individual who enters our health care system and prevent these medical errors. so the gentlewoman is correct that when you look at even that one segment of health care reform, you're talking about billions of dollars, you are talking about the quality component impacting lives in a way that is exponential throughout the health care system not just involving one person. . i think that's an important and good point is that one of the other points i make, we're also trying to do in health care reform in terms of prevention and chronic disease management is that in so many health policies people buy, the up front costs are really on them and so the preventive services, the screen, the early intervention, those simple doctor visits that can reduce the incidence of disease and keep you out of the hospital, keep you healthy, sometimes you

have to pay out of pocket. some people say, you should pay out of the pocket. i think what people have to understand is that what we're doing in health care reform very much about a share responsibility. we're talking about providing subsidies for low-income working people. everyone has to pay into the system. we're going to keep the employer-based system and help people on the lower income be able to pay for insurance, either private insurance or public option. we should be providing incentives for people to seek care, not wait too long or wait until they're sick. i did want to just finish up by saying this health care reform effort that we are engaged in is complicated. but it's also very important. we want to make sure that again our businesses are able to continue to provide health coverage for employees that are

-- that families can afford it on their own and small businesses can afford to pay for health care and government can continue to meet our obligations under medicare for our seniors, something so important. we're only going to be able to do that if we do a better job of incentivizing reimbursement for a delivery system, medical providers, doctors, nurses, all the many health care practitioners are so important to us, unless we make sure that they are -- they have the reimbursement, they have the tools to be able to provide the care in the right settings in the community to help us have the information we need to have the right medical advice to work with us to be healthier. at the end of the day, our hope, i believe, is not only that we will extend coverage, not only that we will contain costs, not only that we'll improve quality, but at the end of the day, americans will be healthier. and if americans are healthier, we will in fact contain costs

and be able to afford to make sure that we have no child in america without health coverage we don't have families who are bankrupt as a result, families who aren't worried because they have a member of the family with chronic disease and can't get insurance, if they can't act responsibly, that's something we want to do it's a goal the president has set out and a goal many of us have worked on. i look forward to standing on this floor and having the opportunity to vote for comprehensive health care reform that will contain costs and improve quality, that will help enaible american to have access to affordable, meaningful health care in this country. with that, i yield back the balance of my time. the spear pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back. under the speaker's announced policy of january 6, 2009, the chair recognizes the gentleman

from iowa, mr. king, for 60 minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the chair lay before the house the following communication.

the clerk: leave of absence requested for mr. baca for today and friday, june 12. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the request is granted. is there a motion to adjourn? the gentlewoman from pennsylvania is recognized. ms. schwartz: so moved. the speaker pro tempore: the question is on the motion to adjourn. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. the ayes have it. the motion is agreed time

>> live coverage of the house when members gavel back in tomorrow. >> every weekend, the latest non-fiction books and authors on "book tv remote saturday, how do you run for congress was $7,000 and your sixth grade students managing the campaign? she is interviewed on sunday. joel rosenberg takes you inside the revolution. and what is next for the economy? stephen more on taxes and the end of prosperity. later, "for closured nation

recall every weekend is filled with books and authors on "book tv recall look for our entire schedule online at booktv.org. >> we or anxious, willing, and eager to stop the bombing, just as we are eager to stop the war. >> television conversations from the final months of lyndon johnson's presidency. listen saturday morning at 10:00 eastern on c-span radio in washington-baltimore area at 9.1 fm. nationwide on ex-im satellite, channel 132. >> how is c-span funded? >> private donations. >> from public television. >> donations. >> i don't know where the money comes from.

>> contributions from donors. >> how is c-span funded? 30 years ago, america's cable companies created c-span as a public service, a private business initiatives, no government mandate, no government money. >> coming up next on c-span, president obama discusses his scalp e.g. his health-care plan. later we will hear about health care from house speaker nancy pelosi and the republican leader, john boehner. the president was in green bay, wisconsin this afternoon for this town hall meeting where he put forward his health-care proposal that includes a government insurance plan that would compete with private insurance. this is a little more than an hour. >> ladies and gentlemen, to introduce the president. [applause]

>> good afternoon. 17 months ago, my life drastically change when i found out i had staged three breast cancer at 34 years old. i had a fairly average life prior to that, being a working mom with a husband and two young kids. the diagnosis altered everything in my life. with so many awful side effects from the treatment, i often tell myself unable to work both at home and at my job. fortunately, my husband, peter, had a full-time job, and carry the insurance for our family. because she worked for a small company, though, the insurance plan has a high premium with high deductibles and out-of- pocket expenses. although we felt fortunate to have insurance, we soon found that we were overcome with medical bills. we knew there was not an option for us to cancel any of my

treatments and that we would just have to face the bills as they came and hope for the best to make our minimum monthly payments that were set up with the clinic. i continue to receive medical treatments, including chemotherapy, several surgeries, and radiation throughout 2008. i finished my last treatment in december and truly hope that my cancer was gone and that i could try to get back to some type of normal life. unfortunately, in april of 2009 i started having some unusual paint that was concerning to my oncologist. he ordered a scanned that showed that my cancer was back and had spread to several of my bones. i am now back in treatment every other week, and am hoping the mess and i am receiving will help strengthen my bones and keep the cancer -- i hope the madison i am receiving will keep the cancer from spreading any further. our insurance policy has started

over with the new plant year, so we once again had to meet our new deductible fanned out of pocket expenses before the insurance company would pay for any of the new bills. once i received the diagnosis, we also figured i would not be able to work anymore. the best arrangement was for me to stay home. as a family, we struggle to get by with the income that we have. in addition to the regular expenses that a family incurs, we have thousands of dollars that we go to medical clinics and hospitals. we have to sacrifice a lot as a family in order to pay the monthly bills that we have. my daughter, taylor, who is 11, and son, logan, who is a, have suffered along with my husband and me through this time. my husband and i are not able to provide everything we need to for them because we are overwhelmed with our bills. i hope that someday changes could be made to helps families such as ours overcome the source of problems or medical bills overtake the everyday living

expenses. having cancer will totally change a person's life, but having to deal with cancer -- having to deal with all sorts of financial issues because of it is devastating. i am honored and privileged to introduce to you today someone who is working hard to improve health care in america. president barack obama. [applause]

>> thank you, green bay. it is good to see you. thank you very much. thank you so much. thank you. [applause] thank you so much. please, everybody have a seat. it is great to be back in green bay. we are hoping that both the packers and the bears do better this year. come on. we can bring everybody together.

i want to make a few acknowledgements. we have some wonderful special guests here today. first of all, can everyone please give laura a huge round of applause for sharing her story. [applause] i want to thank our hosts, principal brian davis and his beautiful family and superintendent greg malls. please give them a big round of acrosapplause. your outstanding governor, jim doyle, is here. give him a big hand of applause. [applause] lt. governor barbara lofton is here. congressman steve kaydin is here. -- steve kaydin is here.

your own mayor, jim schmidt. and milwaukee mayor, tom barrett, is here as well. [applause] i want to thank all the tribal leaders of wisconsin who are with us here today. [applause] i want to a knowledge great leadership that you are getting in the united states senate from herb kohl and russ feingold, although they cannot be here with us today. give them a big round of applause. [applause] this is a town hall meeting, but if you do not mind, i want to make a few comments at the outset to frame the discussion, and then we will get to the fun part. you guys can bombard me with questions. as i said, i want to thank southwest high school for hosting us. i especially want to thank laura

for sharing her story. it takes courage to do that, and it takes even more courage to battle a disease like cancer with such grace and determination. i know her family is here and they are working and fighting with her every inch of the way. her story is incredibly moving, but sadly, it is not unique. every day in this country, more and more americans are forced to worry about not just getting well, but whether they can afford to get well. millions more wonder if they can afford the routine care necessary to stay well. even for those who have health insurance, rising premiums are straining family budgets to the breaking point. premiums that have doubled over the last nine years and have

grown at a rate three times faster than wages. let me repeat that. health care premiums have gone up three times faster than wages have gone up. desperately needed procedures and treatments are put off because the price is too high. all it takes is a single illness to wipe out a lifetime of savings. employers are not faring any better. the cost of health care has helped lead big corporations like gm and chrysler at a competitive disadvantage with their foreign counterparts. for small businesses, it is even worse. one month their forced to cut back on health care benefits. the next month they have to drop coverage. a month after that, they have no choice but to start laying off workers. for the government, the growing costs of medicare and medicaid is the biggest threat to our federal deficit. bigger than social security,

bigger than all the investments we have made so far. if you are worried about spending and your word about deficits, you need to be worried about the cost of health care. we have the most expensive health-care system in the world, bar none. we spent almost 50% more per person on health care than the next most expensive nation. here is the thing, green bay. we are not any healthier for it. we do not necessarily have better outcomes. even within our own country, there are a lot of places where we spend less on health care but actually have higher quality than places where we spend more. it turns out green bay is a good example. right here in green bay, you get more quality out of fewer health care dollars and many other communities across this country. [applause] this is something to be proud of.

i want to repeat that. you spend less, you have higher quality here in green bay and in many parts of the country. but across the country, spending on health care keeps on going up and up and up, day after day, year after year. i know there are millions of americans who are happy, who were content with their health care coverage. they like their plan, the value the relationship with their doctor. no matter how we reform health care, i intend to keep this promise. if you like a doctor, you will be able to keep your doctor. if you like your healthcare plan, you will be able to keep your healthcare plan. [applause] so do not let people scare you. even like what you have got, we will not make a change. but in order to preserve was best about our healthcare system, we have to fix what does not work. we have reached the point where

doing nothing about the cost of health care is no longer an option. the status quo is unsustainable. if we do not act, an act soon, to bring down costs, it will jeopardize everybody's health care. if we don't act, every american will fill the consequences. in higher premiums, which means lower take-home pay. it is not as if those costs are all born by your employer. that is money that could have gone to giving you a raise. in lost jobs and closed businesses, and a rising number of uninsured and rising debt that our children and their children will be paying off for decades. if we do nothing, within a decade we will be spending one out of every $5 we learn on health care. 30 years we will be spending one out of every $3 we are on healthcare. that is untenable. is unacceptable.

i will not allowed as president of the united states. [applause] health care reform is not something i just cooked up when i took office. sometimes i hear people say he is taking on too much. i am not doing this because i don't have enough to do. [laughter] we need health care reform because it is central to our economic future. it is central to our long-term prosperity as a nation. in past years and decades, there may have been some disagreement on this point, but not anymore. today we have already built an unprecedented coalition of people who are ready to reform our health-care system. physicians and health insurers, businesses and workers, democrats and republicans. a few weeks ago some of these

groups commended -- committed to doing something that would have been unthinkable a few years ago. the promise to work together to cut national health care spending by two trillion dollars over the next decade. that will bring down costs and premiums. that is the kind of cooperation we need. the question now is, how we finish the job? had we permanently bring down costs and make quality, affordable health care available to every single american? in my view, reform should be guided by a simple principle. we will fix what is broken and build on what works. in some cases, there is broad agreement on the steps we should take. in our recovery act that we are repast, reject my guy in the cap was waving at me. [applause]

in the recovery act, we have already made investments in health information technologies and electronic medical records that will reduce medical errors, save lives, save money, and still ensure privacy. we also need to invest in prevention and wellness programs to help americans live longer and healthier lives. [applause] but the real cost savings will incentives of a system that automatically equate expensive care with better care. we have to move from addressing -- we have to address laws that increase profits but do not increase the quality of care for patients. we have to ask why places like ggssenger health care or in communities like green day can

offer high-quality care at costs well below average, but other places in america in cannot. we need to identify the best practices across the country, learn from the successes and then duplicate those successes everywhere else. we should change the warped incentives that reward doctors and hospitals based on how many tests and procedures they do. [applause] even if those tests and procedures are not necessary, or result from medical mistakes. doctors did not get into the medical profession to be been counters or paper pushers. they are not interested in spending all their time acting like lawyers or business executives. they became doctors to kill people, and we have to free them to be able to do that. we have to provide americans who cannot provide health insurance more affordable options.

that is an economic imperative and also a moral compared to. we know that when someone does not have health insurance, they are forced to get treatment at the er, and all of us in that paying for it. the average family pays $1,000 an extra premiums to pay for people going to the emergency room who did not have health insurance. you are already subsidizing other folks. you would be better off subsidizing to make sure they get regular checkups. we are already paying for it. it is just hidden in your premiums. we are working on the creation of something called the health insurance exchange. it will allow you to one-stop shop for a healthcare plan, compare benefits and prices, choose the plan that is best for you. if you are happy with your plan, you keep it. none of these plans would be able to deny coverage on the basis of pre-existing conditions.

[applause] every plan should include an affordable, basic benefits package. if you cannot afford one of these plans, we should provide some assistance to make sure that you can. [applause] i also strongly believe that one of the options in the exchange should be a public insurance option. [applause] the reason is not because we want a government takeover of health care. if you have of private plan that works for you, great. but we want some competition. if the private insurance companies have to compete with the public auction, it will keep them honest and it will help keep their prices down. [applause]

now, covering more americans is obviously going to require some money of front. we will save money when they stopped going to the emergency room for regular checkups, but it will cost some money up front. helping families lower-cost -- there will be across to this. it comes a time when we do not have a lot of extra money to spend. let's be honest. when i came in, we had a 1.3 trillion dollars deficit. with the economic recession we are born free, tax revenues are down. i was talking to governor down regent alice talking to governor doyle. more people are seeking help from the state. we have a lot of pressure on our budget. i have already promised that reform cannot add to our deficit over the next 10 years. to make that happen, we have already identified hundreds of billions of dollars worth of savings in our budget, savings that will come from steps like

reducing medicare and payments to insurance companies. i will be outlining hundreds of billions of dollars more in savings in the days to come. even with these savings, reform will require some additional up- front resources. that is why i have proposed that we scale back how much the highest income americans can deduct on their taxes, take it back to the rate that existed under the reagan years. we could use some of that money to help finance health-care reform. [applause] in all these reforms, our goal is simple, high quality health care at the lowest possible cost. we want to fix what is broken, build on what works. as congress moves forward on health care legislation in the coming weeks, there indeed there

will be different ideas and disagreements on how to achieve this goal. i welcome all ideas. we have to have a good debate. what i will not except is analyst delay, or denial that reform needs to happen. [applause] when it comes to health care, this country cannot continue on its current path. i know there are some who say it is too expensive. some say it is too complicated. i can assure you, the costs of doing nothing will be a lot higher in the years to come. our deficits will be higher. our premiums will keep going up. our wages will be lower. our jobs will be fewer, our businesses will suffer. to those who criticize our efforts, i asked them, what is the alternative? what else do we say to all t