the speaker pro tempore: on this vote the yeas are 228. the nays are 189. the resolution is adopted. without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid upon the table. he house will come to order. he house will come to order. for what purpose does the gentleman from michigan seek recognition?

mr. upton: mr. speaker -- the speaker pro tempore: the ouse will come to order. the gentleman from michigan is recognized. mr. upton: mr. speaker, pursuant to the provisions of house resolution 413, i would call up the bill h.r. 3350, to authorize health insurance issuers to continue to offer for sale current individual health insurance coverage in satisfaction of the minimum essential health insurance coverage requirement, and for other purposes, and ask for its immediate consideration. mr. speaker, the house is not in order. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 33 50, a bill to authorize health insurance issuers to continue to offer for sale current individual health insurance coverage and satisfaction of the minimum essential health insurance coverage requirements, and for other purposes.

the speaker pro tempore: the ouse will come to order. pursuant to house resolution 413, the bill is considered as read. the gentleman from michigan, mr. upton, and the gentleman from california, mr. waxman, each will control 30 minutes. the chair now recognizes the gentleman from michigan, mr. upton. mr. upton: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and tend their remarks and include extraneous material on h.r. 3350. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. the gentleman will suspend. he house will come to order. members please take their conversations off the floor. the gentleman from michigan is recognized. mr. upton: mr. speaker, i yield myself a minute and a half. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. upton: mr. speaker, across generations presidencies are

often associated with one famous utterance. ask not what your country can do for you. the only thing we have to fear, tear down this wall. and our current president will be no different. if you like your health care plan, you can keep it, period. for the last three years the president repeated this promise in selling his signature law, and he did so with the knowledge that it would not be met. millions of americans, including nearly a quarter after million in michigan, took the president at his word and now unexpectedly are receiving cancellation notices. they are confused, worried, and upset. today we stand with those families with the keep your health plan act. this bill is to help provide peace of mind to folks like the farmer in bangor, michigan, who just found out after purchasing his family's insurance for the last 30 years, that he will be able to keep their plan no

more. and the sticker shock will be unbearable as the premiums double and their deductible jumps nearly 3,000 bucks. sadly they are not alobe. -- alone. for millions of americans it's cancellation today, sticker shock tomorrow. for the last six weeks the white house stood idly by ignoring the pleas of millions. as administration allies panicked, the white house went from attacking our thoughtful bill to makeping an end around congress with a universal fix. our straightforward, one-page bill that says if you like -- the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is correct. the house is not in order. mr. upton: our straightforward, one-page bill says, if you like your current coverage, you should be able to keep it. the president should heed his own advice and work with us, the congress, as the founders intended, not around the

legislative process. everyone today should embrace the keep your health plan act, and our efforts to protect americans from the damage of this law should not stop there. let's keep the promise. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from michigan reserves. the gentleman from california is recognized. mr. waxman: mr. speaker, i yield myself three minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for three minutes. mr. waxman: this bill is not a bill to let people keep their health insurance plans. the president took care of that issue yesterday. what this bill is another vote to repeal the affordable care act. it would take away the core protections of that law. this bill creates an entire shadow market of substandard health care plans. it will destabilize the health insurance exchanges, raise premiums, and continue to allow

insurers to discriminate on the basis of pre-existing conditions. the bill takes away the core consumer protections and a part of the law. under the republican bill, insurers could cherry pick the best risks and destabilize the insurance market for everyone else. that's why we would have them repeal the law people would still be out of a chance to get insurance. i understand the concern of many members that individuals should be able to keep their health insurance if they like it, but there's a profound difference between providing relief for individuals whose policies have been canceled, which is what the president did yesterday, and recreating the discriminatory, inefficient insurance market that we had before health reform, which is what this bill would do. we need to have some

perspective on this issue. for those currently in the individual insurance market, nearly five million people, they will be eligible for a tax credit worth an average of $5,000. over a million more people will be eligible for medicaid, which means additional savings. because of better coverage that protects them from crippling medical costs, millions more will lower their out-of-pocket costs. and the 25 million americans without insurance will finally get a good deal on quality coverage. no one can be denied coverage because of pre-existing conditions. no one can see higher rates because they get sick. no one can see their rates go up. running up against annual coverage limits or realize too late that their plan didn't cover the key benefits that

they need. this week we learned that 1.5 million people have already applied for coverage. a faster signup rate that experienced in massachusetts. even with all the technical problems we have had. in my state of california, nearly 400,000 people have begun applications in the first month. there will be a total of six months to sign up, this program is going to work. . these are significant signs of progress. they show us we're on our way. on our way to dramatically expanding health insurance coverage in this nation. this bill will take us backwards. i urge a no vote and i retain the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from michigan is recognized. mr. tipton: mr. speaker, i would yield two minutes to the gentleman from oregon, mr.

walden. -- mr. upton: mr. speaker, i would yield two minutes to the gentleman from oregon, mr. walden. mr. walden: i rise today for the voice of oregonians who have already received their cancellation notices. they've been told the policy that they like, that they wanted to keep they cannot have any longer. i was down in my district for eight straight days last week. 36 meetings, 12 counties, 2,476 miles on the road from day in the morning to late at night. i'm going to tell you, there are people like chuck and jan medford who have gone into retirement, who had health insurance, got notice that their plan is being canceled. from mitchell to ben from enterprise, to medford, all over. not only are their plans being canceled, the replacements are coming back, for example, with -- back, folks, with deductibles that are $15,000 when they were paying a couple thousand. the premiums are going up in some cases double or more.

some of them may get a subsidy. a lot of them won't. and now they don't have the plan they were promised that they could keep. and another thing that's insidious that's going on below the surface, meeting after meeting, hours are being cut back, people are losing their jobs, they're getting less take-home pay because of obamacare. this is a problem all across america. the promise that you can keep your plan was never to be kept and they knew it and they continued to say it and it wasn't true. people are losing their plans, they're losing their coverage and they're losing access to the specialists that may save their lives. that's right. they won't be able to keep their doctors. they may. but if the doctor's out of network, there's no cap on what they will pay in terms of a deductible. so financially you take away their access to health care, the

prices have gone up, the access and oh, by the way, in many cases they've lost their jobs or their hours have been cut back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from california is recognized. mr. waxman: mr. speaker, i yield two minutes to the gentleman from new york, mr. rangel, who played such an important role in drafting the affordable care act. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new york is recognized for two minutes. mr. rangel: let me thank mr. waxman, congressman waxman, for giving me this opportunity. the majority said that presidents are remembered by certain things and that this outstanding president will be remembered because he said if you have a plan and he didn't say no matter how bad it is, you can keep it. i think he will be remembered historically of being the first president in the united states of america that has told people that for the first time every american will have access to

affordable health care. on the other side, history's going to record them, too. that they never said that they had any concern at all and never million n for the 30 people that every day are waiting for this plan to go into effect. and that they would publicly acknowledge that they don't want to improve upon mistakes that may have been made, but they want to derail, to destroy and to eliminate and to repeal universal health care for americans. i say this, the president apologized yesterday and i apologized to those people without insurance today for the united states congress. if you believe that the administration has done something wrong, for god's sake, let's work together to correct it. but to just ignore the fact that

70% of americans already have good insurance and it's going to be improved, to ignore the fact that 30 million people's lives and their legacy is not -- is in jeopardy because they can't afford to have serious illnesses, and to believe that those that belong to the 5% that really gets caught in what we're supposed to be fixing today, i tell you that there's no evidence at all that the republican party wanted to fix anything for the uninsured of america. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from michigan is recognized. mr. upton: mr. speaker, i would yield one minute to the gentleman from georgia, dr. gingrey, a member of the health subcommittee. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from georgia is recognized for unwp -- for one minute. mr. gingrey: mr. speaker, the gentleman from new york just said it. universal health care. single-payer system. government takeover of 1/6 of our economy. that's what they wanted from the very beginning.

i rise today in support of h.r. 3350, the keep your health plan act now. the obama administration's health exchange enrollment announcement on wednesday is one of the myriad reasons we must pass this bill. frankly, these long-awaited numbers did not come as a surprise to us. a mere 100,000 registered for health care on the new marketplace when they anticipated 500,000. according to health and human services' report, the number does not distinguish even between those who have actually paid a premium and those who just select the plan by kicking a button on the website. mr. speaker, the number of americans who have had their health plans canceled is in the millions, exponentially higher than those who have received coverage under obamacare. this disastrous law was destined to fail from the start. we on this side of the aisle, the republicans, and indeed the american people, have known for three years that this plan is

unworkable for small businesses, it's unfair for physicians and their patients and it's unaffordable for we the taxpayer, we the people. i urge my colleagues, support h.r. 3350 and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from california is recognized. mr. waxman: mr. speaker, i yield to the top democrat on the health subcommittee of energy and commerce, the gentleman from new jersey, mr. pallone, two minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new jersey is recognized for three minutes. mr. waxman: two. the speaker pro tempore: or three minutes. mr. waxman: three. the speaker pro tempore: for three minutes. the gentleman from new jersey is now recognized for three minutes. mr. pallone: thank you, mr. speaker. and thank you, mr. waxman. unfortunately today's bill is a ruse. it claims to make things better but all it does is to make things terribly worse and republicans will hide behind the sound bite and be behind the nice feeling of the title. but what this bill really does is to go back to the old broken health insurance system. this is just another attempt for the g.o.p. to repeal the provisions of the affordable care act. they've made it their mission to push the a.c.a. to failure and

the only consequence of this bill is just that. seriously damaging the insurance provisions of the affordable care act and the millions of americans who are expected to benefit from the improved coverage and premium and cost-sharing subsidies available through the new health insurance market place. now, the g.o.p. claims the bill allows people to keep their health plans, but actually it allows all policies with few benefits and sometimes higher prices to be sold to new enrollees. one of the major goals of the a.c.a. was to improve the quality of health insurance policies sold on the private market. beginning in 2014 health insurance plans can no longer deny coverage for adults with pre-existing conditions or charge those individuals more for coverage. and there are a lot of other discriminatory practices that are eliminated by the a.c.a. but we need to be open to constructive changes to make this law work, to the best of its ability. but that's not what the g.o.p. is doing today. no one believes that the republicans care about ensuring

that people have health insurance. if they did, then republicans would not for purely political reasons refuse to expand medicaid with those republican governors in the states where now five million hardworking americans across 26 states will not have medicaid expansion because of the republican politics. mr. speaker, yesterday the president took some action to help americans who want to renew their old insurance policies. ultimately, though, i hope that those americans who want to renew those old policies will look at the quality plans available in the new affordable care act marketplace and like what they see. because in most cases they'll be able to purchase better coverage at a lower price than their original policies. so when they need care, they'll have it, not with these old policies that for the most part are not going to provide them with good health insurance. so i urge my colleagues to oppose this bill. this is just another repeal effort on the part of the republicans, they're not serious about trying to provide health insurance and this will

accomplish nothing for the american people. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from michigan is recognized. mr. upton: mr. speaker, i would yield two minutes to the gentleman from texas, chairman emeritus of the energy and commerce committee, mr. barton, two minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas, mr. barton, is recognized for two minutes. mr. barrett: the surprise gentleman from texas -- mr. barton: the surprised gentleman from texas is recognized. i appreciate the chairman. i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. barton: mr. speaker, we're here today to begin the long ocess of amending, hopefully improving and if that's not possible, at some point in time repealing the affordable care act. the president, as everybody knows by now, repeatedly said that if you like your health insurance you can keep it. well, it hases been proven that even when -- well, it has been proven that even when he said it that was not true and yesterday

the president admitted as much when he said, for the next year he would try to honor that promise, if only in the breach. the upton bill actually correctly honors that promise the correct way, by legislatively saying that insurance can continue to provide these private policies and i would assume some employer-sponsored policies, regardless of whether they meet the new minimum standards under the affordable care act. the bill does not require insurance companies to do so. but it does allow them to do so. and it is our hope, as sponsors of the bill, that many of those companies will do so and it is a reasonable expectation that millions of americans, given that choice, will actually keep the plans that they have and that they like. at some point in time, though, mr. speaker, this bill is not the end of the process, it is the beginning and we need to come back and fix the rest of

the bill, the law, excuse me, or perhaps even change it or repeal it. i have a bill that i hope will be brought to the floor at some point in the near future that will make obamacare voluntary. let the henry people -- american people choose what parts of the law they like and if they decide they don't like some parts or all of the law, they wouldn't be compelled, mandated to continue to use some of these new policies. so, mr. speaker, i want to commend chairman upton and subcommittee chairman pitts for bringing this bill so expeditiously to the floor and i would hope that we can have a unanimous vote in support of it. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from california is recognized. mr. waxman: mr. speaker, the gentleman will not get a unanimous vote. at this time i'd like to yield three minutes to the chairman of the ways and means committee, mr. levin -- to the running backing -- ranking member of the ways and means committee, soon

to be chairman. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from michigan voiced for three minutes -- is recognized for three minutes. mr. levin: mr. speaker, the republicans are on a mission of destruction. nothing will satisfy them except that very mission. the upton bill is another weapon in that mission. what the republicans fear most of all is that the health care reform will eventually work. the upton bill is a bill to make sure that it does not work. the president has taken a step to help people keep their policies. the upton bill opens the door to anyone at all, to make sure that health care reform is not workable and that the private market cannot work. so back to the time of 50

million uninsured, so back to e time of cancellation for pre-existing conditions, so back to the time of no cap, so the alternative is bankruptcy. eight years ago the medicare drug program that republicans had passed got off to a rocky start. did we democrats pounce on it for political gain? no, we put the country first and helped make the program a success. the republicans are marching in the opposite direction. destroying really instead of making something work . let's work together to make it work rather than destroying what

americans want, a healthy health program for all americans. yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from michigan yields back. the gentleman from michigan, mr. upton, is recognized. mr. upton: i yield one minute to the majority leader of the house, mr. cantor. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from virginia, mr. cantor, is recognized for one minute. mr. cantor: thank you, mr. speaker. i thank the chairman, the gentleman from michigan. mr. speaker, i rise today in support of the keep your health plan act. many americans today are worried, they are worried about their jobs, worried about saving for their children's college education, or worried about saving for their retirement. and now, mr. speaker, millions of americans are worried about coming home, opening their mailboxes to find out that their health care coverage has been taken from them because of the president's health care

law. the president repeatedly said that if you like your health care plan, you could keep it. we knew this was a promise he could not keep and now it's a promise he has broken. as a result, millions of americans across the country are receiving cancellation . tters just like this one mr. speaker, this letter was sent to me by a constituent of mine, his name is bruno, from richmond, virginia, bruno is self-employed. and he purchases his health care plan through anthem blue cross blue shield. a few weeks ago he was shocked to receive this letter because this letter clearly reads, to meet the osama bin laden -- the requirements of the new law, your current plan can no longer be offered. purchasing a new plan could potentially cost mr. gore

thousands of dollars. why should he or anyone else be forced off their plan if they want to keep it? working families across america were counting on this president could keep his promise. now they are counting on us to ease some of the pain that his health care law has brought on them. yesterday president obama announced that he was going to be making some unilateral changes, but the changes he proposed and the ones we are proposing in the house, have some very clear differences. the president's plan restricts coverage previously available to only those who already had it. while forcing others to rchase a plan from healthcare.gov or another coverage that may not fit their needs. the white house doesn't even

know how they are going to implement the plan they announced yesterday. this proposal we are talking about here, chairman upton's plan, aims to help americans keep their health insurance and give their neighbors a chance to buy the same plans rather than forcing them on to a faulty website to buy new coverage they may not like or cannot afford. under this legislation, there is no confusion. the keep your health care plan act removes the impediment in the law that restricts insurance plans from being offered. the only way to completely stop any more cancellation letters like the one mr. gore received is through a full repeal of obamacare. today, however, we have an opportunity to stand united and pass a bipartisan measure that aims to slow the growing number of americans harmed by this law. i would like to thank chairman

upton for his hard work, dedication to the issue. i urge all my colleagues in the house to support this bill. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from virginia yields back. the gentleman from california is recognized. mr. waxman: mr. speaker, at this time i wish to yield three minutes to the dean of the house, the chairman emeritus of the energy and commerce committee, and longest standing member in support of universal health care coverage, the gentleman from michigan, mr. dingell. mr. dingell: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. the gentleman from michigan, mr. dingell, is recognized for three minutes. mr. dingell: i express great affection and respect for my dear friend from michigan, the gentleman, mr. upton, who serves the house and his constituents well. however, this is a regrettable piece of legislation. it's nothing more than the kind of insurance policies which are being authorized by it that were sold by snake oil salesmen around this country which gave

no relief, no help, no benefit to the american people. the sad situation is that this not only allows the -- some people to keep their policies, but it allows a lot of state salesmen to run around the country selling bad policies which undo almost all the protections which we have put in to the affordable care act. things like protections against pre-existing conditions. the fact a woman might be buying a policy she could be charged for, under this legislation or a new policy issue by some sneaky insurance company. the harsh fact of the matter is this is not a help to citizens. the president said yesterday he was going to take steps to correct the problems. if we really want to have this done properly, then that is the

way to do it. let's work together to have these matters corrected properly. let us see to it that the american people get the protections that they need against against abusive practices and not return to them. h.r. 3350 allows new sales of bad policies which contain programs and practices borrowed by a.c.a. to new and gullible purchasers. the ones that we seek to protect. as i observed yesterday, the insurance companies feel that this is going to cause huge confusion in the market, and they do not think this legislation, average citizen, has been sold a bill which is just plainly false. he is not going to be benefited

by the h.r. 3350. he is simply going to be afforded the opportunity to buy bad policies. whereas what we want to do is to see to it that if he has his policy he could keep it. the fact of the matter is he can keep it, and it doesn't need the legislation before us. the legislation before us simply assures that folk can run around selling bad policies under fictional and false misrepresentations to do hurt to the american people who, frankly, need protection against the abuses that the affordable care act put in place. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from michigan, mr. upton, is recognized. mr. upton: mr. speaker, now i yield one minute to the gentleman from louisiana, mr. scalise, a member of the energy and commerce committee. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from louisiana is

recognized for one minute. mr. scalise: thank you, mr. speaker, for yielding and for the gentleman from michigan for bringing this bill, which i support. we all heard that promise, if you like what you have you can keep it. probably the most often repeated promise that barack obama made in his five years as president. and yet the president's finally acknowledging that promise will not be kept to millions of americans who are losing the good plans they like. they kept saying they didn't know this was going to happen, by the way, mr. speaker, because back in 2010 the administration had a report that said over 60% of private plans would be canceled under the president's health care law. i have seen it myself in my district. i've got chris from covington, aaron from sly deltha have gotten letters saying they are going to lose the plans they have because the president's health care law. the president's answer was it was a lousy plan. mr. speaker, it was not a lousy plan for chris or aaron or the millions of americans that are losing their plans. they liked their plan. some washington politician shouldn't be able to say, i don't think it's good enough so i'm going to take it from you,

even though it's right for your family. let's put patients and doctors back in charge of these decisions. let's empower hardworking families to be the ones in control of their health care decisions, not some washington politician. i urge the passage of this bill and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from louisiana yields back. the gentleman from california is recognized. mr. speaker, at this time i yield two minutes to the gentlelady from illinois, ms. schakowsky. testimony mr. speaker, my mistake, i yield three. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from illinois is recognized for three minutes. ms. schakowsky: the number one cause of personal bankruptcies in this country is the cost of health care. most of those people are so-called insured. these are the policies that are being covered that people find out when they get sick that they really aren't insured. and major goal of obamacare is

to protect every consumer from the worst abuses of the private health insurance industry. starting next year no consumer can be denied coverage or charged more due to a pre-existing condition. this means that 129 million americans will no longer have to live in fear that they could one day be unable to obtain affordable coverage needed to maintain their health or even to save their lives. the upton bill would turn back the clock. the upton bill would allow insurers to cherry pick among all health care consumers, the young, healthy, by offering nonobamacare compliant policies, leaving only the old and sick to purchase coverage in the marketplace. this is something they wanted to do and have been doing for decades. this is going to drive up premiums, and allow just the type of discrimination that obamacare absolutely ends. speaker boehner said yesterday,

we have, currently, the best health care delivery system in the world. are you kidding me? with millions of people, tens of millions of people uninsured and tens of millions more with bad policies that don't cover this. rather than taking steps to weaken obamacare, my republican colleagues should be taking this opportunity to build on obamacare. as the president did, to fix it. last week i spoke with the director of the illinois department of insurance about some of the unreasonable rate increases my constituents have faced in the past, and their concern about the new rates being quoted in letters they receive from all from their insurers this fall. he told me he doesn't have the authority he wants to protect consumers from excessive premiums. this authority includes the ability to deny or modify any unreasonable premium. illinois isn't alone. today republicans denied us the opportunity to address this by

refusing to consider legislation that would move us forward, provide rate modification authority in every state. instead choosing to move a bill that would drive up premium rates and undermine obamacare's new benefits and protections. i want to caution people, rather than reup with some of the policies they had, check it out. what's really covered? hospitalization, emergency room coverage? how many times can you go see your doctor? go to the marketplace. it will be fixed. and pick a plan that is going to provide you with the real coverage, the essential benefits that you need that are provided under obamacare. we want to protect you from junk plans that are out there, but we want to let you reup in plans that actually offer you the kind of coverage you want. that was essential in what the president did yesterday. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady's time has expired. the gentleman from michigan is recognized. mr. upton: thank you, mr. speaker. at this point i yield two minutes to the republican whip,

the gentleman from california, two minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california is recognized for two minutes. mr. mccarthy: thank you, mr. speaker, i thank the chairman for his work in keeping the pledge to bring this bill to the floor. i rise in support of h.r. 3350, the keep your health care plan. from the start obamacare's been a disaster. first, the individual mandate was a bad idea before. even more dangerous now. because it's forcing people to choose health care they do not want, cannot afford, isn't right for themselves and their families. second, the president's credibility continues to crumble. as independent news sources have confirmed, that he intentionally broke his promise to every american about whether they could keep their insurance under this law. we will continue to see the shock waves of obamacare. today, it is the fact that americans cannot keep their coverage. tomorrow, it will be the staggering and unexpected cost.

next month it will be about losing access to their doctor and the list continues to go. no administrative fix will undo the harm this law has caused. republicans believe that we must try and help americans who have been harmed by obamacare. that is why today we'll pass a bill to allow americans to continue to enroll in plans currently offered without facing the individual mandate penalty. what the american people and our constituents need is certainty. the only approach that continues to provide them certainty is the bill before us today. our bill allows americans a choice. it lets individuals keep their health care plan while giving others who currently are uninsured an escape hatch from obamacare. our bill will allow individuals, whether they are a mother of a sick child, a small business owner, or a young invincible adult to keep their current plan. the national federation of independent businesses and senior groups such as 60-plus are urging congress to fulfill its duty and pass this bill.

i urge my democratic friends to join with us. many of them voted for this bill. they stated they had an intent that americans can keep their plan. today is their opportunity to keep that pledge. i yield back. mr. waxman: mr. speaker, at this time i yield two minutes to the gentleman from the state of washington, dr. mcdermott, who is the ranking member of the health subcommittee of ways and means. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from washington is recognized for two minutes. mr. mcdermott: i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. mcdermott: mr. speaker, my mother used to say, patience is a virtue. i haven't seen so much panic on this floor since 9/11. now, the fact is that a couple of members who used to be here, jay inslee who is now governor of the state of washington, mike criedler, who is the insurance

commissioner of the state of washington, have already said this. ll not implement because it is not good for the people of the state of washington. they've looked at it, we have worked hard to implement the affordable care act. and now we have a bill out here run no hearings whatsoever, out here, and we're told there will be no confusion. there will be nothing but confusion. you have 50 insurance commissioners around this country who are going to be suddenly given a bill after we write some rules and regulations here that require the insurance companies to sell policies to people. i can't believe what i'm hearing. i thought the republicans believed in the free enterprise system. this is socialism. this is government saying to insurance companies, you must sell a policy to somebody next

year that you sold to them this year. when did we shift on the republican side to the congress telling an insurance company who they have to sell a policy to or what's in the policy? i only have two minutes. up the bill does not say -- mr. upton: the bill does not say must sell. mr. mcdermott: the fact is they're going to have to put the policy out there. they've been work and implementing this law for three -- they've been working and implementing this law for three years and now six weeks before it actually begins to take effect, we run in here and say, wait a minute, wait a minute, you got to start selling policies like the ones that you sold last year. do you think they didn't think through what they're doing? i mean, i don't understand the free enterprise system -- i don't understand, the free enterprise system is lions and they're eating antelopes. i urge a no vote on this because you're going to create endless

confusion in this country in the insurance market. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from michigan is recognized. mr. upton: i yield myself 15 seconds. the gentleman needs to read our bill. it doesn't say that the insurance companies must sell those policies. that may be in the senate bill, it's not in this bill. i would yield one minute to the vice chair of the energy and commerce committee, the gentlelady from tennessee, mrs. blackburn. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from tennessee is recognized for one minute. pleakbleak thank you, mr. speaker. i thank -- mrs. blackburn: thank you, mr. speaker. i thank the chairman for the superb job he has done on bringing h.r. 3350 to the floor. and i thank him for listening to millions of americans who have been so forthright in saying, we do not want the president's health care law, it is destroying our access to the health care that we like, it is taking away our health care plans. never has there been a federal mandate who has just swept so many people aside and said, you must buy this product.

some of you have asked why we're doing this. let me tell you why. we're doing it for my constituentses like caroline and lucie and cindy and wilma, all small business owners, all female heads of households who have written us and have said, we are being forced out, forced out of the plan that we like. we're being forced away from the doctor that we like, we're being forced to buy a product we do not like. i thank the gentleman, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady's time has expired. the gentleman from california is recognized. mr. waxman: mr. speaker, i yield two minutes to the gentlelady from california, rosa delauro. from connecticut, rosa delauro. a state that also starts with a c. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from connecticut is recognized for two minutes. ms. delauro: since this republican majority took office we have taken vote after vote after vote intended to disrupt,

delay, defund or outright repeal the affordable care act. last month this house majority shut down the federal government. they threatened a catastrophic debt default in order to gut this law. now when the affordable care act is going into effect, are we supposed to believe that this republican majority is putting forth a good-faith effort to improve the bill? it doesn't wash and it defies imagination. this bill is designed to weaken the health care law, to roll back the clock on the reforms we worked so hard to pass. it takes us back to the unacceptable state of our health care system before we passed the affordable care act. remember the health care system was failing people. every year health costs skyrocketed. small businesses priced out of the market. employers asking for higher contributions and co-pays and dropping coverage. people with pre-existing conditions were being socked to

be on their own. every year more people had no insurance whatsoever. this bill allows insurers to continue to provide substandard health insurance plans to families. even to new customers. americans on these plans will be denied access to preventive services with no out-of-pocket costs. it takes us back to a time when people were not guaranteed coverage for maternity, pediatric care, hospitalization, where where families faced annual caps, lifetime caps. it takes us back to a health insurance market that rejects people with pre-existing conditions. once again this republican majority is trying to put insurers back in the driver's seat. let them control the health of american families. this majority was never interested in reforming our broken health care system. they've never been interested in the affordable care act and now

they are not interested as well. this is a cynical, transparently political bill. oppose it. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady's time has expired. the gentleman from michigan is recognized. mr. upton: mr. speaker, i would yield one minute to the chairman of the oversight and investigation subcommittee on energy and commerce, dr. tim murphy. one minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from pennsylvania is recognized for one minute. mr. murphy: mr. chairman, the majority is very concerned about health insurance plans and very concerned about those people who have lost their plans. when this bill was originally marked up a couple of years ago in the energy and commerce committee, repeatedly we heard from members of the other side of the aisle saying that if people liked their plan they could keep it indefinitely. this needed a fix several months ago and the president of the united states said he wants republicans and democrats to work together for a solution. we're offering to work together. and yet the president has said he would veto this. but the president offered only a partial fix. it would lead to more confusion. the question is, it will lead to class action suits against

insurance companies who fail to comply with the law and many states are saying this partial fix is not sufficient. we need a legislative fix. we need a way the people can still have their option for buying their plan. and what we have to see here is this is a bigger problem for american families who have found that their insurance is lost and they want to be able to keep it. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from california is recognized. mr. waxman: mr. speaker, may i inquire how much time is left on both sides? the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california has 10 1/2 minutes remaining. the gentleman from michigan has 16 3/4 minutes remaining. mr. waxman: at this time i yield two minutes to the gentleman from maryland, mr. hoyer. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from maryland is ecognized for two minutes. mr. hoyer: mr. speaker, i rise in opposition to this bill. which will undermine the providing of health care at affordable prices for millions and millions and millions of americans. we said to those americans that,

prior to the adoption of this act, if they had a policy they could keep it. that was accurate. now, it didn't say that the insurance companies would have to continue to offer it, which as i understand it, that side of the aisle wouldn't be for in any event. but the fact of the matter is, that statement was correct. now, subsequent to that, there were policies offered and insurance companies knew and policy holders should have known, because it was in the law , that they would be subject to minimum requirements. why? because as the heritage foundation said when it originally came up with this idea, everybody ought to take personal responsibility. i've heard a lot of talk on your side of the aisle, mr. speaker, about personal responsibility. i believe in that. the upton bill, as everybody

knows, will skew the risk pool and encourage adverse selection. anybody who knows anything about insurance knows that if you have adverse selection, the prices for those who need insurance will go up very substantially while, yes, the prices for those who don't need insurance will go down. very sharply. and very frankly, if all of us knew we would never be in an automobile accident, we wouldn't have to have automobile insurance. except of course the law in almost every state requires us to have it. so that others will be protected as well. now, ladies and gentlemen, this bill is no secret. may i have 30 additional seconds? mr. waxman: i yield the gentleman an additional one minute. mr. hoyer: i thank the gentleman. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. hoyer: this bill is offered by people who, according to

their own rhetoric, want to repeal the affordable care act. that's a fair position. but now they are trying to do so with a trojan horse they call the upton bill. that in effect will fix what people are concerned about. the fact of the matter is it will not fix that problem, but what it will do is undermine the ability of millions and millions d millions of people to have health security. i would urge my colleagues to defeat this trojan horse. i would urge my colleagues to say to the american people, look, we are prepared to work together. the president has offered a compromise which will have the effect of not opening up the policies to everybody, but to those people that had a policy.

that is a reasonable step to take. that is a step that perhaps we can talk together and get accomplished. but let's reject this bill and let's stand with the millions of people who want affordable, quality health care for themselves and their families and, mr. speaker, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from michigan voiced. mr. upton: mr. speaker, i would yield one minute to the gentleman from new jersey, a member of the house subcommittee on energy and commerce, mr. lance, one minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new jersey is recognized for one minute. mr. lance: thank you, mr. speaker. and i rise in strong support of chairman upton's legislation, which will provide much-needed certainty and relief for millions of americans, including 800,000 in new jersey. regarding this issue, "the new york times" editorializes this morning that the president has damaged his credibility and it is uncertain how he can earn it back, earn back the public's

trust. i would suggest support of this bipartisan legislation will earn back the president's trust. this matter should be addressed legislatively and permanently and not administratively and temporarily as the president suggested yesterday. it is time for us to work together. i strongly support chairman upton's legislation and i am sure it will pass in a bipartisan fashion and there will be bipartisan support in the other house. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new jersey yields back. the gentleman from michigan is recognized. california. mr. waxman: mr. speaker, we reserve our time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california reserves. the gentleman from michigan is recognized. mr. upton: mr. speaker, i would yield two minutes to the gentleman from louisiana, a member of the health subcommittee, dr. cassidy, two minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from louisiana is recognized for two minutes. mr. cassidy: thank you, mr. speaker. you know, for the last 30 years i've worked in a hospital for the uninsured and what i've learned is that unless you trust the families, unless you give power to the patient, you truly cannot make good medical decisions. and so it comes to mind, i mean,

my gosh, this is an email i got from someone who is my age, mid 50's, she says that we just got a letter from our health care provider, we had a major medical with a $10,000 deductible. we've lost that. we were told the insurance is not acceptable as written so now our new policy has a $7,000 deductible and it costs us $10,000 more a year. the deductible goes down by $3,000, their people are upup by $10,000. this is not -- the premium up by $10,000. frankly, i don't know if we can reconstruct the private insurance market, it may have been decimated by the affordable care act. the last chance probably was the resolution on the senate side in which it was pointed out that as many as 80% of americans would lose their individual policies, but every democrat voted against that resolution.

but, if there's a hope it is the keep your health plan act, which allows the policies to be resold , to occasionally be tweaked and, by the way, to be sold to others. preserving if you will the power of big numbers which is key to the insurance industry. now, the other options the president, the others on the senate side don't allow these policies to be sold to others and so without allowing that, of course they are eventually going to be actuarialy unsound and collapse. it is a sleight of hand, which is disingenuous in terms of its intent. we must give power to the patient, we must trust families we should pass the keep your health plan act. allow families to make their own decisions. i yield back. . the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california is ecognized. mr. waxman: mr. speaker, i yield two minutes to the gentlelady from new york, ms. velazquez. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from new york is recognized for two minutes. ms. velazquez: i thank the

gentleman for yielding. mr. speaker, let's be clear about the bill before us today. this bill is not an attempt to help americans keep their insurance plans. the president already announced a plan to help address that goal. instead, this bill takes a meat cleaver approach, allowing insurance companies to market inadequate policies to new enrollees. remember the bad old days when pre-existing conditions were discriminated against? this bill brings back that practice. remember women paying more for coverage simply because of their gender? that's a ok under this bill. remember the insurance company stopped paying when the consumer came down with an

expensive illness? that's back, too. what about small businesses? facing double digits hikes in their premium costs. if we want to take up targeted legislation helping those whose policies are being discontinued, then let's do that. but let's call this bill what it is. a return to the days when insurance companies preyed on working families. and the 36th attempt to -- 46th attempt to repeal the affordable care act. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back. the gentleman from michigan is recognized. mr. upton: mr. speaker, i would yield one minute to the gentleman from west virginia, mr. mckinley, a member of the energy and commerce committee, one minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from west virginia is recognized for one minute. mr. mckinley: thank you, mr. chairman. i rise today to be the voice for the citizens of the first district of west virginia and support house bill 3350. let me share just two of the messages of thousands we have received. linda writes, i am losing my

health insurance due to obamacare. my policy has been canceled. i'm being forced to enter the exchange. i liked my current polcy. under the exchange i'll be forced to pay $200 more. i am being hurt by obamacare. this simply isn't fair. and sherry told us, my parents, both retired, received a letter from their insurance company letting them know their new rates starting in january. the increase is so much they can't afford it. i pray that they can continue to receive the health care that they choose so they can continue to be healthy. they deserve better. mr. speaker, these are only two of the stories out of the thousands we could share. consequently i'm urging my colleagues to support this particular legislation. thank you. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from california is recognized. mr. waxman: mr. speaker, we reserve the balance of our time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california

reserves. the gentleman from michigan. mr. upton: i might ask parliament inquiry, how much time remains on both sides? the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california has six minutes. the gentleman from michigan has 12 3/4. mr. upton: i yield two minutes to the gentleman from colorado, mr. gardner. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from colorado is recognized for two minutes. mr. gardner: thank you, mr. speaker. i thank the chairman of the committee for his work on this bill and the legislation before us. . speaker, 250,000 coloradoans have had their health care plans canceled. i joined them. here's my letter as one of the insurance policies i held, one of the insurance policyholders in colorado, i, too, had my insurance canceled. over 250,000 people who had health care plan, they were told they could keep, but they won't be able to. know elfrom eastern colorado called me to tell me his insurance has been canceled. insurance he liked, he was promised by the president he

would get to keep. mr. speaker, he tells the story that he has two kids, a third on the way. he tells the story that his premium is going to go up by about $400 as a result of the changes under the health care bill. and that with the addition of his third child, it will go up another $300 more a month. this family doesn't make much money. for eastern colorado, they do better than others. they bring home $500 a month. -- 5,000 a month. to see that kind of health care cost increase when they were promised if they like their health care bill they could keep it is simply wrong. we have been accused in this bill of rolling back the law. this bill does one thing, it rolls back a broken promise. it rolls back a broken promise so that we can keep our health care plans so that the 250,000 people in colorado can keep their health care plan. and, in fact, it does go back. it goes back to a time when

president obama promised the american people that if they liked their health care plan they could keep it, period. it goes back to a time when kathleen sebelius, secretary of h.h.s. said, if you like your health care plan, you can keep it. it goes back to a time when the majority who passed the legislation in the house and in the senate said, if you like your health care plan, you can keep it. period. i thank the chairman for his leadership. i thank the speaker. yield back my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from california. mr. waxman: mr. speaker, i yield two minutes to the gentleman from oregon, member of the ways and means committee , mr. blumenauer. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from oregon is recognized for two minutes. mr. blumenauer: thank you. i appreciate the gentleman's courtesy. the expectation that somehow the elements of the affordable care act would not be implemented is simply false.

people can keep health insurance, but there are always going to be the new standards to make sure that people no longer have insurance in name only. that's what we heard about repeatedly in the efforts to try to reform the health care system. people had great health care plans until they got sick. we have minimum standards going forward. and all plans will be required to meet those standards. that was in the law and that is reasonable. we are in the midst of the greatest, most significant reform of health care in a generation. and it's already having significant effects. medical inflation, medical cost inflation, is at a 40-year low over the course of the last three years. we have significant expansion of coverage already. hundreds of thousands of people in lower incomes have been able to have access to health care for the first time.

small businesses that had been burdened for years by health care costs now get access to tax credits. and it gets better for them going forward. it is, i think, ironic for people to talk about somebody losing access to a doctor who is no longer in the network. that happens every year. it happened previously. it will happen in the future. unless you're going to somehow sentence doctors to participate in plans. you can't force them. and shedding crocodile tears because there are some plans .hat are canceled in this individual insurance market, routinely 40%, 50%, 60% every year are turned over. i sat on the floor -- may i have 30 additional seconds? mr. waxman: yield additional 30 seconds. mr. blumenauer: i sat on the

floor and heard my colleague from oregon, mr. walden, talk about a very attractive family from southern oregon that are somehow going to now face $12,000 deductibles. i want to do a deep dive with greg, find out what is going on with that family. because what we have found people have been using obamacare as an excuse for some things that are going to happen anyway, or people misunderstand. let's do this together, let's explore these areas, let's give people information going forward. and let's make the system work better, not create a parallel system that will make it work worse. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from michigan. mr. upton: mr. speaker, at this point i'd like to yield one minute to the gentleman from florida, mr. bilirakis, a member of the health subcommittee. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from florida is recognized for one minute. mr. bilirakis: thank you, mr. speaker, and thank you, mr. chairman, for sponsoring this great bill. in my state of florida 300,000 individuals have lost their health care plans due to

obamacare, and hardworking americans like my constituent, mark, are being adversely affected by this law. mark currently has a plan that he likes. obamacare will take it away. his new equivalent plan on the exchange comes with a $12,000 deductible and $1,000 monthly premiums. he and his wife are about 60 years old and do not qualify for subsidies. while they live they are healthy, very healthy, they are punished, mr. speaker, and i don't understand t they are punished by the president's health care law. that's why i'm proud to be an original co-sponsor of keep your health plan act. to move the -- remove the barriers preventing hardworking americans from keeping their health care plans under obamacare. we need to pass this bill so we can give the american people the peace of mind they deserve. thank you, mr. speaker. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from california. mr. waxman: mr. speaker, we

continue to reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california reserves. the gentleman from michigan is recognized. mr. upton: mr. speaker, at this point i would yield one minute to the gentleman from nebraska, mr. terry, member of the energy and commerce committee. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from nebraska is recognized for one minute. mr. terry: mr. speaker, this is really about trust. and people like andrea from omaha feels like that trust has been violated. it's been broken. she was told that she could keep her policy, but then she received her letter saying that you cannot keep your policy. now a working mom with two young children, her family's remium has risen from -- to -- $770 it from $450 per quarter. her responsibility for co-insurance is now 50%, up from what it was before at 15%. her out-of-pocket costs rose to over $2,000. and she's paying more for less

now. this isn't a better policy as we have been told. it takes a big chunk of their family budget. unfortunately under obamacare she can't keep her plan, she gets more with less. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from california continues to reserve. mr. waxman: we'll continue to reserve our time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from michigan is recognized. mr. upton: mr. speaker, i yield one minute to the gentleman from kentucky, mr. guthrie. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from kentucky is recognized for one minute. mr. guthrie: i rise today in support of this legislation allowing individuals to keep their plans through 2014. yesterday my colleagues and i shared powerful stories of many of our constituents who have experienced cancellations and massive rate increases due to obamacare. in addition to these individuals i have many more stories of kentuckians seeing their plans canceled due to obamacare. most recently sylvia wrote to me her coverage was canceled and she so far has been unable

to get insurance. h.r. 3350 will allow insurance companies to continue offering 2013 plans, which would benefit the millions of americans who have seen their current plans canceled. the american people were told repeatedly if they like their plan they could keep it. house republicans today are trying to honor that promise. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. mr. waxman: we continue to reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california reserves. the gentleman from michigan is recognized. mr. upton: mr. speaker, at this point i'd like to yield one minute to the gentleman from tennessee. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from tennessee is recognized. mr. upton: dr. row. the speaker pro tempore: gentleman from tennessee is recognized for one minute. mr. roe: i rise in support of the keep grur health care plan act. this bill is important for many people in my district, including jo ann. jo ann lives in limestone,town tfpblet because policy doesn't meet the minimum requirements set by obamacare, she's been forced to buy more expensive health care plan. her premiums will rise from about $95 a month to $200 a

month. she felt $95 was affordable, $200 not. despite promises of more affordable health care this law is making insurance unattainable for many across my home state. blue cross and blue shield of tennessee is our state's largest insurer and it's announced it will be forced to send 66,000 cancellation notices to my fellow tennesseans because of obamacare. the medicaid business plan called covered tennessee, another 60,000 loose their care. it's well past time for president obama to work with members of congress to provide relief to the families hurting because of this law. i urge my colleagues to support the keep your health care plan act and yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from california. continues to reserve. the gentleman from michigan. mr. upton: how much time each side has. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from michigan has seven minutes remaining. the gentleman from california 3 1/2 minutes remaining. mr. upton: at this point i yield one minute to the gentleman from north carolina,

mr. meadows. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from north carolina is recognized for one minute. mr. meadows: thank you, mr. speaker. i rise today in support of h.r. 3350, the keep your health plan act. i'd like to thank chairman upton for bringing this bill forward. despite president obama's reassurances that if you like your health care plan you can keep it, 3.5 million plans have already been canceled because of obamacare. . cynthia told me about her family recently. she and her husband and three boys have a premium that was $300, has now risen to $1,206, mr. speaker. now, the rhetoric from the democrats have said that the republicans are only interested in pushing for a repeal of the health care law rather than fixing it. but this is just not true. so far this congress, republicans have introduced 102 bills designed to fix the broken areas of obamacare. the democrats by contrast a mere

17. republicans are bringing another fix today, mr. speaker, to the house floor. the keep your health care plan allows families across the country like cynthia's to keep their policies without a penalty. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from california. mr. waxman: continue to reserve our time. the speaker pro tempore: continues to reserve. the gentleman from michigan. mr. upton: mr. speaker, i'll yield two minutes to the gentleman from pennsylvania, mr. kelly. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from pennsylvania is recognized for two minutes. mr. kelly: mr. speaker, i rise in strong support of 3350 and thank the gentleman. this is a piece of legislation that protects the people, not a political party, not politicians, not presidents who don't keep promises. this is a letter i got from melissa in pennsylvania. she's a college student paying for her own education. she's working part-time at minimum wage at local grocery store, paying what she calls an 70 per month for her

health care coverage. because of the affordable care act, her hours at the store have already been cut back and now to add insult to injury, she's been notified by the insurance provider that because of obamacare, she will be canceled after another year and that she's going to be forced to choose a plan that costs triple what she's paying now. now, her mom also sent a letter to our office, a letter desperation stating that her insurance provider, the one she's always relied on, has now informed her that she will no longer be covered after november 25. in her letter to our office, melissa write when my daughter or i purchase our own health care in an attempt to be self-sufficient in this country, we're penalized. we're not rewarded. mr. president, just keep your promise. i can't believe for three years we've told people you can keep these policies, you don't have to worry about it, period. you like your doctor, you can your doctor, period.

and now we find out that it was all just talk. and that's what this country's fed up with. they're tired of the talk that comes out of washington, they want to have people start representing them, that's what we're here to do. both sides of the aisle, ladies and gentlemen, both sides of the aisle. it's time to stop the spin. i really feel sorry for the people that sit in the gallery here who need to put seatbelts in, this room spins so fast sometimes it's hard for them to walk straight had they walk out of here. but i'll tell you what, our party will continue to commit ourselves to doing what's right for the american people. with that i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from pennsylvania yields back. members are reminded to direct their remarks to the chair. the gentleman from california. mr. waxman: we continue to reserve our time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from michigan. mr. upton: parliamentary inquiry. may i ask the gentleman from california how many speakers you have left? mr. waxman: we have two speakers. mr. upton: two speakers. we just have two speakers as well. myself and mrs. ellmers. mr. speaker, i'll yield two minutes to the gentlelady from north carolina. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from north carolina is recognized for two minutes. mrs. ellmers: thank you, mr. speaker. i rise today to -- in support of h.r. 3350, to keep your health

care plan act of 2013. you know, as my colleagues across the aisle have pointed out, over and over and over again, the a.c.a. is law. but it cannot simply be undone by the white house and it does call on us in the congress to do so. you know, mr. speaker, we women in this country make 80% of the health care decisions and women in this country have now been told by the president and our democrat colleagues that the health care choices that they've made to cover their families are not adequate. in fact, they're being called subpar. and they're trying to intervene. they're trying to keep the women in this country from providing that good, sound health care coverage for their families. that is why we are voting on this bill today, mr. speaker. we're voting on it because these are good decisions that have been made by the american people, they're good decisions that have been made by the moms

across this country for their families. and we need to do everything we can to protect that. so i call on my colleagues to vote yes on h.r. 3350, so that women in this country can continue to do the good job they're doing for their families and provide good health care coverage. thank you, mr. speaker, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back the balance of her time. the gentleman from california is recognized. mr. waxman: mr. speaker, i yield a minute to the democratic leader, the gentlelady from california, ms. pelosi. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from california is recognized for one minute. ms. pelosi: thank you, mr. speaker. i thank the gentleman for yielding. and i commend him for his great leadership, in helping to pass the affordable care act. honoring the vows of our founders for liberty, the freedom to pursue their happiness. life, liberty and pursuit of happiness.

healthier life, freedom to pursue that happiness. you know, it's a funny thing when people talk about washington, d.c., and how people don't get along well. we disagree. we have major disagreements on policy. and one of them is whether health care is a right for all in our country or a privilege for the few. and -- but it doesn't take away from the fact that we are people and we serve in this institution and we have some areas of agreement one day and the collide scope changes the next day. to the point where people are always surprised when i say to them, i pray for the congress every day and on sundays especially, i pray for our colleagues, our republican colleagues, as well as our democratic colleagues, as well as the president of the united states, barack obama, or george w. bush, or whoever he may be, because the success of the president and the success of all of us is the success for the american people. if we can work together to find common ground for the public good.

and when i pray for all of us, i pray -- i have wishes for us. i wish that -- i wish that my republican colleagues could see how successful the affordable care act is in california. i wish you could hear the stories of family after family after family being liberated, freed from the constraint, a job loss because a family has a pre-existing condition, so now they can follow their passion, not be chained by a policy, follow their passion to be self-employed, to start a business or to change jobs. i wish you could hear all of these stories, i wish you would not close your mind to them, because this initiative has been transformative. and i would have hoped that whatever had been proposed would be to strengthen or improve it all have the humility to

know that any bill, whatever our pride of involvement in it is, can be improved. so that is why it's particularly disappointing to come to the floor today to see a bill that says to the affordable care act and all of these people with all of their stories, we are going to unravel this. we are going to unravel all of the good things, whether it's pre-existing conditions, ending that discrimination, whether it's lifetime limits, whether it's annual limits, whether it's being a woman, whether it's for seniors or four kids, 18 to 26 years old, or for little children, even now before the bill is fully enacted. i wish , and pray and that our colleagues could see the evidence and that the decisions would be evidence-based rather than politically motivated. i think it's really important what this congress does today. each member has to make his or her own decision. this body, is that our words weigh a ton and our votes are even weightier than

that. i hope the message that comes out of this congress is, there's a discussion going on, but there's a values decision that has been made in favor of the american people. that if we have to thread a needle to get a result, let's do that. but let's not unravel the whole sweater, because that would be -- not be a comfort to the american people. so, let's act to strengthen, not weaken, let's vote no on the upton bill. thank you, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back the balance of her time. the gentleman from michigan is recognized. mr. upton: mr. speaker, we have just the close. so, we'll reserve our time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from michigan reserves. the gentleman from california is recognized. mr. waxman: mr. speaker, at this time i yield to the very distinguished member of the energy and commerce committee, the gentleman from pennsylvania, mr. doyle, the balance of our time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from pennsylvania is recognized for 2 1/2 minutes.

mr. doyle: thank you, mr. speaker. let's think about where america was prior to the enactment of the affordable care act. 30 million, 40 million of our citizens without insurance. people with pre-existing conditions either couldn't get insurance or had to pay so much they couldn't afford their insurance. women being charged twice as much as men. people that had insurance had annual and lifetime caps. did you ever wonder when you see families holding fundraisers to raise money for their kids' drugs so that a kid has a cancer and they're trying to raise money. these were people who had insurance and come up against annual caps or lifetime caps and the insurance company didn't pay anymore. half the families in america filing bankruptcy. people with insurance up against caps, no more payments, families losing everything. we put an end to that with the affordable care act. and how did we do that? we come up with a private system

that required everybody to participate. young and old, rich and poor, healthy and sick. because when you put everybody in that risk pool, healthy people help us enable -- help us, enable the insurance industry to keep rates at an affordable way for people who have pre-existing conditions and chronic diseases. that's how the system works. what my colleague, mr. upton, is proposing today unravels that system. make no mistake about it, if we continue to allow private insurance companies to sell policies that discriminate against women, that set annual caps and lifetime caps, if we continue to allow all of those practices that every american, 80%, 90% of americans said they want in their health care system, then that risk pool goes away. then rates go sky-high and you will have raised premiums for

every american in this country. now, i would say to my colleagues, we want to fix -- there are unfor foreseen circumstances we knew whoo -- there are unforeseen circumstances we knew whoo women up in this bill. i told micah cuss, if the president doesn't come -- i told my caucus, if our president doesn't come up with a fix, if our leadership doesn't have an alternative to this, maybe many of us would consider voting for the upton bill. but the good news is the president has responded, we will have a motion to recommit today that responds and i want to make it clear, there's nothing in the upton bill that mandates insurance companies to do this. this is a shell bill. in the end, just let me say, my friends should have some credibility. you introduced 102 bills, you never put one of them on the floor for a vote. so don't pretend that you care about the american people's health care here, you're just trying to repeal the affordable care act. democrats are not going to let you do that. the speaker pro tempore: the

gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman's time has expired. members are reminded to address their remarks to the chair and not to other members of the body. the gentleman from michigan is recognized. mr. upton: may i inquire how much time we have remaining? the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from michigan has 2 1/2 minutes remaining. mr. upton: i yield myself the balance of the time. i just say to my friend from pennsylvania, we would have liked to have had some amendments when the affordable care act passed and the rule denied us any amendments. so why are we here? why are we here this afternoon? you know, most observers of the legislative process would say that the president's health care act would never have passed back in 2010 without the assurance that the president gave, even many times this year, that you could keep your health care if you liked it. if you liked it you didn't have to do anything, period. i don't think it would have passed in this chamber or in the senate without that promise that the president gave. then millions of americans in

the last couple of months have gotten mail and in that mail it's cancellation notices. and they're seeing their rates go up 200%, 300%, even 400%. deductibles going up in the thousands of dollars. and people coming to us all last week when we were home for our veterans events and parades and all the things that we did, bringing those letters to us and saying, hey, what's going on? i thought i could keep this. and you know, until yesterday, yesterday afternoon, when it looked like we were going to get as many as 300 votes, including perhaps mr. doyle's and others, when it looked like we were going to get 300 votes for a bill that we introduced only a week and a half ago, all of a sudden the president felt that he needed to act. it wasn't until this bill that he came to the mike and said, you know what? i made a mistake, i'm sorry,

maybe this thing will fix it. but until then he was going to sit on his handles and just watch us, watch millions of americans literally -- literally watch their health care, watch maybe their economic lives just go over the cliff. he was prepared to do that until we showed that we had some bipartisan zip around here to ry and in fact enforce, make whole his promise that he has said over and over and over again. that's what this bill does. read it. it's not too long. a couple of sentences long. . i demepped our leadership for bringing this bill to the floor. man, five or six days from when it was introduced, that's pretty good. more importantly it got a wake-up call from someone down the street on pennsylvania avenue saying something's wrong.

let's restore what we might have said. i yield back my time and urge my colleagues to vote yes on the bill. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. all time for debate has expired. pursuant to house resolution 413, the previous question is ordered on the bill. the question is on engrossment and third reading of the bill. so many as are in favor say aye. those opposed, no. the ayes have it. third reading. the clerk: a bill to authorize health insurance insurers to continue to offer for sale current individual health insurance coverage in satisfaction of the minimum essential health insurance coverage requirement, and for other purposes. >> mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from michigan. for what purpose does the gentleman from new jersey seek recognition? >> i've motion to recommit at the desk. the speaker pro tempore: is the gentleman opposed to the bill? mr. andrews: i am opposeded to bill. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman qualifies. the clerk will report the motion. the clerk will suspend. for what purpose does the gentleman from michigan rise? mr. upton: now i reserve the

point of order. the speaker pro tempore: the point of order from the gentleman from michigan has been reserved. the clerk will continue. the clerk: the mr. andrews of new jersey moves to recommit the bill h.r. 3350 to the committee on energy and commerce with instructions to report the same back to the house forth with with the following amendment. strike all after the enacting clause and insert the following, section 1, short title. this act may be cited as the consumer health plan protection act of 2013. mr. andrews: i ask unanimous consent to dispense with the reading. mr. upton: objection. like to hear it. the speaker pro tempore: there is objection. the clerk will continue. the clerk: section 2, maintaining existing coverage, a, in general notwithstanding any provision of the patient protection and affordable care act, including any amendment made by such act or by the health care and education reconciliation act of 2010, in the case of health insurance coverage offered by a health insurance issuer in the individual market that is in effect for an individual as of october 1, 2013, the issuer may

continue such coverage for such individual for a blan year beginning in 2014 in such market outside of an exchange established under section 1311 r 1321 of such act, 42 u.s.c., 18031, 18041. b, treatment is grand fathered health plan and satisfaction of minimum essential coverage. health insurance coverage described in subsection a should be treated as a grandfathered health plan for purposes of the amendment made by section 1501-b of the patient protection and affordable care act. c, notice -- mr. upton: mr. speaker, we will dispense with the reading of the bill. the speaker pro tempore: is there objection? there is no objection. clerk will suspend. the gentleman from new jersey is recognized for five minutes in support of his motion. mr. andrews: i ask unanimous

consent to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. andrews: mr. speaker, my colleagues, we have listened to the many stories told by people this morning with great empathy about people who got cancellation notice and want to keep the policy that they have. the issue before the house is whether we want to soft problem or create another problem. that's the issue. if we want to work together as we should to solve the problem of americans receiving cancellation notices and not being able to keep policies that they have, it requires us to do three things. first, we have to legally authorize insurance companies to offer these policies on into the future. the democratic plan, which i had proposed, does that. and, frankly, so does mr. upton's bill. the second thing that we have to do, though, is make sure that the insurance companies

offer the plans for sale. it really does you no good at all if you have the right to buy a plan that the insurance company refuses to sell. mr. upton's bill is mute on that point. it might be called the insurance company's bill of rights. because they have the right to do or not do anything they choose. but the people that we all say that we want to protect really have no rights at all. this is an important distinguishing point in the plan that i'm offering now and i urge everyone to support. we have drawn from language offered by my friend from illinois, ms. schakowsky, which requires state insurance commissioners around this country to be vigilant protectors of consumers rather than corporate apologists for insurance companies. our plan says that if someone's

cancellation was arbitrary and thoughtless and unfair, the insurance commissioner must act and protect the people that we heard read in those letters today. our plan says that if rate increases are discriminatory, if you got a rate increase because you're a woman who was pregnant, or you got a rate increase because you had skin cancer or breast cancer or diabetes, that the insurance company, the insurance commissioner, rather, must act and protect the consumer against that indignity. it does you no good that this bill is called the keep your insurance if you want to bill. it should be called the keep your insurance if you want to and the insurance company allows you to bill. we are correcting that wrong and rendering that wrong with our plan. thirdly, it doesn't do any good

to give people the chance to renew their plans if that renewal results in a huge premium increase for everyone else in the country. that is what the underlying bill does. the underlying bill says that these plans, which i would really equate to selling an automobile with no air bags and no seat belts. our plan says, look, if you want to keep driving car with no air bags or seat belts, you can keep driving, but people can't sell a car with no air bags and no seat belts to a new consumer. which is what the underlying bill permits. when that happens here's what's going to happen. people in the new state marketplaces are going to see a huge increase in their premiums. people who get covered at work are going to see a huge increase in their premiums. it's going to spill over to medigap policies for seniors

and people on medicare. the bill really should be called the guaranteed premium increase act of 2013, because that's what it is. our bill corrects that by saying, let's help the people we say we want to try to help. people who like their plan and want to keep it. not everyone that the insurance company could dupe or lure into buying a car with no air bag and no seat belts. and finally, working together means not forgetting about some other people who write letters. we haven't heard much about today. the family mr. doyle talked about whose daughter has cancer, who has an insurance policy but has to have a beef and beer or golf tournament to raise money to pay their bills. i want to help that person and not repeal the affordable care act. how about the woman who had breast cancer 10 years ago and can now be told we are sorry, you can't buy an insurance policy. you got to pay more if you do. i want to help her by banning

discrimination based on pre-existing conditions. if we really want to work together, let's adopt this plan. let's really help the people we are trying to help and not the insurance industry of the united states of america. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from michigan seek recognition? mr. upton: mr. speaker, i must regret that i do insist on the point of order. in my opinion the pending amendment violates clause 7 of rule 16 of the rules of the house which requires that an amendment be germane to the matter it is amending. it is not germane to the bill because section 3 imposes a mandate on state insurance commissioners and section 4 amends the public health service act which is, in fact, beyond the scope of the base text. the speaker pro tempore: does anyone else wish to speak to the point of order? the gentleman from new jersey. mr. andrews: mr. speaker, my understanding is my friend, the chairman's objection, is based on the principle of

germaneness. the underlying bill by its very title purports to protect americans who have received a cancellation notice for a policy that they want to keep. there's a disagreement here over how to protect those americans. the underlying bill does not have requirements that state insurance commissioners act to protect those individuals. our plan does. our plan does. now, this is a disagreement over the means to protect american consumers. the underlying bill says we'll trust the insurance industry. our bill says, no. we'll enforce the insurance laws. i would respectfully submit this does not rise to a difference in germaneness. this is a difference of opinion. the bill on the floor purports to protect the americans i talked about. we think it doesn't. our plan does protect those americans in a different way. the underlying subject matter of this bill is how do you

protect americans who wish to keep the insurance plan that they have? we believe we have a more effective way of doing that. the majority disagrees. the house deserves a vote on that. no tent -- technicality, no procedural nicity should deny us the chance to take a vote on whose plan is right. we should proceed with this vote. the speaker pro tempore: does anyone else wish to speak to the point of order? seeing none, the chair is prepared to rule. the gentleman from michigan makes a point of order that the instructions proposed in the motion to recommit offered by the gentleman from new jersey are not germane. clause 7 of rule 16, the germaneness rule, provides that no proposition on a subject different from that under consideration shall be admitted under cover of amendment. the bill permits health insurance issuers that offer health insurance coverage in the individual market on january 1, 2013, to continue to make such coverage available for sale during 2014. the amendment proposed in the motion to recommit in pertinent part requires state ensures

commissioners to examine notices of health insurance cancellations or conversions. it also addresses the regulation of health insurance rates. specifically the amendment delineates what would constitute inadequate notice of cancellation or conversions of health insurance coverage and directs state insurance commissioners to investigate such cases of inadequate notice. additionally, it permits the secretary of health and human services or the relevant state insurance regulator to take corrective actions if health insurance rates are determined to be excessive, unjustified, or discriminatory. such corrective action may include assessment of penalties. the bill does not address any of those subject matters. instead it is confined to the subject matter of extending into 2014 the authority to offer health insurance coverage that was for sale on the individual market in 2013. the chair therefore finds that the amendment proposed in the motion to recommit goes beyond the subject matter of the underlying bill. it is therefore not germane. the point of order is sustained. the gentleman from new jersey. mr. andrews: i respectfully appeal the ruling of the chair. the speaker pro tempore: the question is shall the decision of the chair stand as the

judgment of the house. for what purpose does the gentleman from -- mr. upton: i move to table the ruling of the chair. the speaker pro tempore: the question is on the motion to table. so many as are in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. mr. andrews: on that i demand the yeas and nays. the speaker pro tempore: the yeas and nays are requested. those favoring a vote by the yeas and nays will rise. a sufficient number having arisen, the yeas and nays are ordered. members will record their votes by electronic device. pursuant to clause 9 of rule 20, this 15-minute vote on the motion to laid upon the table will be followed by five-minute vote on pass afpblgt bill if arising without further proceedings in recommittal. this is a 15-minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.]

>> democrats are going to put of their own alternative: very similar to what the president laid out.

how is this bill different than what the president said? people who allow were on those health care plans and had been canceled to sign up for them again if the insurance companies offered it. that would undermine the exchanges in the affordable care act, unraveling the law. support do you expect upton is going to get from house democrats? >> democrats are not very happy that the administration has .topped the rollout we can expect a few dozen democrats to defect out of their own political needs and partially to send a message

about how unhappy they are. the fact that the democrats are offering their own alternative in the form of a motion to recommit my keep the number of defections down, it gives the democrats considering voting for the upton bill and alternative.

the speaker pro tempore: the eas are 186.

the speaker pro tempore: on this vote the yeas are 229. the nays are 191. the motion to table is adopted. without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid upon the table. for what purpose does the gentleman from new jersey seek recognition? mr. andrews: i have a motion at the desk. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the motion. the clerk: mr. andrews of new jersey moves to recommit the bill h.r. 3350 to the committee on energy and commerce with instructions to report the same back to the house forthwith

with the following amendment. mr. upton: i reserve a point of order. the speaker pro tempore: point of order is reserved by the gentleman from michigan. the clerk will continue. the clerk: strike all after the enacting clause and insert the following, shecks one, short title, this act may be cited as the consumer health plan protection act of 2013. section 2, maintaining existing coverage. a, in general, notwithstanding any provision of the patient protection and affordable care act, including any amendment made by such act or by the health care and education reconciliation act of 2010, in the case of health insurance coverage offered by health insurance issuer, in the individual market, that is in effect for an individual as of october 1, 2013, the issuer may continue such coverage for such individual for a plan year beginning in 2014, and market outside of an exchange established under section 1311

or 1321 of such act, 42 u.s.c. 180-31 and 108-41. b, treatment as grand fathered the seachings of minimum essential coverage. health insurance coverage described in subsection a shall be treated as grand fathered health plan for purposes of the amendment made by section 1501-d of the patient protection and affordable care act. c, notice, as a condition for a health insurance issuer to continue health insurance coverage under subsection a, the issuer shall provide for notice to the individual to be offered such continued coverage, and for other individuals covered under health insurance coverage offered by such issuer, for such continued coverage if not offered. notice of the following, one, the health insurance coverage options available to the individual through the marketplace under the patient protection and affordable care act to exercise such option.

two, the premium and cost sharing assistance available for coverage obtained through uch marketplace. the speaker pro tempore: the house will come to order. he house will come to order. the clerk may continue. the clerk: two, the premium and cost sharing assistance available for coverage of paying through such marketplace. three, the consumer protections provided under section act that are not provided under the continuing health insurance coverage. d, construction regarding notices of cancellation or conversion. one, in general, nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent the secretary of health and human services from requiring state ensures commissioners, a, to

investigate and take appropriate administrative or other action such as the imposition of a fine in cases of inadequate notices of cancellations or convergence of health insurance coverage in the individual market that take effect on or after january 1, 2014, and b, to submit to the secretary a report from the investigations of the actions so taken. two, inadequate notice. in the subsection a notice of the cancellation or conversion of individual health insurance coverage shall be treated as inadequate if the notice, a, fails to contain information contained in subsection b, b, fails to be transparent by inappropriately steering individuals to more expensive plans provided by the canceling issuer or c, or else otherwise comply with requirements of law. e, construction regarding protection against discriminatory rates. nothing in this section shall be construed as preventing the

secretary or the relevant state insurance commissioner or state regulator from taking corrective action to ensure that any excessive, unjustified, or unfairly discriminatory reach for the continued coverage under subsection a are corrected by renewal. f, construction regarding premium protection. nothing in this section shall be construed as preventing the secretary from using all available two full to ensure that marketplace premiums are not adversely affected by the operation of this section. the speaker pro tempore: the house will come to order. members will please take their conversations off the house floor. the gentleman from new jersey is recognized for five minutes in support of his motion. mr. andrews: i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. andrews: thank you, mr. speaker.

thank you, mr. speaker. thank you, colleagues. we come here as stewards of a very sacred trust to look after the people that are the backbone of this country. and we are having this debate this afternoon because we have all heard from men and women across this country who are very upset that an insurance policy they want to keep has been canceled. and -- mr. speaker, the house is not in order. the speaker pro tempore: the ouse will come to order. the gentleman from new jersey. mr. andrews: thank you. these constituents are very upset and very troubled and we are brought here to work together and figure out a solution to that problem.

what's the solution? first of all they ought to have the ability to have their insurance company offer them the policy for sale. frankly, the underlying bill does that and so does the plan that i'm presenting. but second, there ought to be some way that the insurance companies are given some incentive at the very least, direction, to sell the policy. and this plan has some measures which make it nor likely that insurance companies will do that. thirdly, to solve that person's problem, we have to make sure that in solving their problem we're not creating another one. that by permitting these policies to be sold for another year, which this does, that we're not spiking the premiums of people in the exchange marketplaces or people who get their insurance through work. mr. speaker, the house is not in order. the speaker pro tempore: the ouse will come to order.

the gentleman from new jersey may continue. mr. andrews: i've heard a number of members say they want a chance for us to work together to solve this problem. here's that chance, because this plan does the three things that i just talked about. but this plan, i think, is different than the underlying bill because this is not a step to unravel the affordable care act. it is a step to improve it, and that's the fundamental question. because there are some other people whose stories should be told this afternoon too. there's a family this weekend that's having a social to raise money to pay the medical bills for their son or daughter that has cancer because the insurance policy they thought they had stopped paying their son or daughter's bills. their voices should be heard. if you repeal the affordable care act, their voice is silenced. there are women in this country who go to try to start a business and they try to buy an insurance policy and they're

told, we won't sell you one because you had children, you're a female, you had breast cancer 10 years ago. if you repeal the affordable care act, her voice is silenced. > the house is not in order. the speaker pro tempore: the house will come to order. the gentleman may continue. mr. andrews: mr. speaker, there e sons and daughters who are 22, 23 years old who didn't have health insurance before because they couldn't get that first full-time job who now has health insurance because they are on their mom's or dad's policies. if you repeal the affordable care act, their voice will be silenced. there are senior citizens who used to run out of drug coverage, prescription coverage around labor day because the medicare doughnut hole popped up and because of the affordable care act, they are now able to buy their

prescriptions at -- >> the house is not in order. mr. andrews: thank you, mr. shimkus. the speaker pro tempore: the house will come to order. mr. andrews: i obviously am having an effect on mr. shimkus and i appreciate that. they are now able to pay their prescription bill till the end of the year. if you repeal the affordable care act, their voice is silenced. we come here this afternoon to solve the problem of americans who want to keep their coverage but have had it canceled. we want to work together to solve that problem. that's what this plan does. but when we look at women being turned away because of pre-existing condition, we will not be silenced. when we look at 22-year-olds who will lose their coverage if you repeal the affordable care act, we will not be silenced. when you look at seniors who will lose their ability to pay their prescription drugs, if you repeal the a.c.a., we will not be silenced. we are here to solve problems,

not create them. if you want to work together in a way that improves this law, we are your able and willing .artner we will stand, we will speak, we will fight and we will pose every such effort. vote yes for this motion and no n the underlying bill. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from michigan seek recognition? mr. upton: mr. speaker, i claim time in opposition to the motion to recommit. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for five minutes. mr. upton: and i withdraw our motion -- the reserve -- the speaker pro tempore: reservation is withdrawn. r. upton: correct. mr. speaker, the debate today on whether to support this bill comes to a very simple question. why not? if millions of americans want the choice of keeping the

insurance that they have, why not? if you believe congress acting together, not the president working unilaterally, should help people who have lost their coverage, why not? and if you believe that ordinary americans, not the federal government, should decide what their insurance plan looks like, why not? we have a chance today to provide hope to millions of americans who got that cancellation notice, hope that they can keep the insurance that they like, hope that they're going to have even more choices and hope that that, not the federal government, can pick what their insurance plans actually looks like. so let me be clear. our bill, h.r. 3350, does not fix obamacare. the president's health care bill. it's only an attempt to help people harmed by this law. but if we can provide some relief to people from this

disaster, why not? so let's defeat the motion to recommit and pass the underlying bill. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the previous question is ordered on the motion to recommit. the question is on the motion. all those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. the noes have it. the motion is not agreed to. mr. andrews: mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new jersey. mr. andrews: i demand the yeas and nays. the speaker pro tempore: those favoring a vote by the yeas and nays will rise. a sufficient number having arisen, the yeas and nays are ordered. members will record their votes by electronic device. this will be a five-minute vote. pursuant to clause 9 of rule 20, the chair will reduce to five minutes the minimum time for any electronic vote on the question of passage. this is a five-minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.]

the speaker pro tempore: on this vote the yeas are 187. the nays are 230. the motion is not adopted. the question is on passage. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. the resolution is adopted. the gentleman from california. mr. waxman: i demand a recorded vote. the speaker pro tempore: a recorded vote is requested. those favoring a recorded vote will rise. a sufficient number having

arisen, a recorded vote is ordered. members will record their votes by electronic device. this will be a five-minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.]

the speaker pro tempore: on this vote the yeas are 261. the nays are 157.

the bill is passed. without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid upon the table. pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20rk the unfinished business is the question on agreeing to the speaker's approval of the journal which the chair will put de novo. the question is on agreeing to the speaker's approval of the jurem. so many as are in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. the journal stands approved.

the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from maryland sook redskin nation? mr. hoyer: thank you, madam speaker. i ask unanimous consent to speak out of order for one minute for the purposes of inquiring of the majority leader the schedule for the week to come. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized. mr. hoyer: thank you, madam speaker. i yield to my friend, mr. cantor, the gentleman from virginia, the majority leader. mr. cantor: madam speaker, i thank the gentleman from maryland, the democratic whip for yielding. on monday the house will meet at noon for morning hour -- mr. hoyer: madam speaker, the house is not in order. the speaker pro tempore: will the house come to order, please. mr. hoyer: thank you. mr. cantor: mr. speaker, on monday the house will meet at noon for morning hour and 2:00 p.m. for legislative business. votes will be postponed until 6:30 p.m. on tuesday and wednesday the house will meet at 10:00 a.m. for morning hour, and noon for legislative business.

on thursday, the house will meet at 9:00 a.m. for legislative business. last votes of the week are expected no later than 3:00 p.m. on friday, no votes are expected. madam speaker, the house will consider a few suspensions next week a. complete list of which will be announced by close of business today. in addition, the house will consider three bills to increase domestic energy production, create american middle class jobs, and lower the cost of energy for our families. these bills are h.r. 2728, the protecting states rights to promote american energy security act sponsored by representative bill flores. h.r. 1965, the fellow lands jobs and energy security act authored by representative doug lamborn. and h.r. 1900, the natural gas pipeline permitting reform act sponsored by mike pompeo. together these bills represent our continued commitment to

energy independence and putting more money in the pockets of working middle class families. with that, madam speaker, i yield back. mr. hoyer: i thank the gentleman for that information. i think as the majority leader knows probably as well as any of us, maybe better than most of us, we have four legislative days left in november. and eight scheduled legislative days in december, assuming we do get out on the 13th, which is i understand the last day we are scheduled to be in session this year. having said that, there are a number of pressing items to address. as the majority leader knows, the unemployment protections -- insurance protections for folks expires on december 31. actually i think it's december 28. the permanent s.g.r. fix expires -- excuse me the s.g.r. december expire on

31, and if we do not do something with respect to them, there will be a substantial increase -- decrease in the reimbursement to doctors serving medicare patients. i know that the majority leader has and we have people who are willing to work together to address these issues, but knowing that there is usually uncertainty at the end of the session, i would ask the gentleman if he can give members a sense of scheduling for the coming month, that is december. i yield to my friend. mr. cantor: madam speaker, i thank the gentleman. i would say to the gentleman we certainly had three conference reports. we are looking at hopefully completing with the senate. one is the wrrda conference report that we voted on the house this week to go to conference. the other is the farm bill conference report, as well as the ndaa, the national defense

authorization act. i would say to the gentleman, madam speaker, those are certainly the conference reports we'd like to see resolved so we can have a vote in the house. the gentleman correctly points out that the sustainable growth rate formula an its program expires at the end of the year. certainly our committees are at work trying to see a way forward as well as trying to seek out the proper budgetary plan rs necessary for the that's been put forward by energy and commerce as well as the committee on ways and means. i know there's been some bicameral discussions on that as well and hopeful we can resolve that. . knowing that we have to act by the end of the year. i point out to the gentleman that there is considerable work being done on the issue of patent reform and hope that that comes to the floor prior

to the end of the year. and obviously the larger item having to due with the budget committee conference, headed up by chairman paul ryan, and in the body, senator patty murray, and look forward to resolution there. certainly the intention, madam speaker. with that i yield back. mr. hoyer: i thank the majority leader for that information. i'm pleased that he added to the wrda farm bill, ndaa and the patent reform issues, the budget conference. my view, as the majority leader probably knows, that the important thing we can do for our economy is to get our country on a fiscally sustainible long-term path. account majority leader give us some information on the status of the budget conference, certainly from a public perception? it appears not much progress has been made, which is

worrisome, given that the targeted reporting is the -- the legislative directive is to report by the 13th. as mr. ryan has pointed out, perhaps unfortunately so, there are no consequences of that not occurring. i had urged myself, as the majority leader may know, that the report out by friday of next week, the 22nd of next week or thursday of next week, o that we could have the conference report on the week we come back in december after thanksgiving, can the gentleman give us any idea where he thinks the proceedings of the conference committee on the budget stand, and i yield to my friend? mr. cantor: thank you, madam speaker. i thank the gentleman for yielding and would say that the gentleman's correct. certainly the sooner the better as far as i'm concerned about

any resolution on the budget committee conference. i know that the gentleman has spoken to chairman ryan as well as the other body's chairman. in speaking to chairman ryan, he tells me that there has been a lot of discussion, not only public discussions in meetings but certainly his meeting with the chairman from the senate in trying to find a way forward. as the gentleman knows, the issue that's central to these discussions is not unlike the issue that's been under discussion for sometime here and that is, how do we go about seeking reform of some of the mandatory programs and in trying to reach resolution there in exchange for a commensurate relief on the across-the-board budget cuts that are currently in place. i don't know, madam speaker, whether they're going to meet the deadline next week or not,

that the gentleman says will be preferable. i know that our chairman is very mindful that the quicker the better so we can get on about our work in the house. i yield back. mr. hoyer: i thank the gentleman. he mentions the sequester. of course, everyone that has spoken about the sequester, including myself, the majority leader and mr. ryan have indicated that the sequester is not the way to reduce spending. it is a meat ax approach which is having very adverse consequences, both to our national security instruct ureks and i think almost everyone -- security structure, and i think almost everyone in the joint chiefs have made that point. on the domestic discretionary side, the sequester doesn't work and the proof of that, of course, is we haven't considered any of those bills on the floor and the one we did we pulled, the transportation-h.u.d. bill.

so i'm hopeful -- and i know mr. rogers and is and senator mikulski, chairs of the appropriations committee, hoped they'd get a number early on. that's why the 22nd would have been a preferable date so that is a day we can mark bills. obviously if there is no agreement on the 302-a, as the gentleman knows, very difficult to try to bring those bills together in a conference because they're so far apart. so i'm very hopeful that the majority leader will use his good offices to urge resolution of the budget conference differences and a report out as soon as possible so that we can get to that process. the gentleman, i'm sure, shares my view that the shutting down of government is extraordinarily disruptive, both to the general public and to those who work for the federal government. so that it would be incumbent upon us, i think, to try to get out of this gridlock on the

budget process that we've been in. so i would urge him to exercise whatever -- and he has substantial influence to try to get us to a resolution of this issue. i will tell him i will do the same. another issue which you did not mention, mr. leader, is immigration. as you know, this issue passed very handedly through the united states senate on a vote of 68-32, and i'm very hopeful that we could move this legislation. we, i think -- i think the senate bill or a variation of the senate bill would pass. we've introduced an alternative with which we have republican co-sponsorship, as the gentleman knows, h.r. 15, which is a comprehensive immigration bill which incorporates the security provision that was adopted unanimously in this

house by the republican-led homeland security committee. so we believe it has bipartisan components to it, and the balance of the bill had bipartisan support in the united states senate. the gentleman knows, you passed a number of bills out of your committees. one of them -- and they were passed, of course, with partisan votes. we do not believe these bills are bills that we would support, but we're wondering whether any of them will be brought to the floor. h.r. 2278, which is to strengthen and for theify the enforcement act, which would allow state and local authorities to enforce immigration laws. that is bad policy but it did come out of the republican-headed committee in the judiciary committee. m wondering whether that might be brought to the floor, mr. leader. i yield to my friend.

mr. cantor: mr. speaker, i'd say to the gentleman, i think he does know, we've had the discussion before, about the majority's position on the senate bill. we don't support the senate bill and the speaker, i think, spoke out on that this week. our members don't support the senate bill. we've said all along, chairman goodlatte and his committee are going about a much more deliberate are a tiff -- deliberative process to try to address the problems with the broken immigration system. i do think, i would tell the gentleman, there's consensus on our side of the aisle as well as his that the system is broken and needs to be fixed. certainly there are differences on how to go about doing that, but we remain committed, as does the chairman, in frying to move in a step-by-step -- in trying to move in a step-by-step manner in the various issues involving immigration reform, but not do it the way the senate did, because as we've seen, many of

those who actually voted for the senate bill in the other body have now said me regret that vote or they perhaps would do something differently. i guess it's up to the house to try and address it in a way much more deliberatively to try and fix the problems that exists so we don't see them happen again. and i would say to the gentleman, the house will continue its work, and in any way, as the gentleman knows, the news of this week unfortunately has been many, many americans very unhappy with the work product coming out of this town as far as health care is concerned. i would pause it to the gentleman, a bill like obamacare or a bill like the senate immigration bill produces the kinds of impact and effect that we're seeing this week and last week and the prior. we don't want to commit that same mistake.

we want to be smarter about it. as the gentleman knows, our committees are hard at work in trying to identify how we can help people in their health care right now since they're facing the very real prospects of not having the health care insurance and plan that they like. contrary to the promises that were made, when that comprehensive bill was passed back several years ago. and the same way the senate bill, the immigration bill was passed with not a lot of focus on the detail. we intend to try and focus on the details of immigration reform, try and come together, see if we can actually have some positive reception on the gentleman's side of the aisle, both in this house and the one across the way as well as the white house to actually work together finally to produce a bipartisan outcome that will be satisfactory. cause none of these partisan bills have ended up working.

you see obamacare, case in point. that's why we have the train wreck that is upon us. it was a strictly partisan bill that came out of the congress, house and senate, and look what's happened. so i say to the gentleman, we do care about the immigration issue and want to go about reform in a smart way, and i yield back. mr. hoyer: i thank the gentleman for his comments, madam speaker. i wish that they had been demonstrated on the farm bill and on the homeland security appropriation bill, both of which were reported out of ommittee on a bipartisan basis but was very partisan on the floor of this house. i thought that was unfortunate but that's what happened. but the gentleman, i'd like to repeat my question. the gentleman said he wanted to deal with the immigration bill in a very thoughtful, considered way and he did not support the senate immigration bill. i was not surprised at that response. i know he does not support the immigration bill. the speaker has made that very clear. he does not support it.

and frankly, the majority of republicans have made it clear that they do not support the comprehensive immigration reform bill. however, mr. leader, what i asked you was, are you going to bring h.r. 2278, which presumably passed out of the judiciary committee presumably in a thoughtful, considered, discreet way, that is dealing with individual subjects, which is the strengthen and for theify enforcement act which is to strengthen immigration laws, my question to you, mr. leader, are you going to bring that bill to the floor or any of the other four bills which i'll mention as well to the floor so that presumably you believe those were considered in a thoughtful way, were reported out of your committee, reported out with all of your republican, i believe, voting for it, at least 20 of them voting for it, my question to

you is, are you going to bring that bill to the floor? i yield to my friend. mr. cantor: i'd say to the gentleman, madam speaker, certainly under consideration, timing of when we bring that bill to the floor, and i would then again reiterate that chairman goodlatte is trying to take a holistic approach to the immigration reform issue. the bill that the gentleman mentioned is obviously one of the pieces in trying to figure this out and do so in a way in a we can affect positive result, not just result for result's sake. i direct the gentleman's attention, madam speaker, to what's going on with obamacare right now and how many millions of americans are extremely disappointed in their government and certainly in the representations that were made by the white house and the president so far as that law is concerned. i don't think that we ought to be engaging in those kind of commitments when you can't deliver. so, again, we want to be working together, want to be

deliberative about this process and hopefully we can move forward in a way that is expeditious and thoughtful. i yield back. mr. hoyer: i thank you, the leader. i said i wanted to mention the other bills because we understand, a, you'd like to talk about health care without focusing on anything else. i get that. we have a disagreement. we'll see whether the american people believe making sure that affordable, quality health care is available to all americans is something they're for or whether they're against. we'll see on that. that issue was joined in the last election. that last election didn't have much effect in this body in terms of the issues that were contended in that election. but let me ask you about h.r. 2132, which is supplying knowledge-based immigrants and lifting levels of stem visas act. as the gentleman knows, a lot

of people very interested in this issue. this would eliminate the diversity visa program, transfer 50,000 green cards available in that program to a employers ogram that can use to hire foreign workers with advanced stem degrees, masters degrees, h.t.d.'s,est etc., from universities. it was -- ph.d.'s, etc., from universities. it was passed 20-14 with an overwhelming republican vote, if not unanimous vote. again, the gentleman indicates that we want to consider the immigration issue on a thoughtful, discreet -- that is, as the speaker said, bill by by. is there any expectation that the gentleman has that that bill will be brought to the floor before we adjourn for the year, and i yield to my friend? mr. cantor: madam speaker, i'd say to the gentleman, if he calls in the not-too-distant

past, his side opposed to that bill when it was brought to the floor. have to bring bills to a result. and unfortunately, as the minority opposed stabling green cards to dipalomases on that bill that was brought in the past, we're trying to figure out a way where we can bring something forward, actually get it across the finish line with the other body. so i yield back. mr. hoyer: the majority leader knows and i know he has 218 votes. on his side of the floor. as a matter of fact, he has substantially more than that. if this bill is so good, if the last bill was so good, bring it to the floor and pass it. that's what your speaker says you want to do. you want to pass bills item by item. what is happening is you're passing bills out of committee and they languish there. just as the farm bill to which the gentleman referred in the early part of our discussion languished in the last congress.

and was not reported to the floor. mr. cantor: madam speaker, would the gentleman yield? hoyer highway certainly. mr. cantor: i would just say to the gentleman, the purpose is not just to make sure that, you know, a vote occurs and then nothing happens. the purpose is to pass bills and then allow for the bicameral effort to get a result. that's the frustration. and if the gentleman would also note, on the farm bill we actually have a conference committee ongoing now. and so the reason we employed the process we did was to get in a position that we could actually get a result. not just say we did something and fail to deliver for the people. so i would say to the gentleman again, these bills that he's bringing up all fit into the larger puzzle. we need some indication from the white house and from the majority in the senate that they'll actually work with us, record iven the track that this administration has amassed since 2009, there's not a lot of indication they're

willing to work together. and again i would point to the prospects of that being what's key. because this week is demonstrative of what happens when you just move without bringing everyone teeth. the -- bringing everyone together. the effects of this health care law are going to be lasting on people. they're scared to go to the exchanges, they're worried they're not going to have insurance. this is the impacting result of passing laws by just one body exectsing the other body to just go along. we can't do that now because we are two separate bodies and we need the white house and the senate to cooperate with the majority in the house. i yield back. mr. hoyer: i thank the gentleman for that point. he passed a homeland security bill he knew the senate wasn't for. he passed appropriation bills he knew the senate wasn't for. he passed, madam speaker, the farm bill amendments that he knew were not going to be

supported in the senate. so i'm asking him, madam speaker, we think immigration is a critically important subject. we believe immigration is in fact broken. we have an alternative. he doesn't like our alternative. i understand that. we understand that on this side. perhaps the american people also understand. they don't like our alternative. it passed with 68 votes in the united states senate. he now says people have changed their mind. maybe that's the case. but it passed with 68 votes in the united states senate. they don't like it. madam speaker, i understand that. i get it. they don't like the health care bill. by the way, madam speaker, i'm starting to get that message. pretty thick, takes some time, but on 46 votes to repeal or to undermine, i get it. you don't like that bill. you think it's a bad bill. we have a disagreement on that, mr. leader. however, apparently we don't have a disagreement on the fact that the immigration system in

america is broken. so what i'm asking you, you have passed out of committee, you've passed out of committee the agricultural guest worker program. creates a new temporary worker program. that also passed on a partisan vote. none of these votes were bipartisan. there was no effort to work with the democrats on the committee, to bring a bipartisan bill. unlike mr. lucas or mr. carter who brought bipartisan bills to the floor and saw them turned into partisan pieces of legislation, with the help frankly of the majority party. now, i'm asking you, the agricultural guest worker act, are we going to bring that to the floor? again, a discrete, thoughtful, i'm sure, on your side of the aisle, addressing of a broken program. but if we don't bring it to the floor, we don't consider it, we can never get to conference, which is what the gentleman says he wants to do. i yield to my friend. mr. cantor: madam speaker, i'd say to the gentleman again.

track record of this administration and the majority in the senate has indicated an unwillingness to sit down and talk. they've not done so, certainly the white house has not done so on the immigration issue, did not do so on the health care issue and again it doesn't help the american people for this instistence on my way or the highway kind of mode of operation. and we've gotten the message now. if it's going to be my way or the highway we'll try and do whatever we can to help people, as we did today on the floor. a bipartisan vote. because the gentleman continues to say that we don't like the health care bill, that's true. i think the american people have spoken out pretty loud and clearly over the last 10 days or so, indicated by the white house and the president's move yesterday. obviously the law is not working. right? we don't want to get into another situation like that.

we want to make sure we work together. comprehensively, because there is step-by-step actions that need to be taken. but we need results. we need the white house to sit down and talk to us. we don't need any more speeches, we don't need any more press conferences by the president. we need some actual talk and on the immigration issue they've just not come forward. they've said, my way or the highway. and i'd say to the gentleman, that's not how you work in bipartisan process. the gentleman complains about partisan action on the floor. well, there is an inherent partisanship when you have a majority vs. a minority. is he will of the house reflected on the votes here. well, the senate's controlled by the gentleman's party. so is the white house. so to get any kind of result such as the farm bill, we're going to need a bipartisan

result. he is correct on that. but it doesn't mean that if we pass something in the house it automatically has to be something the senate will support. , so again, i would say to the gentleman -- so, again, i would say to the gentleman, let's all try to work together. i think our side has indicated a willingness to do that. obviously we want toad to go and get these conference -- we want to go and get these conference reports out but we have not seen a willingness on the part of the gentleman's party, this president, to say, we can work together to affect positive immigration reform, not just my way or the highway. i yield back. mr. hoyer: i thank, madam speaker, the gentleman for his observations. i'm somewhat amused, i must say, madam speaker, because there are few people in america who believe it's our party that's my the highway. in america w people who didn't see 198 democrats vote to keep their government working. not my way or the highway. we didn't get what we wanted, we didn't want that number that was passed, 198 democrats, without

exception, voted to keep this government open. 198 democrats voted to pay the bills of the united states of america. it wasn't a question of my way or the highway. it wasn't a question of repeal or i will vote to shut down the government. 147 republicans, madam speaker, voted to keep the government shut down. because they didn't get their way. 147 republicans, including in both instances, the chairman of budget committee, mr. ryan, voted to not pay the bills of the united states of america. 147. and they voted against the majority leader's advice and against the speaker's advice. that's a problem. i agree with that, it's a problem. but no matter how much, madam speaker, the majority leader president and the united states senate that are undermining, in fact the united

states senate has been passing time after time after time bipartisan bills and sent them to the house. where they have languished or been opposed. and finally, finally they were supported. that was true in the violence against women act. it was true on a bill that the speaker -- the majority leader and i were for, madam speaker. and that is for giving sandy relief. he couldn't get more than 25% of his party to support that. all i'm saying is, if immigration is a problem, and we all say it is, and you think it needs to be dealt with in a discrete way and you've passed bills out, why don't you bring them to the floor? h.r. 1772, the legal work force act, makes e-verify immigration status programs for perspective employees mandatory. again, i presume that this is one of mr. goodlatte's thoughtful, considered steps to fix a broken immigration system.

all i'm asking is, now for the fourth time, will you bring one or more of these bills to the floor? we may not be for them, but at least they put, as the gentleman keeps saying, a bill before the house so the house can work its will. and frankly if they're defeated, bent would be income upon us to move in a different direction -- incumbent upon us to move in a different direction. but if they're just sitting there, without consideration of the house, without the ability of the house to work its will, then it continues to cause inaction on a subject that all of us have expressed needs action. if the gentleman wants to respond to that i'll yield. if not i'll go on to another subject. want to go on to another subject? rather than go on to another subject, let me urge the

gentleman, again. because when the gentleman says, let the house work its will, that's a wonderful phrase. hopefully it resonates with the american people. but the house is not allowed to work its will. ultimately, as those bills i've just referenced, we did work our will. because, and we worked our will frankly with mostly a majority of democrats and a minority of republicans joining together to pass critically important legislation for this country. we couldn't get the majority of your party to vote for many of those bills. but i would ask the gentleman, if he really wants the house to work its will and he believes that h.r. 15, the comprehensive immigration bill, is a bad bill, bring it to the floor and see if the house thinks it's a bad bill. see if the house believes that it's a bill that is not worthy

to be considered and passed as a fixing of a broken immigration system. i would urge my friend to bring that bill to the floor. he has the power to bring that bill to the floor. i would urge him to do so. and i yield my friend time. mr. cantor: we don't want a repeat of what's going on now with obamacare. that bill, constructed as it is by the senate, last-minute-ditch effort to get it across the finish line, i think that there is a lot that can be done, a lot better in that bill -- done a lot better in that bill and the gentleman knows that as well. if he doesn't share my opinion then we can agree to disagree on that. and i would just say again, let's be mindful, madam speaker, of what happens when you put together a bill like obamacare and the real consequences to millions of americans right now, scared that they're not going to even have health care insurance that they have today come

january 1. and there are plenty of reasons for that. the mishaps with the websites, the call centers, the stolen identities, all the things that don't seem to be working right now are scaring people out of even considering in a rational way what's going on. because how could they? there is no answers being given. and i would say to the gentleman, largely due to the unfortunate architecture of that bill. and some of which could be blamed on the process by which it was put together. we don't want to make that mistake again. and i would say to the gentleman, i look forward to working with him in a deliberative, thoughtful approach, not bringing up the senate bill, because we're not going to do that. i've said that to the gentleman. and hopefully we can work in a much more positive way. with that i yield back. mr. hoyer: in closing, madam speaker, let me simply observe that this is somewhat ironic. because the gentleman has repeatedly said he doesn't like

the senate bill. i hear that. he then says we need to consider a more thoughtful way of doing this. i get that. i then pointed out that the committee, which is headed by mr. goodlatte, republican leader of the judiciary committee, has passed a number of bills, presumably in that quest for a more thoughtful consideration to fix a broken system. . the gentleman has not said he's going to bring any of those bills to the floor, so he knows what he's against, madam speaker. he knows what his party is against, madam speaker, but he cannot tell us what he's going to do to fix a broken system because apparently the four bills that i spoke about are not being brought to the floor, are not part of the solution of which the gentleman speaks and

that's regrettable. and let me say in closing, madam speaker, i hope we can work in a bipartisan fashion. it didn't occur after the election where the very issue was whether or not we need to extend affordable health care to millions of people to some 30 million, 40 million, 50 million people who didn't have health care security. they continue to be scared. they continue to be presented with a message that this is a failed program. frankly, before it even starts. now it has started in terms of access. it doesn't start, as the gentleman starts, until january 1. but for some people, it has started. for some parents with children with a pre-existing condition who could not get insurance, it's working. for young people that couldn't find a job and were less than 26 years old, it was

working. for seniors who were confronted with a doughnut hole that put them deeply in debt for prescription drugs they needed for life-saving and life-quality enhancements, it is working. it is working for those people that did not go bankrupt and won't go bankrupt in the future because they are not the limits that could be imposed upon them when they get really sick. so, yes, we'll have a debate on that, but it ought not to simply divert us from all of the other issues that we need to deal with, the budget. we need to get this country on a fiscally sustainable path. i know the leader agrees on that. we need to fix a broken immigration system. i know the leader believes that as well. and we need to invest in growing our country. get rid of the sequester, because the sequester is going to hurt our country. and frankly, i think the leader agrees on that. we may not agree on how to do it but i think he agrees on the

objective. so madam speaker, on all of those, we ought to be giving our best efforts, not in a partisan way, but in a bipartisan way, as americans, not as democrats and republicans. and i would yield back the alance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. for what purpose does the gentleman from virginia seek recognition? mr. cantor: madam speaker, i ask unanimous consent that when the house adjourns today it adjourn to meet on monday next when it shall convene at noon for morning hour debate and 2:00 p.m. for legislative business. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. the chair will now entertain requests for one-minute speeches. for what purpose does the gentleman from new york seek recognition? >> madam speaker, i seek unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore:

without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> thank you, madam speaker. dam speaker, i rise today to recognize the effort we took today with the passage of you can keep your health plan act. this act honors a promise that the president made to all america, you can keep your health care if you want, and hat's what we did today. i've been hearing from constituents in western, new york, one from ithaca, who told me, a small business owner, trying to get health insurance, they were going to lose their insurance january 1, decided to forgo health insurance next year because of the costs associated with it. mr. reed: one said his hours would be cut from 35 hours to 25 hours and he didn't receive

health insurance because of obamacare and needed to move to part-time status. those hours are coming out of his pocket. 39 republicans -- democrats joined us on this side to allow americans to keep their health care. with that i yield back, madam speaker. for what purpose does the gentleman from new york seek recognition? >> to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend y remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. > i congratulate nina on miss america pageant. i met her when she was miss syracuse and i can tell you she america. good miss

she was an exemplary student and during her time in college and made the dean's award. talented and driven and civic-minded and she believes that empowering women around the world through education and opportunity. mr. maffei: that's what she's been doing as miss america. she's also already broken down barriers and changed the face of the miss america competition as the first indian american woman to be crowned miss america. madam speaker, i ask my colleagues in the house of representatives to join me in congratulating nina davalori on her victory at the 2014 miss america competition and wish her the best of success and all her future endeavors. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from pennsylvania seek recognition? mr. thompson: madam speaker, request unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. thompson: madam speaker, i rise today to voice the concerns of a small business in pennsylvania's fifth

congressional district whose economic security is in jeopardy due to the affordable care act. is is a story of a six-generation family-run business that's been marginally profitable over the years. the business has grown through tough times. while staying committed to always providing health care insurance through policies that allow their employees the choice and the flexibility to have the doctor that they want. since the a.c.a. has taken effect, this business is now facing drastic increases in costs which threatens their profitability and in turn threatens jobs in our community. the president has offered the american public little assurance that he can save the plans, plans that he originally said we could keep. the public doesn't need another press conference or p.r. fix. they need real solutions moving forward. now, i commend my 39 democratic colleagues on the other side of the aisle who joined us in passing the keep your health plan act today. these members realize there needs to be accountability in

government. the american people deserve as much. thank you, madam speaker. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman rom nevada seek recognition? without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. horsford: thank you, madam speaker. it is past time for this congress to work together to improve the affordable care act. this law can be improved, but it is also helping people throughout this country and in my home state of nevada. one example that i would like to share with you today is that from helle, a constituent nevada. michelle enrolled in the plan on the exchange that will save her $200 per month and allow her access to ob-gyn services closer to home. she called her enrollment in the program an overwhelmingly positive experience. michelle is currently on a

hipaa-guaranteed plan that cost her $a 65 a month -- $565 montreal. if she gets sick and needs -- $565 a month. if she gets and needs service, she has to drive to las vegas rom parumpt. after enrolling in the affordable care act, she will save more than $200 a month and have access to local and urgent visit and ob-gyn services in her area. madam speaker, now is not the time to turn back the clock or leave constituents like michelle behind. if republicans are successful in defunding or delaying the affordable care act, michelle will lack insurance. she will have to go back to the pred for plan in a offered -- predatory plan that offered no real coverage. let's work together to make the affordable care act work for the american people. the speaker pro tempore: for

what purpose does the gentleman from indiana seek recognition? >> madam speaker, i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> i thank the speaker. today i rise -- and my friend from indiana -- today i rise in recognition of international 15-q. now, what is international 15-q day? is a day to raise awareness of duplication syndromes, all three are genetic disorders originating in the 15th chromeo some. chromosome. -- we are shining a light on this. my son, teddy, now almost 6 years old, was diagnosed with angelman syndrome. it significantly impairs his capacity for motor development and severely imhibts his intellectual development. in addition, it's likely he'll

never speak. mr. rokita: through his challenges he's an inspiration to everyone he meets. we do not know what teddy's ultimate impact on the world will be. but we know it and those of these other children will be great. my wife, kathy, and i are so humbled by the support of our family and friends, including my staff, who in all of our offices today are wearing blue to recognize international 15-q day for teddy, his fellow angels and all those affected by these disorders. madam speaker, i encourage all americans to learn more about these orders by visiting www.angelman.org. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: under the speaker's announced policy of january 3, 2013, the gentleman from texas, mr. gohmert, is recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the majority leader. mr. gohmert: thank you, madam speaker. i won't take long. i got this email from a intent that on tuesday of last -- from a constituent that on tuesday

of last week, my 89-year-old mother-in-law fell and broke her neck. her doctor gave her a 50% chance of survival. but survive she did. she stated after the operation that she was lucky that it happened -- he, the doctor, stated after the operation that she was lucky that it happened now because, quote, in two weeks i could not have performed the same procedure because it is not an approved procedure under the new rules. it's too expensive. we all wondered what her have of survival would been under dr. obama. and that's from jay in my district. there are horrible things happening because of the passage of obamacare. i voted yes on the bill. it said if the insurance allowed, could continue on their policies without making

it illegal as obamacare does to keep those policies. we have numerous proposals. anybody that says republicans don't have any solutions, we have numerous solutions. i filed a bill that would have been a better -- far better bill to obamacare back before obamacare passed. c.b.o. wouldn't score it. they helped the democrats all they could, but especially after the director was wood sheded at the white house, but there are many solutions and one solution now would be to allow insurance policies that had been approved for this year by state commissioners, let them go on. like those that are on the federal, state or local cafeteria plans for federal, state or local workers. there are many things we can do to have a bridge to get us through the next year if we can just repeal obamacare. it did not look like a

possibility a few months ago, but as americans are finding out more and more about the disaster of this government taking over everyone's health care, they're finding, gee, maybe it wouldn't be such a bad idea as we had 30-plus democrats in had a bipartisan vote today express, gee, maybe we should have allowed people to keep their insurance if they wanted it. one article today from fox news, obama insurance plan fixed. confusion, ridicule at the state level. points out what a disaster -- the president is even adding to the problems by unilaterally passing a new law, as he's done repeatedly. normally it's reserved only to monarchs, kings, emperors, those kinds of things to step up and say, i'm changing the law, but he's done it with regard to immigration. he's done it with regard to obamacare.

he ignores parts of our law he doesn't like, and that's also been done at the department of justice. here's a headline, cnn, amacare enrollment numbers complete disaster, and we're finding that out, 26,000 or so signed up. bought insurance when they needed half a million. here's one from mcclatchy. rolling health care waters. obama's fixes could make matters worse. . tale halper, fairy continues, it is unconstitutional. and by the way, madam speaker, it seems like those who had the president for constitutional law are probably entitled to file a class action, wantsing their money back, because clearly the president's not familiar with the fact that the executive

branch just can't announce or change laws as they wish, without getting congress' approval. here's another. obamacare architect could be the beginning of the death spiral by daniel halper. it says, the architect of obamacare, being interviewed by megan kelly, she asked him, is this the beginning of the so-called death spiral? and he said, quote, that could be the beginning of a death spiral, unquote. as people did not sign up for obamacare like they needed to. and then one from human events, there is no fix for obamacare. and, madam speaker, i think that's the bottom line here. we have got to repeal obamacare. people are already being dramatically adversely affected. we -- it is -- it has changed the 40-hour workweek, it has changed people's ability to have their own decisions about their

own health care. we need to move as ben carson suggested toward health savings accounts. encouraging those, higher deductibles with cash to take care of the difference. there are all kinds of great solutions, many of us had them, we just need to repeal obamacare and it ood of america is deeply saddening to know that our government is not even warning people about going on obamacare, that when they enter their personal information it is subject to being stolen by identity thieves and may put them in great personal identity quandaries and difficulties legally. so i bring that up because somebody needs to warn people about the problems of registering with obamacare website, even if they can get through. my hope and prayer is we'll do the right thing by america,

we'll get back to acting within the constitution and friends like our leader, who spoke moments ago, expressing profound ignorance of what's going on here on the floor, as he stated that we had paul ryan and main other republicans voting -- many other republicans voting for the government not to pay its bills, there's no republican i know of that's voted that way. apparently he has paid more attention to mainstream media that's misrepresented the truth than he has what's actually gone on here. no republicans voted for america not to pay its bills. in fact, republicans are the ones that voted repeatedly to compromise before the shutdown, but harry reid had it in his mind that if there were a shutdown, if he could refuse to compromise on anything, force the shutdown, then americans would get misrepresentations as to what occurred, they would blame republicans and then they would get the majority back here in the house next year. but a funny thing happened on

the way to that plan. many people were starting to find out, wait a minute, republicans compromised repeatedly. harry reid's the one that wouldn't bring a compromise to the floor. wouldn't even allow negotiations to occur with the conference committee. and then people are finding out why republicans were so concerned about obamacare, because it is a disaster, it is affecting people's ability to get the health care they need, it is so grossly unfair, it's putting people at risk, it's time to stop the figurative bleeding of america and repeal obamacare and with that i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. does the gentleman have a motion? mr. gohmert: at this time i move that we do now hereby adjourn. 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 adopted. accordingly the house stands adjourned until noon on monday next for morning hour debate.

unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks. the speaker pro tempore: 3350, the keep your plan act of 2013. the rule provides for one hour of debate controlled by the committee on energy and commerce equally divided between the majority and minority. because the bill addresses a targeted emergency situation caused by the lack of foresight in the affordable care act, namely the cancellation of millions of existing health

insurance plans despite repeated promises to the contrary, because of that, the rule makes no amendments in order. however, the minority is afforded the customary opportunity to offer one motion to recommit should they so choose. this is a fair rule to allow us to give some relief to americans who fuelly want to keep their health insurance plan -- actually want to keep their health insurance plan but are told because of the affordable care act they may not. we are now six weeks into the disastrous launch of the president's signature health care law, and more and more problems are uncovered with each succeeding day. it seems that the president has quickly forgotten all of the promises made over the past four years to the american people about this law. in 2009, a speech before the american medical association, president obama stated, we will keep this promise to the american people -- if you like

your doctor, you can keep your doctor, period. if you like your health plan, you will be able to keep your health care plan, period. no one will take that away no matter what, closed quote. at the end of september, the president said, the first thing you need to know is this -- if you already have health care, you don't have to do anything, closed quote. americans from across the country, from across the ideological spectrum, agree that president obama has broken this fundamental promise and now his attempts to reconcile this broken promise only serve to bring further confusion and chaos. today, h.r. 3350 offers a real solution. the bill would allow plans available on the individual market today to be offered in calendar year 2014. it would provide millions of

americans the opportunity to keep their health care plan in 2014. the bill would also ensure that americans keeping their plans would not face a penalty under obamacare's individual mandate. mr. speaker, i've heard from constituents about the problems that they have faced because of the president's law. a texan from flower mound, texas, recently wrote me about how her insurance has doubled in recent years because of the affordable care act. in short, she wrote me that, quote, i miss 2009 when our family health care was affordable, closed quote. millions of americans just like this texan are losing their health care coverage. they're facing massive increases in their premiums and losing access to their care, losing access to their doctor under the affordable care act. the associated press has reported that over 3 1/2 million people on the individual insurance market have had their insurance

canceled. let me restate that. the associated press has reported that over 3 1/2 million people on the individual insurance market have had their health care plans canceled. we learned just this week the number of people who successfully signed up under the president's website for the affordable care act, under 27,000. 3 1/2 million lose their insurance. 27,000 sign up. doesn't sound like a fair tradeoff. this is not the first time that the president has realized that his signature law is significantly flawed. since the law was passed, the president has signed seven bills into law that have repealed portions of the affordable care act. those were laws passed by the house, passed by the senate, sent down to the white house for signature the way it is supposed to happen in a constitutional republic. but in addition to these statutory changes that were passed by the congress and sent

down to the president for his signature, the president has taken it upon himself to issue a multitude of administrative fixes to the law. and now this same president wants to once again fix his own law? can we really trust the administration that wrote this disastrous issue in the first place and so mishandled the implementation, do we trust them to now fix it? do we trust them not to change their minds in two or three weeks' time when perhaps winds are blowing from a different direction? the white house is saying that it will use its administrative authority to allow health plans that it deemed illegal to now still be able to be sold, but this bill that the house is considering today provides a fix that is both constitutional and follows the legal process. h.r. 3350 offers a legislative solution to help americans get

a life boat, a life raft out frund the crushing weight of -- from under the crushing weight of this law. it would grandfather all existing health insurance plan. no american would lose their coverage as a result of the affordable care act. president obama is shifting the blame. he's saying it's up to states and the state insurance commissioners to fix his problem, the massive problem that his signature law has created for millions of americans who are losing their health insurance. his attempt at another fix is quickly coming to a halt. just hours after the president's announcement, washington state insurance commissioner announced that he will not allow insurance companies to continue offering the canceled plans. quoting again, we will not be allowing insurance companies to extend their policies. i believe this is in the best interest of the health insurance market in washington, closed quote. it is clear, h.r. 3350 offers the only feasible lifeline to millions of americans who are

crying out for our help. they want to keep their health care plan. it's our job, it's the job of the congress to protect the american people from the excesses of this administration, and i urge my colleagues to pass this rule so americans will have the opportunity to keep their health care plan. let's be very clear here, this bill today cannot fix the affordable care act. what has been visited upon the american people in the affordable care act will not be resolved by this action today. it is merely to stop the bleeding. it's an efforted triage to stabilize the patient. maybe then we can get the patient to the operating room and fix the problem. the bill we are voting on today stops that hemorrhaging, hemorrhaging that's occurring of the consequence of the ill conceived takeover of the health care industry. any triage doctor knows before

they can treat or cure the patient they have to deal with the immediate problems. in this case, they have to stop the hemorrhage of people losing their private health insurance because of the affordable care act. that is what the house of representatives will do today. that's what house republicans will be voting in favor of. i hope that our colleagues across the aisle will see the wisdom in this and join us. i encourage everyone in this house to vote yes on the rule and yes on the underlying bill. let's stand with millions of americans who are visited daily by cancellation notices in their mailboxes. despite the promises made to them, they are losing their insurance because of this disastrous law. with that i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time is reserved. the gentleman from massachusetts. mr. mcgovern: mr. speaker, i want to thank the gentleman from texas, mr. burgess, for giving me the time. i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. mcgovern: mr. speaker, i rise in strong, strong opposition to this closed rule

and to the underlying bill. in is effort number 46, by my count, to gut the affordable care act. now, before i discuss the problems with the underlying bill, let me address just so the record is clear the latest example of lousy process foisted upon this house by the republican leadership. the bill before us today would make sweeping and significant changes to the affordable care act and thus to the nation's health care system. it would profoundly affect the lives of millions of americans. up end the individual market and add confusion and uncertainty into an already complicated situation. so how many hearings did the republicans hold on this bill? zero. let me repeat that. zero. how many expert witnesses did they call? zip. how many markups did they have

in the committees of jurisdiction? nada. yet again, republican promises of regular order and a thoughtful legislative process have been thrown out the window, and with all due respect to my friend from texas , to stand here and say with a straight face that this is some kind of an emergency, we can't have any amendments made in order, we just don't have the time defies comprehension. we have a rule that is closed that allows one hour of debate. not even split amongst the committees of jurisdiction. this bill, by right, is not only an energy and commerce bill, it's a ways and means bill. but the ways and means committee doesn't get any time to debate this bill. one hour. you mean, we couldn't have two hours of debate and a few amendments, or three hours of debate and a few more amendments or five hours of debate or a whole day of

debate, given the fact you didn't hold any hearings on this bill? give me a break. this is not the way to run the house of representatives. this is not the way you promised you would run the house of representatives. and by contrast, the affordable care act, we had hundreds of hours of debate and markups in which republican amendments were actually accepted. now, you may not like the affordable care act, but it went through a process. now, this went through no process. this was just brought up to the rules committee and we're told to bring it right to the floor. this is not a serious attempt to fix the affordable care act. this is a political statement. and i understand the temptation behind it. believe me, no one is more frustrated by the problems with the rollout of the affordable care act than those of us who voted for it, believe in it and want it to work. but instead of working with us to fry to actually fix problems

-- try to actually fix problems and make the law work, the republicans have brought up -- have brought forth this upton bill. mr. speaker, let me be very clear about this bill. it is an attempt to drag us back to the bad old days of the american health care system. it would allow insurance companies to go back to offering cut rate, shoddy policies that lack the consumer protections required by the affordable care act. so if you want to go back to a system where insurance companies could turn people away because they're sick, by all means, vote for this bill. if you want to go back to a time when women were charged higher rates than men because being a female counted as a pre-existing condition, then vote for the upton bill. if you want -- if you believe that insurers will be allowed to eliminate somebody's coverage because they get sick or older or have a child, then the upton bill is for you. in short, a vote for the upton

bill is a vote in favor of everything the american people say they hate about the health care system in this country. yesterday in the rules committee, my friend, dr. burgess, made it very clear that the upton bill is not an attempt to fix the affordable care act. they are only interested in full repeal. they are perfectly satisfied with 40 million americans having no health insurance at all. and speaker boehner made a similar statement yesterday. as i said, the rollout of the health care plan has not been perfect, and i know that my home state of massachusetts, the rollout of our state health care law was not perfect either, but democrats in massachusetts did not go out of their way over and over and over and over again to sabotage it just because the republican governor named mitt romney signed it into law. we worked to make it better. and by 2009, i am proud to say

that my congressional district had the highest rate of insurance coverage in the entire country. that's a good thing. that's a good thing. . my republican friends think we are going to go back to a system where we did the right thing but ended up paying for the uncompensated care for people in texas or north carolina or utah or anywhere else, they are wrong. at some point we have to get serious about the goal of providing good, quality, affordable health insurance to every american. the upton bill gets us no closer to that goal. it is yet another political waste of time. mr. speaker, let me just close by making this observation. what this debate is about, and it's turned into an ideological debate, is whether or not you believe that every single american in this country is entitled to good quality health insurance. or not. my friends on the other side of

the aisle obviously believe that it's ok that 40 million americans have health insurance, because for the last few years they haven't offered anything other than repeal, repeal, repeal, repeal, and offering nothing as a substitute. they think it's ok to let the insurance companies decide whether you get health care or not based on a pre-existing condition, or whether you're a female or whether or not you are too old or too sick or whatever. they have been perfectly satisfied with the broken system that was in place. so, that's the choice here. i urge my colleagues to understand that there's something wrong with the fact that in the greatest country in the world, and the richest country in the history of the world, that so many of our fellow citizens have no care. don't have access to health insurance. and we can fix that. and by fixing that we not only

improve the quality of life for our neighbors, our friends, our fellow citizens, but you know what? we also help control health care costs. because one of the biggest drivers of increased health care costs is the uncompensated care pool. so let's get serious. let's stop this political posturing. i know you don't like the president. you have gone out of your way to say some things that are so outrageous it's hard for me to believe that members of congress would say such things. but get over it. and do what's right for the american people. vote no on this closed rule and vote no on the underlying bill. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time is reserved. the gentleman from texas. mr. burgess: i yield myself a minute to respond. first off i do need to point out that yesterday the president of the united states thought that this situation represented an emergency that required his immediate attention and he rushed to press conference at high noon yesterday to announce his

resolution for the problem. as far as the issue of hearings, i will submit for the record a list of eight hearings that were held in the energy and commerce committee over calendar year 2013. i will not yield because my -- -- on the issue of reclaiming my time. the most important thing i wish to point out and for those of us who were here in 2009, we will remember h.r. 3200 was the democratic health care reform bill. that bill is now lost forever in the vapor, in the ether. no one knows what became of it. h.r. 3590 passed the house of representatives july of 2009, passed as a housing bill. went over to the senate to await further action. further action was an amendment by harry reid late in december of 2009. strike all after the enacting clause an insert. all the housing language was taken out. all of the health care language -- i yield 30 seconds. as a consequence, this bill

came over to the house and we just simply had to pass it. we had to pass it before we found out what was in it. we didn't have a hearing on h.r. 3590. we didn't have a markup in any committee i sat in in 2010 on 3590. this was a bill that was visited upon the american people without the due cautious exercise of the united states house of representatives. i yield two minutes to the gentleman from minnesota, mr. klein. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from minnesota is recognized for two minutes. mr. klein: thank you, mr. speaker. i thank -- mr. kline: thank you, mr. speaker. i thank the gentleman for yeelingd on this issue. dr. burgess has been championing real solutions for over 10 years. mr. speaker, 140,000, that's the number of people from my home state of minnesota who have been notified their health coverage will be canceled as a result of the president's health care law. john, a constituent, recently learned his own health plan is no longer available.

john liked the plan he had and now has to pay 20% more to secure coverage. for many people, a cancellation notice means more than the loss of an insurance policy, it means losing access to the trusted doctors, pediatricians, nurses who care for their families. we all know how critical these relationships are, especially in difficult moments when a loved one is injured or ill. but for countless families, those relationships will soon be lost. all because washington bureaucrats think they know best. the president promised time and again if people like their health care plan, they could keep it. but the american people are discovering the president failed to keep his word, leaving them with only political gimmicks and a broken website. the president may have apologized, we appreciate that, but the country deserves a president who not only admits when he is wrong but does what is necessary to make it right. that is why i support this legislation, to keep your health plan act is about fairness.

it's only fair to let people keep the health plan they like. no one should be forced to purchase a more expensive policy because the president says so. it's only fair to help families who are hurting across the country. the president's plan for more administrative tricks is a disservice to each and every one of our constituents. it's only fair to hold the president accountable for the promises he made to the american people. if the president's sincere about undoing some of the damage his law has created, if he wants to provide real solutions for those losing their coverage and keep his promise to our nation's families, i urge the president to support the keep your health plan act. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from massachusetts. mr. mcgovern: mr. speaker, let me again remind my colleagues, there is not a single hearing held on this bill. no a single markup was held on this bill. nothing. nothing. and it's coming to the floor under a closed rule. my republican friends believe that nobody in this house, democrats or republicans, have any right to offer an opinion

or an alternative. we are given one hour of debate on this, even -- it's not even evenly split among the committees of jurisdiction. one committee of jurisdiction. this is a joke. this is not what you promised. this is not the open process, this is not the transparent process on major pieces of legislation that we were promised. this is a joke. i ask unanimous consent, mr. speaker, to have admitted into the record a statement of administration policy that says that the president will presented with h.r. 3350, he would veto it. at this time i yield three minutes to the the gentlewoman from texas, ms. jackson lee. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady texas is recognized for three minutes. ms. jackson lee: i thank the distinguished gentleman. today, mr. speaker, i rise to save lives. to ensure the affordable care act does what it was intended to do and already doing. lifting the lifetime caps, providing preventive care, taking away the discrimination against women and others with -- other ethnic minorities by

eliminating health disparities. this is a bill that has seen eons of hearings not only in the underlying committee, but also in the judiciary committee and other committees, and ad hoc hearings and briefings, over and over again. i remember sitting and hearing the painful stories of families of children who died because they could not get access to health care. but the upton bill comes today disguised as a sheep in wolf's clothing. it discriminates against people with pre-existing conditions. it restores annual caps on the amount of care you can receive. and it forces women to pay more than men for the same coverage. this bill is not a fix. it is a dissolver of a good bill. by the way, mr. speaker, let me inform my colleagues that there was nothing in the affordable care act that dictated to insurance companies they had to send cancellation letters. why don't we hold a hearing and call the c.e.o.'s of the insurance companies and ask them why they didn't send the normal letter of indicating that you have the opportunity

to have a modified policy that will comply with the affordable care act. your policies are not canceled. because these individuals did not not pay their premium. ask that question. i will tell you that there are health professionals and organizations that believe this particular bill will not work and that is the american cancer society and american diabetes society. i ask unanimous consent to put this into the record. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. ms. jackson lee: i agree with my colleague, there should have been an open rule. and the reason that there should have been an open rule because i had an amendment that indicated that the conditions specified in the subsection for health insurance issuer, they must notify enrollees eligible for such continued coverage. i'm glad the president yesterday put that language in, and also said you can opt in to your old policy. we have answered the call and concern of the american people, but we have not taken away from them the right to have consumer

protections and insurance coverage that will make their lives better. i would also suggest that my amendment that indicated health insurance companies are making decisions based on the bottom line, self-interest, and have decided to terminate insurance plans that are not profitable in the new highly competitive marketplace for health insurance, or want to end insurance of those who are ill and thereby increase their profit margin by keeping only the healthy and marginally healthy should have been included. because we need to speak to our friends in the insurance industry that -- health insurance industry we are here working together and that those letters were not necessary. mr. speaker, i want to save lives. i want consumer protection. i want women not to be discriminated against. tomorrow in houston we are opening the doors for enroll n-a health fair we hope thousands will come to. my friends, the upton bill does not answer the question. let us save lives today. mr. speaker, if i might, just -- the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. mr. mcgovern: i yield 30 seconds. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized for an additional 30 sefpblgts ms.

jackson lee: i thank the gentleman for his curtcy. this is what we lived in preceding the affordable care act. 18% of the underinsured, postponed getting care or treatment, some died. 15% of the uninsured had problems paying their medical bills, hounded, hound, hounded because they didn't have the resources. they even went bankrupt. 10% of them of the uninsured needed prescription drugs but could not afford them. 8% were founded by collection agencies because they had to pay for their mortgage or food. and 6% did not seek treatment at all. you know what that equals to? 100% of those individuals suffering bad health care. let us vote down the upton bill. vote against the underlying rule. and let's promote the affordable care act, fix it like the president has done, and save lives in america. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas. mr. burgess: mr. speaker, i yield myself one minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. burgess: mr. speaker, that evening in march of 2010 when the senate bill was finally going to be considered by the