social security and other programs will be there for them when they need it. >> can you address for the moment -- >> you and your democratic colleagues have been spending the last few days marking the second san versery of health care, but president obama has not. with the person with the biggest bully pulpit in the country should president obama be using it to talk about health care this week? >> i think the president has been absolutely great on health care without the president we would not have this bill. [ applause ] and every day, every day since the passage of the bill the administration has moved in a very positive direction to implement it so we stay on schedule. so many of the benefits that people are enjoying now are put forth. the secretary, many cabinet secretaries, people in the administration are taking the message forward in the country and without the president no

bill. i'll just tell you this that is day after the bill was passed the president called me and said last night when the health care bill was passed in the house i was happier than the day i was elected president of the united states. that's beautiful. i was pretty happy last night, too, president, but not happier than's when you were elected president of the united states, because if you weren't elected president of the united states we would not be passing this historic legislation to make progress for the american esident for his leadership. yes? >> we the case coming before the supreme court next week, do you have anxiety about what may happen next week, and if the court rules against the mandate and what you're talking about here? >> i'm thinking in a much more positive vein than you just posed it, but i guess that's a fair question, and, again if my colleagues have anything to say about the president's

participation or the case next week. we knew what we were doing when we passed this bill. it is ironclad constitutionally. what happens in the courts is another matter. but we believe that we're in pretty good shape going into the court. it's interesting, though, because our republican colleagues, this play be morema the subject than you want to know, but they have been opponents of judicial review. they have said that the congress, when the congress acts and the president signs the bill, that is the law of the land and they oppose judicial review, meaning the courts can review the constitutionality of the law. in fact, they even said, mullbury versus madison, which established the principle at the beginning of our country, was wrongly decided. that was then. so opposed too, are they to

opposing their friends and the insurance industry to whom they are hand maidens that they had even broken with their opposition to judicial review to take this important bill which means so much to the american people. to the courts. but i have faith in the courts and i have faith in the bill, and we will see what happens next week, but -- well we won't know next week, but i know all of america will be watches to see the proceedings. at least meaning every american who has a child with a pre-existing condition a family history that can be so described, many woman who's concerned about the health, her health or the health of her family, any senior who's concerned about medicare and what that guarantee means to a person's health and their economic security. that means anybody who cares about innovation in our country for a new kind of health care that's not just about the health care in america, but the good

health of america, that prevention and the rest. about innovation to take us to customize, personalized care. anyone who cares about lowering cost, expanding -- access and improving quality of health care. that sounds like it should include a lot of people, at least people who are aware of what is in the bill. so i hope that all of you will help us make people more aware of what is in the bill, because it really honors the greatness of our country. senator kennedy, towards the -- in the debate and towards the end of his life said this is the great unfinished business of america. that all people should have access to quality, affordable health care as a right for all americans. and not just the privileged, for a very few. so in that spirit, we are proud of the work that was done.

it was a compromise. it wasn't the bill why have written, but it is a bill that is making a big difference. so i pray that the courts will make the right decision, but we have sent them -- they have been sent the right bill. so i thank you all very much. let us thank our real people who are here today. thank you. thank you all.

>> thank you. >> thank you very much. >> thank you so much. both the house and senate are in session today. the house voted to repeal part of the health care law, while just a few minutes ago, the senate pass add bill that aims to loosen securities regulations on small business whose wish to go public. with an added amendment so it now returns to the house for consideration instead of the president's desk. we could see the house take up this measure sometime next week. in response to the senate vote, house majority leader eric

cantor said in part, i intend to schedule a vote on the senate amendment bill early next week so we can get this partisan's jobs bill to the president's desk for signature without delay. members work on legislation related to insider trading and several judicial nominations. follow this on c-span and the senate live on c-span2. coming up, a discussion on hiv-aids with comments from the director of the centers nor diseafor disease control and prevention live here on c-span3. the supreme court will hear oral argument next week in a series of cases about the health care law and will provide same-day audio, monday through wednesday. you can hear the oral argument each day as it's released, expect it around 2:00 p.m.

eastern. listen here on c-span3, c-span radio and c-span.org nrchlts march of 1979, c-span began televising the u.s. house of representatives to households nationwide and today our consent content and american history is available on tv, radio and online. >> when we put that force together at "desert storm" i viewed every one of those youngsters as somebody i had a personal responsibility for. i know general schwarzkopf felt the same way. we knew they were going into a very dangerous conflict, perhaps, and we wanted to give them every benefit that would allow them to come home safely. i am distressed, more distressed, any member of this committee could of be, that will are veterans suffering ill insides that may have been a result of their service in the gulf. i do not know if they are the result of their service in the gulf or not but we have to keep

that as an operating hypothesis until we find out otherwise. >> c-span, created by america's cable companies as a public service. new york representative peter king says there are hundreds, maybe thousands, of hezbollah operatives within the u.s. capable of launching an attack. especially if tensions with iran escalate over its nuclear program. congressman king, the chairman of the homeland security committee, held a hearing wednesday looking at the threat from hezbollah and iran. from former fbi and treasury department officials. this is just over two hours. good morning. the committee on homeland security will come to order. the committee is meeting this morning to examine the threat to the u.s. homeland caused by iran and the foreign terrorist organization hezbollah.