forward on the measure in the first of two series today. one is at 1:30 p.m., and a second round of votes today expected at 4:30 p.m.}}} the speaker: the house will be in order. the prayer will be offered today by our chaplain, father conroy. chaplain conroy: let us pray. loving god, thank you for giving us another day. all of congress today remembers the who are owic sacrifices and -- heroic sacrifices and accomplishments of the first special forces services force of world war ii.

when americans and canadians formed for the first time the combined unit trained to be a small elite corps capable of accomplishing the seemingly impossible. may their story be an inspiration to the members of this people's house where a similar cooperative effort toward a shared common goal appears all too often to be seemingly impossible. we ask, o god that all who populate these hallways this day be possessed of goodwill, appreciative of the great exploits of so many of our american ancestors and may all that is said and done this day be for your greater honor and glory, amen. the speaker: the chair has examined the journal of the last day's proceedings and announces to the house his approval thereof. pursuant to clause 1 of rule 1 the journal stands approved. for what purpose does the gentleman rise? >> mr. speaker, pursuant to

clause 1, i demand a vote on the speaker's approval of the journal. the speaker: the question is on agreeing to the speaker's approval of the journal. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair the ayes have it and the journal stands approved. >> mr. speaker i ask for the yeas and nays. the speaker: the yeas and nays are requested. all those in favor of taking this vote by the yeas and nays will rise and remain standing until counted. a sufficient number having arisen, the yeas and nays are ordered. pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20 further proceedings on this question are postponed. the pledge of allegiance today will be led by the gentleman from pennsylvania, mr. cartwright. mr. cartwright: please join me as we pledge our allegiance. i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. the speaker: the chair will entertain up to 15 requests for one-minute speeches on each side of the aisle. for what purpose does the gentleman from texas rise?

without objection. >> you know yesterday president obama released his budget. unfortunately it's right out of the liberal tax and spend playbook. apparently the president thinks that since he's already added $7.5 trillion to america's record $18 trillion debt what's $8.5 trillion more? mr. johnson: as chairman of the social security subcommittee, i'm also concerned that president obama has once again ignored the grim finance of social security and that's a shame because we can't keep kicking the can down the road. it's just not fair or right to the millions of hardworking americans who have paid into social security. mr. speaker contrary to what

obama likes to say in his speeches, too many americans are still struggling. the last thing this country needs is more taxes, more spending and more debt. americans want need and deserve better. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition? without objection, the gentleman from california is recognized for one minute. mr. swalwell: mr. speaker, this week the president put forward his budget. now this house has an opportunity to put forward one of our own that reflects the values of those we represent. and we have a choice. we can embrace and support the president's budget that lifts all americans up, or we can pass another house republican budget that keeps americans down. in california's east bay, access to child care is going down. while costs go up. access to education has been reduced while costs go up for those who are lucky enough to get in. paychecks are going down while

everyday costs around us are going up. with this budget we can address and fix these problems for the families we represent. we can expand access to child care and cut taxes for families paying child care. we can pass and expand access to community colleges with tuition-free community colleges. and we can see paycheck progress by making investments in transportation and infrastructure. we have a choice. pass the house republican budget, which will keep families down, or we can lift america up, provide more opportunity for everyone. with this president's budget -- everyone with this president's budget. thank you, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gentleman from pennsylvania seek recognition? mr. thompson: request unanimous consent to address the house for one minute revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman from pennsylvania is recognized for one minute. mr. thompson: thank you mr. speaker. yesterday the town in pennsylvania held its 129th annual groundhog day celebration. each year i'm honored to be a part of this celebration, being in the pennsylvania fifth congressional district, but the snowstorm moving across the region forced me back down to

washington sooner than expected. phil was awaken fromed from his -- from his hole and saw his shadow and predicted six more weeks of winter. groundhog's day is not just about phil's prediction of the future and how soon the next season will be upon us, it's a celebration of our past. the commonwealth's heritage and a time for communities to come together and carry on this great tradition for generations to come. it is truly an honor to have this annual celebration take place in my home district and i want to thank president bill dealy of the groundhog club inner circle and everyone for their hard work and planning to make this year's groundhog day such a special event. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gentleman from pennsylvania seek recognition? >> i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman from pennsylvania is recognized for one minute. >> thank you, mr. speaker. from the shores of the delaware and the banks of the rivers and the streams and the creeks of

the rivers that feed them, pennsylvanians know that water is vital to our health, our recreation and our wildlife. but, mr. speaker our waterways remain at risk. to protect them the e.p.a. is considering a rule to restore clean water act protections to thousands of waterways in pennsylvania and across the country. when finalized this rule will mark the biggest step forward for clean water in more than a decade. mr. cartwright: but unfortunately polluters and their allies are now working to derail this clean water rule. they have even scheduled a rare joint house-senate hearing to set the stage for this dirty water attack. i say it is time for congress to get out of the way and let e.p.a. do its job and protect our water as is its charge. thank you mr. speaker, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gentleman from kansas seek recognition?

without objection, the gentleman from kansas is recognized for one minute. >> mr. speaker, i rise today to address the president's budget proposal which was released yesterday. while i appreciate the president putting forth his vision for the future of our nation, that vision is neither one that our nation can afford nor one that i can support. mr. yoder: each year the president brings us a budget that increases spending, raises taxes and seeks trillions upon trillions of new debt upon our great nation. the republican -- if the republican-led house had agreed to these requests, our federal government would be 20% larger today. this year the president's budget proposal proposes another $8.5 trillion in deficits that will push our debt to well over $26 trillion in the next 10 years, slowing our economy and leaving the next generation with a legacy of higher taxes and less opportunity. mr. speaker, we must work together, democrats and republicans, to balance our budget by cutting wasteful spending, holding the line on spending increases, reforming programs and reducing the size of government. kansans know and the american people know that a leaner, more

efficient and effective government is critical to strengthening our economy and creating prosperity and opportunity for every american. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gentleman from new york seek recognition? without objection, the gentleman from new york is recognized for one minute. >> mr. speaker, the peace bridge in my district is the second busiest border crossing between the united states and canada, making it essential that people and goods are able to move quickly and efficiently across the bridge. mr. higgins: the second phase of a cargo inspection pilot program at the bridge recently concluded and is currently under evaluation. while i have confidence the report will call for an expansion of pre-inspection at the peace bridge, the pilot revealed several challenges which create delays and require immediate attention. internet speeds on the canadian side of the bridge exceed those of the american side, enabling faster screening. radiation detectors on the american side are older and often inaccurate, resulting in false negatives that create delays. finally, empty trucks are required to provide a manifest

resulting in unnecessary secondary inspections for empty vehicles. last week i wrote to secretary jay johnson highlighting the urgent need to rectify these issues. we must improve the quality and state of the infrastructure and protocols at ports of entry across the country. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gentleman from pennsylvania seek recognition? without objection, the gentleman from pennsylvania is recognized for one minute. mr. pitts: mr. speaker, i want to thank speaker boehner for appointing me to serve as the republican co-chair of the tom lantos human rights commission. it's a great honor to serve as a voice defending the rights of people worldwide, to live free of repression and violence. i've served as a member of the commission since its establishment following the passing of our dear colleague, congressman lantos. a holocaust survivor, he understood what it was like to live under the thumb of brutal and oppressive regimes. and while we vowed never again, today hundreds of millions of

people worldwide live under governments that restrict the rights of free speech and religious freedom. regimes that persecute minorities, women and children. we're blessed to live in a country where individual rights are protected and cherished and despite our differences democrats and republicans work hands in hand to protect these rights at home and expand them worldwide. i'm particularly honored to share the leadership of the commission with congressman mcgovern. week of worked together to promote human rights for many years. now i think there's much we can accomplish together. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gentleman from connecticut seek recognition? without objection, the gentleman from connecticut is recognized for one minute. >> mr. speaker, with all that we should be doing to help address middle class anxiety, to help the economy along, to help with student debt, to help with the challenges that all of our constituents face, what will we be doing this week? mr. himes: we will be repealing the affordable care act for the 56th time. 56. now, i get it. the first couple of times mr.

speaker, i get it. first couple of times the republicans believed that this was a government takeover of health care. that there were death panels, that it was unconstitutional. that it would raise costs in the health care sector, that it would be a job killer. none of that turned out to be true. in fact, the opposite turned out to be true. the supreme court said it was constitutional. it actually helped lower costs in the overall health care system and we're now adding jobs in the private sector faster than we have added them in 10 years. none of that was true. what is true is that the affordable care act has given 10 million or more americans the security for the first time of having health insurance. it's cut the uninsured rate in my state of connecticut in half. you know what that means? it means that ann, 51 years old, single mother, could never afford health care insurance, now she has it, she went to a doctor and her breast cancer was diagnosed early. she said the cancer has been detected at a very early stage, which was a 9 % survival -- which with a 98% survival rate has saved my life.

let's leave it alone. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from maine seek recognition? the gentleman from maine is recognized for one minute. polingpoling -- mr. polis: mr. speaker, -- mr. poliquin: mr. speaker, a huge congratulations to the new england patriots for winning the super bowl. surgical passes from quarterback tom brady -- tom brady a thunderous spike by tight end rob gronkowski. and a crucial goal-line interception by rookie cornerback malcolm butler. although our patriots won a thrilling fourth super bowl title, i also congratulate the seattle seahawks and their fans for battling until the very end of their terrific season. maine is patriots nation. we appreciate hard work and results. in this chamber, republicans

and democrats engage in passionate debate on issues critically important to american families. we've been sent here to move the ball down the field. together, to put points on the board for hardworking taxpayers. patriots fans seahawks fans and families coast-to-coast deserve an effective government that solves our nation's problems. then we'll have a healthy, growing economy with more jobs fatter paychecks and more freedom. here in this chamber we're all patriots. we're all americans. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. mr. poliquin: and we work for the people. thank you mr. speaker, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentlelady from california seek recognition? without objection, the gentlelady from california is recognized for one minute. ms. hahn: thank you mr. speaker. you know, many of us have love-hate relationships with the news media and with various reporters.

but today i wanted to rise and express micon dolences for a reporter in los angeles who we mostly had a love relationship with and very little hate. rick orlov was a reporter for the daily news and he covered los angeles city hall for almost 30 years. i served on the los angeles city council for 10 of those. so i got to know him well. and you know what? he earned everyone's respect and somehow he made no enemies. rick was a true newsman and he focused on writing the news that mattered. he wasn't interested in a gotcha reporting. his longstanding institutional knowledge allowed him to understand and tell the whole story. rick orlov was not only a great reporter but he was a great man. i considered him my friend and he really was a piece of los angeles. his death is a huge loss for the city and all of us who had

a chance to know him. thank you. . the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back. for what purpose does the gentleman from michigan seek recognition? >> i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman from michigan is recognized for one minute. >> the president presented his budget yesterday and i'm disappointed to say it is more of the same tax and spend policies we have seen over the past six years. $ trillion of spending, $ trillion in new taxes, and more deficits for the next 10 years. i have only been in washington for a month, but the prevailing message from the president seems to be that politicians know better than the people big government is a solution, and huge deficits are just part of life. this experiment has failed and has hurt the hardworking taxpayers in my district that built our economy. since 2009, the debt has grown from $10 trillion to $18 trillion. the new budget has the debt of $26 trillion in 10 years. interest payments alone on our national debt will quadruple in the next 10 years. now more than ever we need a

balanced budget amendment to our constitution. it's a simple concept. force the federal government to live within its means. families do it, businesses do it. cities, counties, and states are doing it. i urge my colleagues to join me as a co-sponsor of house joint resolution one and two. thank you, i yield my time. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from new york seek recognition? >> unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman from new york is recognized for one minute. mr. israel: mr. speaker, this month in a very short period of time the department of homeland security will run out of money. our enemies, they plot, they plan to do us harm. and this republican majority and this congress refuses to give the department of homeland security the full funding they need to keep us safe. what we won't do this week is the 56th repeal of the affordable care act. mr. speaker, some in this chamber may be willing to cater to their base for political reasons, but catering to our enemies in order to cater to the

base is unacceptable. making it easier for our enemies to attack and do us harm by refusing to fund the department of homeland security so you can score points with your base over a difference you may have with the president on the executive order is not what the american people want, expect, or deserve. the contrast could not be more clear mr. speaker. there is one party in this house that is willing to undermine our homeland security and undermine the middle class' economic security. there is another that wants to strengthen both. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition? without objection, the gentleman from california is recognized for one minute. >> mr. speaker, i rise today to show my support for america's middle class. currently, government rules allow only 11% of workers to be

eligible for overtime pay. mr. takano: this is because the department of labor rules prohibit workers who earn more than $23,660 a year from earning overtime pay. recently i was joined my more than 30 of my colleagues in calling for this administration to raise the income threshold to $69,000. at this level we could cover the same amount of workers that were eligible in 1975. for 35 years, american workers have increased their productivity yet they have not been rewarded. let's remember it is a strong middle class that drives economic growth. be bold, mr. president. your administration can help middle class families raise the income threshold for overtime pay. thank you. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. for what purpose does the gentleman from new jersey seek recognition 1234 -- recognition?

without objection the gentleman from new jersey is recognized for one minute. mr. pallone: thank you mr. speaker. making higher education available to everyone has to be a top priority. and the president's budget makes a major commitment to increasing access to high quality education from preschool through college particularly at our nation's community colleges. with the high cost of attending a four-year institution community college is often a viable option to so many driven students seeking a higher degree without incuring overwhelming debt. and the president's -- he addresses these challenges that so many students face today. it makes in his proposal, his budget makes two years of high quality community college free to responsible students saving nine million students an average of $,800 a year in tuition per year. my home state of new jersey and across the nation, community colleges offer educational opportunity to students just beginning higher education, to people already in the work force looking to gain additional

training, and for the unemployed looking to change careers. the president's proposal could benefit them all and countless others for whom higher education currently seems unattainable. i would just hope that my republican colleagues across the aisle will join us in making sure that a college education is an attainable goal for all americans. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from michigan seek recognition? >> unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman from michigan is recognized for one minutes. >> thank you, mr. speaker. it's kildee: it's week five of the new congress. the american people are still waiting for action to create jobs and instead of doing that republicans seem focused on appeasing and pandering to the most extreme voices in their party. even some republicans are appalled by this republican agenda. now that they control congress. one republican member told the national journal, and i quote, week one, republicans had a speaker election that did not go

well. week two, republicans got into a big fight about deporting children. week three, republicans are now talking about rape and incest and reportable rapes and incest for minors. i just can't wait for week four unquote. now we are in week five and the new republican congress is still working. it doesn't look like we are going to see a jobs bill or a infrastructure bill. instead today for the 56th time, we will see a vote on the floor of the house to take away health care for millions of americans. republican leadership needs to stop putting the politics of the extreme right wing of their party in the fore and get back to the work of the american people. thank you. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. for what purpose does the gentlelady from new york seek recognition? without objection, the gentlelady from new york is recognized for one minute. mrs. maloney: mr. speaker, it's

time for congress to admit what people with common sense all across america have known for years, mindless austerity just does not work. it doesn't grow the economy. it does not add jobs. and it doesn't unleash anything except misery. the see quester was a bad idea from the start -- sequester was a bad idea from the start. congress has to stop saying sorry, we just can't. the president's budget is tailor-made to help hardworking middle class families get ahead. it will invest in education. strengthen workers' skills, provide tax relief for the middle class and rebuild our infrastructure. this is exactly what we need to build on their record 58 months of job growth we are experiencing and make sure that everyone shares in the gains of our growing economy. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yield back. for what purpose does the

gentlelady from florida seek recognition? without objection, the gentlelady from florida is recognized for one minute. >> thank you, mr. speaker. to celebrate black history month, i rise to recognize florida agriculture -- agricultural and mechanical university, one of the oldest and most prestigious historically black colleges in the united states. ms. graham: the florida agricultural and mechanical university or famu, as it is known in florida, was founded in 1887 with just 15 students and two instruckors. today the university has grown to enroll nearly 10,000 students and was named by the "u.s. news and world report" as the top public historically black college or university in the nation for 2015. i'm proud to represent famu.

their mission and the public service they provide is a benefit to north florida, our state, and our nation. thank you, mr. speaker. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back. for what purpose does the gentlelady from illinois seek recognition? without objection, the gentlelady from illinois is recognized for one minute. ms. schakowsky: the affordable care act is working. here's what i hear. women can afford to get pregnant because maternity is covered. parents sleep better because their children are covered up to age 26. people with pre-existing conditions are no longer terrified that they are going to be uninsured. small businesses are saving money, doctors and nurses are saving lives because patients can come to them. and in illinois, over 700,000 individuals are newly insured and we are not even through with enrollment. as the president said in this chamber two weeks ago that's good news, people.

but today we've gone back to the republican old song book. yet another vote to repeal obamacare. but let me warn them, they do this at their peril. tens of millions of americans, many insured for the first time, and others who can finally afford insurance, will not give it up without a fight. let's hope the 56th time for a vote to repeal will be the last so we can get to the real work of raising wages and creating good jobs and passing equal pay and comprehensive immigration reform and improving retirement security and passing a renewed voter rights act. the war against obamacare is over. and obamacare has won. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back. for what purpose does the gentleman from texas seek recognition? mr. burgess: by direction of the committee on rules i call up

house resolution 70 and ask for its immediate consideration. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the resolution. the clerk: house calendar number 6, house resolution 70. resolved, that upon adoption of this resolution, it shall be in order to consider in the house the bill h.r. 596, to repeal the patient protection and affordable care act and health care related proviggetses in the health care and -- provisions in the health care and reconciliation act of 2010, and for other purposes. all points of order against consideration of the bill are waived. the amendment printed in the report of the committee on rules accompanying this resolution shall be considered as adopted. the bill as amended shall be considered as read. all points of order against provisions in the bill as amended are waived. the previous question shall be considered as ordered on the bill as amended and on any further amendment thereto to final passage without intervening motion except one, 90 minutes of debate equally

divided among and controlled by the respective chairs and ranking minority members of the committees on education and the work force, energy and commerce, and ways and means. and two, one motion to recommit with or without instructions. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas is recognized for one hour. mr. burgess: mr. speaker, for the purposes of debate only, i yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from massachusetts, mr. mcgovern, pending which i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. burgess: during consideration of this resolution, all time yielded is for the purpose of debate only. mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. burgess: house resolution 70 provides for a rule to consider the full repeal of the flawed and ill-conceived affordable care act. the rule provides for 90 minutes of debate divided and controlled by the committees on energy and commerce, committee on ways and

means and the committee on education and the work force. further, the rule self-executes the byrne amendment which provides for a clean repeal of the entire affordable care act. the rule further provides the minority with one motion to recommit with or without instructions. this approach, a full repeal, will give the house particularly freshmen from both parties, an opportunity to have an up or down roethlisberger on -- down vote on the affordable care act. more than just a full repeal, the legislation before us provides for a process whereby the committees of jurisdiction are tasked with coming up with a replacement to the flawed law now being implemented. we know what ideas don't work. those are the ideas enshrined into law in the affordable care act. now let's look toward ideas that will work. i do look forward to working with the energy and commerce committee's chairman, fred

upton, to craft meaningful legislation that will actually help the american people instead of strangle them with more government regulation, which is what the affordable care act actually does. americans should have the freedom to make their own health care decisions. in march of 2010, the patient protection and affordable care act was signed into law. it was drafted quickly and behind closed doors. it included secret deals, loopholes drafting errors fuvending cliffs, and allowed federal agencies to be created without congressional knowledge or oversight. more and more of the affordable care act supporters are having to admit to the american people that in their rush to pass a bill the same people who put their voting cards in the slot and helped the a.c.a. become law didn't actually know what was in the bill. . and now people are finding out what is in the bill and they're upset. so upset are the american people that in every election

for the house and senate since the passage of the affordable care act, more and more republicans were chosen to replace supporters of the flawed law. indeed this past fall president obama in no uncertain terms declared, quoting here, make no mistake, my policies are on the ballot closed quote. it's actually one of the few times i've ever agreed with this president. his policies were on the ballot. and the american people soundly rejected them, placing a historic majority of republicans in the house and taking control of the senate out of the hands of harry reid. the bottom line, the drafting and passage of the affordable care act was not the way to achieve meaningful reform. many errors occurred through the language. this is why the supreme court this spring will be hearing a case that could upend the affordable care act's subsidies structure. this case is entirely the fault of people who drafted and

implemented the bill so poorly. with the supreme court case looming this body, this body must be prepared to work for the american people and stave off the possible chaos which could ensue. the health care system in america needs reform and improvement that the law that was passed will cost the american taxpayers millions of dollars, will not improve care, nor will it make it more affordable. the bill that this house will vote on pull thes in place a procedure -- puts in place a procedure that will begin the process of crafting a replacement that could truly bring affordable access to health care to all americans. the so-called affordable care act does not accomplish that goal. we need to start and start fresh and we need to address the issues with commonsense improvements that focus on the real issues at hand, creating a health care system that is focused on patients instead of payment quality instead of quantity, affordability instead of cheapness, and innovation instead of stagnation.

the first step is eliminating this bad legislation that simply does not work, that is why today i strongly support the repeal of the president's health care law and reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas reserves. the gentleman from massachusetts is recognized. mr. mcgovern: thank you, mr. speaker. i want to thank the gentleman from texas for the customary 30 minutes and i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. mcgovern: mr. speaker first of all i rise in very strong opposition to this closed rule and to the underlying bill. let me just say to my colleagues to make it crystal clear, that this is an absolutely closed rule. this bill had no hearings in any of the committees of jurisdiction. it was not reported out by any of the committees of jurisdiction and the rules committee decided last night that no member, no republican or democrat, has the right to offer any amendments. this is a closed process. whatever happened to regular order? so mr. speaker, here we are again back on the house floor with yet another pointless attempt by the republican majority to repeal the

affordable care act. today's exercise in time-wasting gamesmanship marks the 56th time that we have been down this well-traveled road. 56. let's see, that's two score and 16. it's 4 1/2 dozen. but no matter how you add it up, it has to be some sort of world record in political futility. so it's tempting to say that nothing has changed. but that's not exactly true. because in fact a great deal has changed since my republican colleagues first tried to repeal the a.c.a. here are some of the things that changed. the number of uninsured americans has dropped by 10 million people. three million young adults have been able to gain coverage through a parent's plan. insurance companies can no longer discriminate on the basis of a so-called pre-existing condition like, say, being a woman. lifetime limits and caps on coverage have been eliminated.

seniors have saved more than $11 billion in prescription drugs, an average of $1,400 per medicare beneficiary. co-pays and deductibles for preventive services for medicare patients have been eliminated. and the solvency of the medicare trust fund has been extended by 13 years. and the growth in health care spending in this country is the slowest on record while health care price inflation is at its lowest rate in 50 years. all that has happened thanks to the affordable care act. and if the republicans get their way, much of it will disappear in an instant. if the republicans get their way, millions of americans would lose their health care coverage. millions more would lose the subsidies that -- they received to purchase plans. millions of children would lose chip coverage. millions of seniors would lose benefits. and the zeff sit would increase -- deficit would increase.

so let's be crystal clear, mr. speaker. this is no longer a theoretical political exercise. this is very, very very real. if this republican bill were ever to become law, then real people would see real benefits taken away. that is why president obama has said very plainly that he would veto this bill if it ever reached his desk. and there's something else new about this 56th version of the republicans banging their heads against the brick wall. for the first time, according to politico, and i quote, house republicans want to postpone the full repeal of obamacare for six months to allow time to come up with a replacement plan. end quote. i have to say mr. speaker when i read that, i actually laughed out loud. the health care crisis in this country has been happening for years and years. decades. how many studies have been done? how many reports issued? how many hearings and debates and news stories?

but after all of that, my republican friends still need another six months to come up with a replacement plan. here's an idea. let's vote down this rule with the understanding that in six months, actually, i'll give you seven, until after labor day, then seven months you'll be back here with your magic replacement plan, which i assume will be flown in on a unicorn sliding down a rainbow. i'll tell you why, mr. speaker. because the republicans have absolutely no intention of actually doing the hard work of health care reform. this is just a gimmick. it's a chance for their new freshmen to cast their symbolic vote against obamacare so they can put out a press release and act like they've accomplished something. as the "washington examiner" reported, republicans know that the repeal legislation isn't ever going to become law. we're just getting it out of the way, one g.o.p. aide told the "examiner" when asked about the repeal vote. just getting it out of the way, mr. speaker? what a cynical abuse of this

house. it's a sham, it's a waste of everyone's time. it deserves to be defeated in this house and if it ever makes it out of the senate, it deserves the quickest veto president obama can muster. with that i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from massachusetts reserves. the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. burgess: i reserve my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas reserves. the gentleman from massachusetts. mr. mcgovern: mr. speaker, at this time i'd like to yield one minute to the gentlewoman from michigan mrs. dingell. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from michigan is recognized for one minute. mrs. dingell: i thank the gentleman for yielding. mr. speaker, i rise in opposition to the rule and the underlying bill. i may be new to this chamber, but it sure seems like groundhog day around here to me. this is the 56th time my friends on the other side of the aisle have tried to repeal or weaken this landmark law. and the puzzle for me is that i know that they believe in so many of the provisions and support them.

since the passage of the affordable care act millions of people who didn't have insurance now have it and have signed up for the marketplace plans. 299,000 in michigan alone. i know my friends on the other side of the aisle believe that nobody's health coverage should be dropped when they suddenly get diagnosed with cancer. i know my friends on the other side of the aisle don't want to tell 129 million americans that if they -- they aren't going to be denied insurance because they have a pre-existing condition. i know my friends don't want to kick young people off their parents' insurance plans. and i know they never want to go back to the days of lifetime caps on health coverage or tell seniors they've got to start paying more for their medicine again. this is why i'm totally perplexed. because if this bill were to pass, over 9.5 million americans would be hurt and left behind without access to

quality, affordable coverage. this bill the a.c.a. may not be perfect. the last perfect law that there was agreement on was the 10 command meants and honestly -- command meants and honestly in today's climate, i'm not sure we could get it through the congress today. but i urge my colleagues to work together with us on how to improve the law instead of constantly trying to do something they don't believe in. thank you, mr. speaker, and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back the balance of her time. the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. burgess: mr. speaker, at this time i am pleased to yield four minutes to the gentleman from texas, a chairman of the rules committee. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas, mr. sessions, is recognized for four minutes. mr. sessions: mr. speaker, thank you very much. i'm delighted to rise on the floor today really for two reasons. perhaps three. first of all, to support and defend the rules committee last night where we overwhelmingly are in favor of making sure that every member of this body

has an opportunity to vote up or down on this terrible piece of legislation that is the law, that is known as the affordable care act or obamacare. this last election the people of this country openly asked the question in many districts across this country, are you for or against this terrible law that was put through this congress without one republican vote? and so it is only obvious that every single new member of thised abouty -- body would want to have an -- this body would want to have an opportunity to vote up or down. secondly, i want to defend the gentleman, dr. burgess, a member of our committee, who was attacked last night. i unfortunately was -- had taken a two or three minutes away from the chair to attend to some other matters of the committee, and was not available to be in the chair. thirdly, i want to stand up for

my state of texas. in defense of the state of texas, there's been a lot of talk about texas lately. not just last night. but lately. and so i want to make sure that people have a better understanding to know why texans are being attacked and that is because we reject big liberal government that is embodied in the laws that are known as obamacare or the affordable care act. in defense of our great state of texas we represent people of the state of texas and i strongly stand with my fellow texan and fellow committee member, the gentleman, dr. michael burgess, from lewisville texas. dr. burgess is not just a proud member of our delegation and a proud member who represents texas, just as i do, born in waco texas, but i stand today for why texas is a great state. evidently we've got to defend

our honor. it was done last night in the rules committee, it's being done today on the floor of the house of representatives. i stand in defense of texas, although texas i don't think really needs much defense. texans are a proud people. and we've been a proud people since the days of the alamo. that's when we used to be our own nation. texans are fiercely independent and we i think, lead to the very best, not only for ourself, but we're trying to do that also for america. texas is thriving and the reason why we're thrivinging is because of economic growth. robust job creation and overall quality of life. american family -- american families and businesses all across this country, i think look to texas as the leader in freedom and economic opportunity. that's what the lone star state is. and our system of federalism,

people can also vote with their feet. the last five years the texas population grew by 1.8 million people. people from all over the united states, all 50 states, found a brighter future for themselves in texas. over 1.6 million veterans call texas home. these are men and women who fought for the freedoms that we enjoy and have today. and because of our communities, they support our veterans and people know when they look at texas, those people in texas care about veterans and protecting our country. our churches, our schools our hospitals, our charities all lead the way in providing our citizens with things so that the government does not have to. mr. burgess: i yield the gentleman more time. mr. sessions: yesterday in the rules committee, dr. burgess was merely reflecting the views

of our home state and the people who live there. our nation does better when we allow individuals to succeed rather than look to government. we need to have a limited government and people will then have more freedom. while some people may think that limited government and empowering families is crazy i disagree. and i think the numbers prove it. texas has been called the great american job machine because we are the state that leads the nation and the world. in fact, if texas were its own country, it would have the 13th highest g.d.p. in the world. . the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from texas reserves. the gentleman from massachusetts. mr. mcgovern: thank you, mr. speaker. i want to thank the gentleman from texas for the wonderful commercial for texas. we all should visit texas.

he said something i thought was particularly interesting. he said we are bringing this bill to the floor because every freshman deserves a vote on the repeal of the affordable care act. i gess i'd ask the chairman, does he believe every freshman also deserves a vote on increasing the minimum wage? or on comprehensive immigration reform? or on adequate child care for our children in this country? or a whole number of other issues? which we have reteenly been denied the right to even have a vote on these issues on the house floor, which is supposed to be the greatest deliberative body in the world. what he neglects to tell tell everybody, including the freshman, some republicans, on this rule you can't amend anything. you have been totally locked out. the committees of jurisdiction didn't hold a hearing. the committees of jurisdiction didn't hold a mark up. nothing was reported out of any of these committees. notwithstanding the fact there

have been constituted and organized. nothing. it's just shows up in the rules committee and they bring it to the floor under a completely closed process. this is a lousy way to run a congress. with that, mr. speaker i yield two minutes to the gentleman from california, ms. matsui. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from california is recognized for two minutes. ms. matsui: i thank the gentleman for yielding me time. mr. speaker, i rise today in strong opposition to the rule and the underlying legislation. here we go again. this bill marks another attempt by the republican majority to repeal the affordable care act. but the first time after implementation of many of the provisions that americans have relied upon. people think the a.c.a. only provides ability to provide health insurance on an exchange or marketplace. yes it is a new way to shop for health insurance in which you can compare plans, apples to

apples. yes, it is a way a way to have subsidies to make coverage more affordable. with all these benefits people can join the system and cover themselves prior to a medical catastrophe. however, the affordable care act has also accomplished so much more than that. repealing the law, lock, shock, and barrel, that has -- stock and barrel, that has been in place for five years is not in anyone's best interest. as an example the a.c.a. created the prevention of public health fund. an unprecedented mandatory investment in states' public health systems. the need for this investment has become increasingly evident after public health emergencies in recent months. evidence ebola, today we have measles. repealing the a.c.a. today would mean 129 million americans could again be denied insurance coverage for pre-existing conditions. it would mean americans would no

longer have access to free preventive services such as vaccines, disease screenings, well child visits, and tobacco cessation. i heard from one of my constituents, laura, who has a freelance film producer with a former cancer diagnosis found getting health insurance to be impossible. thanks to the a.c.a., she now has coverage and is able to have regular checkups to make sure that the cancer does not return. do you want to take away all that? the health care providers, health plans, and consumer advocates in my district and across the country have worked hard to put these provisions in place. mr. mcgovern: i yield 30 seconds. ms. matsui: and make the a.c.a. work. we can't take this away now. it works. i urge my colleagues to vote down the rule and the underlying legislation. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from california yields back.

the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. burgess: at this point i'm pleased to yield one and a half minutes to the gentleman from florida mr. bilirakis, a member of the energy and commerce committee. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from florida is recognized for 1 1/2 minutes. mr. bilirakis: thank you dr. burgess, doing an outstanding job with this and health care in general. appreciate it so very much. i know my constituents do. i rise today in support of the rule and the underlying bill to repeal and replace the president's health care law. health care reform should lower cost and increase access. instead the president's signature piece of legislation didn't let people keep the plans they liked. raised health care premiums and cut medicare by $500 billion. when the president said if you like your plan, you can keep it. my constituents told me that wasn't true. on average, a 30-year-old woman will see her prices increase over 30%, costs haven't been

lowered. it's as simple as that. the obama administration willingly cut medicare to pay for a health care law that was poorly written and implemented. support h.r. 596 and repeal this law. and support a patient centered free market alternate that will lower cost -- alternative that will lower cost and increase access to care. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from massachusetts is recognized. mr. mcgovern: i thank the gentleman for his comments. we don't -- there's no replacement here. all the republicans do is repeal the affordable care act and take away all these benefits to people received as a result of it. at this point mr. speaker, i yield two minutes to the gentleman from colorado, mr. perfect mutter. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from colorado is recognized tore two minutes. mr. perlmutter: thank you, mr. mcgovern, for giving me a chance to tell a little personal story about the success of the affordable care act and its impact on the perlmutter family.

election day my wife, a teacher , school system in colorado, hardly ever been to the hospital, had something that they thought was pretty devastating. went into surgery on election day. turned out was exploratory and a very rare condition was exposed. which required a second surgery. only a handful of surgeons across this country deal with that kind of condition. the surgeons who to it were outside of the network of the original insurance company that provided insurance for her. because of the affordable care act we were able to go into the exchange and find an insurance company through an outstanding insurance broker helping us find an outstanding insurance company, rocky mountain health

plans, who had a surgeon who could handle this kind of condition and was within their network. it provided her with fantastic medical care, peace of mind that she was going to somebody who knew precisely what they were doing, and it was all because of the affordable care act because the -- under the affordable care act, you cannot discriminate against people with a pre-existing condition. so for her she was able to have the peace of mind that's required for a recovery, got the best medical care possible through a coverage that was professional and prompt in its service. so physically, mentally, and emotionally the affordable care act helped her find a physician equipped and qualified to help

her condition. with that i yield back. i thank the gentleman. the affordable care act is a civil rights act and it's got to be upheld. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from texas. mr. burgess: i reserve at this time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas reserves. gentleman from massachusetts. mr. mcgovern: i'm proud to yield two minutes to the gentleman from kentucky, a member of the committee on energy and commerce mr. yarmuth. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from kentucky is recognized for two minutes. mr. yarmuth: thank you, mr. speaker. thank my friend from massachusetts. mr. speaker, today we'll take our 56th vote to repeal or undermine the affordable care act. in my home state of kentucky, a nationwide success story of this law 521,000 kentuckians enrolled in health coverage last year. that's more than a half million people in a state with a population of just over four million. 75% of those who signed up were previously uninsured. these are maps of before and after uninsured rates in our 120 counties.

the orange and red represent uninsured rates of 14% to more than 20%. the dark blue is less than 5%. today after the affordable care act, every single county has had a reduction in their ininsured rates. in some areas uninsured rates have plummet booed moy that are 65%. as we watch these uninsured rates drop, as the counties on this map go from red to green or blue, that's another person getting the care or treatment they need a family's future transformed, lives saved. this law is a success. the affordable care act is working and you need to look no further than the commonwealth of kentucky to see the proof. repealing the affordable care act at this stage would be an absolute death sentence to thousands of people in my commonwealth of kentucky and throughout the country. we cannot let this happen. i urge a vote against the rule

and underlying legislation. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. burr gess: i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from massachusetts. mr. mcgovern: does he have any more speakers? mr. burgess: yes. mr. mcgovern: it seems like there's no enthusiasm on your side for debating this for the 57th time. mr. burgess: i reserve my enthusiasm for closing. mr. mcgone: if we defeat the previous question i will offer an amendment to the rule for consideration of legislation that would encourage schools to provide career education about local manufacturing jobs. and to discuss our proposal, i yield two minutes to the gentlewoman from california ms. brownley. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from california is recognized for two minutes. ms. brownley: thank you. mr. speaker instead of wasting time on bills that would strip health care away from millions of americans, we should be he focusing on legislation like my

bill, the american manufacturing jobs for student act which will help connect young people to highly skilled manufacturing jobs in their own communities. a strong middle class begins with early and effective career education. small business owners in my district have told me time and time again they cannot find the work force they need in the communities where they are located. many high school graduates are under employed and have trouble finding innovative and inspiring careers close to home. my bill would bridge that gap by fostering connections between manufacturing jobs, small businesses, and schools. it will support student engagement and professional relationships with local businesses through workplace

visits and hands on learning experiences. it will strengthen the economy and help employers find the employees they need close to home. by giving middle and high school students the opportunity to learn first hand about exciting and innovative careers in manufacturing. we can strengthen our country's economic competitiveness. we can also encourage manufacturers to keep their production in the united states. we should do all we can to ensure that job creators stay here to provide opportunities for our own constituents. we should be working together on bills like the american manufacturing jobs for students act and not on bills which are dead on arrival when they reach the president's desk. i urge my colleagues to vote no on the motion on ordering the previous question on the rule and i yield back the balance of

my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady's time has expired. the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. burgess: at this time i would like to yield two minutes to the gentleman from upper peninsula of michigan dr. benishek. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from michigan is recognized. mr. benishek: i rise today in strong support of the rule and underlying bill. i have been a doctor in northern michigan for 30 years. i have always put the needs of my patient first. i believe it's time for congress to do the same thing today. need to get to work on finding bipartisan and commonsense solutions that will put the patient and their doctor back in control of health care. and help lower the cost of health care while maintaining the quality. we need to focus on things like allowing people to purchase health insurance across state lines. just like we can already do with car insurance. making health insurance portable so you can take it with you from job to job, another simple change that would improve access

to health care. a few of these simple changes would dramatically improve the quality of care available while lowering the overall cost. the pasheents i have been talking to tell -- patients i have been talking to tell me their health insurance has gone up their deductible has gone up. this is not bringing more health care to the american people. this is bringing less health care to the american people. less access to care now than they have had in the past. . i hope all of my colleagues today will join me in voting yes on this so we can finally pass patient-centered improvements to our nation's health care system. thank you. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from texas reserves. the gentleman from massachusetts. mr. mcgovern: i am puzzled by what i just heard from the gentleman about all these alternatives to improve or fix our health care system. four years ago the republicans passed an identical bill in which we're asked to pass

today, in which they ordered their committees to turn out replacement language or their vision of a what a health care -- of what a health care reform bill should look like. that was four years ago. they've done nothing. here we are again today with another -- playing political gamesmanship with a bill to repeal the affordable care act and take away health insurance for millions of americans. increase prescription drug prices for our senior citizens, raise taxes on middle class families and they have nothing to replace it with. this is a waste of our time. this is an insult to the american people. mr. speaker, at this time i'd like to yield one minute to the distinguished jo from california, -- gentlewoman from california, ms. pelosi. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized for one minute. ms. pelosi: thank you very much, mr. speaker. i thank the gentleman for yield ing and for his leadership on this important issue. it's as important as the health of the american people. i salute congresswoman brownley for her alternative bill that

we should be voting on if we can defeat this rule that keeps -- that helps students get manufacturing jobs. just what we have been asking for, a collaboration between business and education, where kids are trained for good-paying jobs as they leave school. instead, the republicans are putting forth this rule that would once again, for the 56th time, repeal the affordable care act. we come together on the floor of the house right now while we need to pass a homeland security bill. to protect the american people. the speaker said in december, when we didn't pass the appropriation bill for the year, we'll do it after the first of the year. in january the world was alarmed by what they saw in paris. the whole world was galvanized around the issue of fighting terrorism and protecting the homeland security. except in this house chamber.

we still haven't done what we take an oath to do support and protect, support and protect the american people. when we take an oath of office to uphold the constitution of the united states. instead we have the republicans continuing to bay at the moon. they're baying at the moon. something that is not going to work and instead of proposing any, which we'd be welcome to hear, good suggestions they may have to approve the affordable care act, they're baying at the moon 56th time. we have important work to do for the american people. they want us here to create jobs. want us here to protect them. we need to pass the homeland security bill. and instead, instead in our sealed world, oblivious to what's going on outside, we're taking this up. they want to strip health security from america's

families, they're willing to threaten what that means to our economy, willing to jeopardize the need for us to lower costs for businesses is what this does. i've said over and over again, even if everyone loves his or her health insurance or his or her health care, even if that were the case in our country, we would still have had to pass the affordable care act because the cost to individuals, to families to businesses large and small, to governments, local, state and national the cost was unsustainable. and that was one of the things the affordable care act set out to do and i'm so pleased to show that the statistics show that the rate of growth of health costs is never -- is going at a lower rate than ever in our history. very important. the c.b.o. projected that this bill would save, what, hundreds of billions of dollars, maybe up to a trillion dollars over its projected life -- the life

that we have to account for when we tut it forward. so -- when we put it forward. so this is now about the health of our people, it's about the health of our economy, it's about lowering cost. it's important to know what's at stake because families are seeing the full promise of the affordable care act emerge. to make health care a right for all. not a privilege for the few. 8.2 million seniors have saved more than $11.5 billion on their prescription drugs since this bill passed. an average of $1,407 per senior. 150 million americans no longer have -- 105 million americans no longer have a lifetime limit or annual limit on their coverage. this is what you want to repeal today. 129 million americans with pre-existing conditions no longer have to be denied --

worried about being denied coverage because of their health status. that's what you want to repeal today. it's also interesting -- important to note that with the success of the affordable care act and the 9.5 million people who are signed up in marketplaces, including medicaid expansion, 19 million uninsured americans will be covered in 2015. in addition to that, the affordable care act has pushed forth the solvency of medicare for 13 years longer. that's what you want to repeal today. our founders, how beautiful they were in all that they did and wrote and their courage and their optimism for the future, they wrote about life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness in the declaration of independence. and in that declaration of independence, that's the independence we want to give people, for a healthier life

the liberty to pursue their happiness, without being job-locked because of a health care policy, free to be self-employed, to start a business, to change jobs to pursue their happiness. so this is about again, the health of our country, not just the health care of our country. on our path forward today and in the future the affordable care act will continue to rank up there with social security with medicare, a third pillar of economic and health security for the american people. and so i urge our colleagues to vote no on this rule, enable congresswoman brownley's education proposal to match kids up with skills and jobs, something that this country needs, to move on to legislation, to create good-paying jobs, to add bigger paychecks for america's working families, to stock the -- stop the stagnation of wages and to

do so in a way that understands how important health care is to reducing the deficit in addition to improving the health of our country. again by the way the clock is ticking on the bill for homeland security. that's our responsibility that's our responsibility, to support and protect. let's get about the business that we take an oath to do instead of for the 56th time bay at the moon. it's hard to understand why we would waste the time of this chamber and the american people on this frivolous resolution. with that i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back the balance of her time. the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. burgess: mr. speaker, let me yield myself two minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. burgess: for the purpose of response. first off, i don't know, maybe people weren't paying attention, but the house has passed a funding bill for the department of homeland security. it awaits action over in the senate.

so if the minority leader is concerned perhaps she can talk to people in the other body about whether or not it might be a good idea for them to take some action and that would be the correct way to proceed. the house acts, the senate acts, i refer people who are unclear on that concept to schoolhouse rock and it will tell you how a bill becomes law. people talk about the 56th time we've had something on the floor. obviously i don't know that i have -- can attest to the accuracy of that count. but what i can attest to the accuracy of is that 11 times the president of the united states has signed into law some action passed by the house of representatives and the senate and then subsequently signed by the president, 11 times modifying or changing his signature legislation, the affordable care act. but probably what's more telling is the 28 times, 28 times that the president has

simply set aside part of his law because it wasn't convenient. if the other side wants, i can go through and delineate these one by one. i have actually a document prepared by the gaylen institute and i would refer people to them if they'd like to look at this. but really some of the things that -- some of the things that the president himself has set aside, i mean who can forget in a blog post the administration setting aside the employer mandate, the entire employer mandate? not surprising because when the president was a candidate and he came down to texas and debated hillary clinton for the nomination in 2008, he was against the mandate. and then he was for it. so then he set it aside right before the fourth of july in 2013 and for people who aren't paying attention, guess what, it actually started january 1 of this year. i'll reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time.

the gentleman from massachusetts is recognized. mr. mcgovern: mr. speaker, if only we were debating another subsidy for big oil or another tax break for some special corporate interest. my colleagues would be down here, you know, with great joy advocating for it. but when it comes to a bill to ensure that millions and millions of our citizens get health insurance they want to repeal it. when it comes to protecting our senior citizens who are seeing their prescription drugs being lowered because of this bill, they want to repeal it. when it comes to eliminating pre-existing conditions, they want to repeal it. i mean, that tells you all you need to know about where their priorities are. with that, mr. speaker, i yield two minutes to the gentleman from pennsylvania, mr. boyle. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for two minutes. mr. boyle: thank you mr. speaker. i thank the gentleman from massachusetts. mr. speaker, i also want to thank the republican majority. as a new member i haven't had the opportunity to speak on this issue on the house floor

or vote on it. when i saw that the previous congress had voted 55 times to repeal the affordable care act, i was a little concerned that i would miss all of the fun. so i'm very happy that we now have a 56th vote on this issue and it gives me an opportunity to say what a strong supporter i am of the affordable care act. more than 10 million americans have health insurance today that otherwise would not have it. more than three million children have been able to stay on their parents' plan who otherwise would not have had health insurance. and another three million on top of that have extra protections through state-affiliated agencies such as chip that would not have it today if not for the affordable care act. now you would think with the rate of the uninsured at its lowest percentage in american history, you would think that with the success that maybe the downside would be that health

care costs would have gone through the roof. in fact, quite the opposite has happened. we've just had a year in which health care costs rose by the lowest rate in 50 years. now, this is something that all americans can celebrate. democrats and republicans. so, mr. speaker for the 56th time this congress will attempt to repeal the entire affordable care act. it is a mistake, i will join my colleagues in voting against it. and i would say sincerely to members on the other side, if there are those who are willing to look openly at this issue and say, yes, it is largely worth, but let's improve those areas that could do better, i think you'd find new members on this side of the aisle who are open-minded to that and want to address areas that can be improved. look at all the times that medicare has been improved since its initial passage in 1965. so mr. speaker, with that i

will yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. burgess: mr. speaker, at this time i would like to yield three minutes to the gentleman from iowa, mr. king. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from iowa is recognized. mr. king: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, i thank the gentleman from texas for yielding and for leading on this issue, leading around this nation on this issue, so far away from texas even iowa the gentleman from texas has fought for the full repeal of obamacare and laid out, i think, a good strategy for the future health care circumstances in america. first mr. speaker, i would say that when this passed, many of us went through a long battle here on the floor of the house of representatives, and outside among the masses of people that came here and surrounded the united states capitol to plead do not take our liberty, let us manage our own health and our own health care and let us purchase a health insurance policy that is right for us, not one that the government thinks is right for us. and let's do something that's constitutional.

well, we watched that drama unfold and engaged in that drama, i have a number of scars left over from that, but in the end, obamacare passed by hook, by crook and by legislative shenanigan. history shows that. and the litigation that has emerged and the litigation yet to emerge will shape this to some degree, but this congress needs to resolve this. and what happened was, in the election in 2010 87 freshman republicans were elected into office here to come and every single one of them ran on the full 100% repeal of obamacare. that was a transformative election, it shifted the majorities from the democrats to the republicans, mr. speaker, a mandate to repeal obamacare. we acted on that mandate. and in fact the morning after obamacare was passed, i was at the door. my staff was actually at the door. i'd written the bill in the middle of the night to repeal obamacare. a component of 40 words. it has to apply to two sections

of the bill. that bill was drafted march 24 of 2010 filed march 25 of 2010, i filed a discharge petition down here on the floor on the 16th of june 2010 it received 173 signatures with republicans in the minority, mr. speaker, it's been a long effort. . but we voted on the full repeal of obamacare h.r. 2 by mr. cantor on the 19th of january, 2011. another time on the 7th of july, 2012, another repeal by mr. cantor, always with the 40-word king language in it. and again on the 16th of may, 2013, h.r. 45. we have been bringing the full repeal of obamacare here to the floor over and over again to give everybody an opportunity, even those that didn't have an opportunity to get involved in this debate, to go on record and tell us where you want to see the future of the health care circumstances here in the united states. every republican up to this

point has voted to repeal obamacare. every member of the house, with exception of those that were sworn in for the first time for this congress, has had that chance. now we give everyone that chance, and we will send a full repeal over to the senate so the nine freshman republicans over there can clearly also go on record because we want to elect a president who will take the oath january, 2017 -- the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. king: thank you. to sign the repeal of obamacare at the podium on the west port could he of the capitol as the very first act as president of the united states. i thank the leadership for incorporating my language into this bill. i thank those all across this country who have stepped up to defend our constitutional liberties our personal liberties and when this is done we will get to work on putting together a good health insurance and health care delivery system in america in spite of all of the time that we have lost fighting over this unconstitutional mess called obamacare.

thank you mr. speaker. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from massachusetts. mr. mcgovern: thank you mr. speaker. i just would remind the gentleman from iowa that there was a republican presidential candidate named mitt romney who ran on the platform of total repeal of the affordable care act and he lost. by the way, he lost iowa -- obama won iowa 51-46. i want to yield two minutes to the gentlewoman from connecticut, ms. delauro. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from connecticut is recognized for two minutes. ms. delauro: yesterday was groundhog day. how appropriate that the republican majority chose today for their 56th attempt to repeal or to undermine the affordable care act. these futile, ideological gestures are getting old. the vote i cast for the health care law is one of the proudest i have cast in my political career because the reforms that we put in place are helping millions of families across the

nation. americans can no longer be denied coverage for a pre-existing condition. preventive screening, maternity care pediatric care are now all covered. seniors enjoy relief from high drug costs. millions of low-income children have health care through the chip program. women's health has put on an equal footing. insurance can no longer subject families to lifetime caps on coverage, annual caps are being phased out. according to the congressional budget office, the affordable care act has reduced the number of uninsured people by 12 million last year, 19 million this year. my republican colleagues don't really care about that because they have health care as a member of congress. why should they worry about people who do not have health care? c.b.o. has also cut its estimate of the cost of rolling out coverage to millions of americans. a saving of $140 billion compared to previous estimates. this is good news. it should be on the front page

of every newspaper. the affordable care act has exceeded by putting people, not insurance companies, in charge of coverage. we are a better country because of it, so let me say to my colleagues in the majority, give it a rest. get a life. the american people like this law. the supreme court has upheld it. we've had two elections around it. stop trying to take away people's health care benefits, and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back. the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. burgess: mr. speaker, i reserve at this time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from massachusetts. mr. mcgovern: i yield two minutes to the gentlewoman from texas, ms. jackson lee. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from texas is recognized for two minutes. ms. jackson lee: let me thank the gentleman from massachusetts for being astute in reminding us of the vast bipartisan support of the

important affordable care act. i think, if i might add the past presidential candidate lost was the same governor, however that i understand, that supported it and succeeded in his support at that time. but i think what is important now is to again remind this nation that we are now on the 56th annual trip of repeal of what has been a life saver to americans all across the country. let me simply share these very potent points. people not having health insurance include 20% of the underinsured delay receiving care when signs of illness appear. 15% of the underinsured have problems paying medical bills. 10% of the underinsured need the prescription drugs but could not afford them. 8% were hounded by collection agencies. many of them went into bankruptcy because of health issues.

of course, we have tried to reform that. 6% did not seek treatment even though they needed it. and, of course, a report by the congressional budget office, the budget and economic outlook 2015 and 2025 states the actual cost of the affordable care act is % lower than first calculated in 2010. but let me tell you the real issue, the story of a lady written up in the ledger dated january 8, 2015, who was diagnosed with leukemia in 2013 determined that her insurance at that time would not allow her to have health insurance. her words are, i thought i was going to die, ms. gray said. but in her scramble to try to get drugs, she was left holding the bag but yet she was able to get the affordable care act starting on january 1, 2014. it gave her access to the recommended keepotherapy. her cancer went into -- chemotherapy.

her cancer went into remission and she is alive. what about the situation of the measles? why are we going over this dead-end road again? do you have 15 seconds? mr. mcgovern: i yield the gentlelady 15 seconds. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized. ms. jackson lee: why do you have this dead-end road again, going to a dead end, repeating repetitiously voting against a valuable affordable care act that has saved lives? does anybody know about medicare? it goes on and on and on and many people oppose it had on the other side in 1965. i am going to stand on the right side of history and vote for the affordable care act. vote for this untimely bill. vote against this untimely bill. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady's time has expired. the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. burgess: mr. speaker, i yield two minutes for purposes of response. first off, when medicare passed, it was passed with a bipartisan vote in the house of representatives and that's a matter of historic record. in fact, that is one of the weaknesses of the president's takeover of health care in this country.

it passed only with democratic votes in both the house and the senate on final passage. mr. speaker, i also went through a number of the times that president has unilaterally delayed or deferred or simply dismissed parts of his own law, and one of the -- one of perhaps the most troublesome, one of the most curious is when the president set aside entry into his own pre-existing pool in january of 2013. they did that because they were worried they were going to run out of money in the pre-existing fund. but the reality is that for anyone who was hoping to get coverage under the pre-existing pool begin in january, february 2014, they were told sorey window closed, go somewhere else. but then further insult to injury, when they couldn't get the website open up and working at the end of 2013, they actually had to extend coverage

in the federal pre-existing pool to march of 2014 so that those patients would not be left out in the cold. the president is, you know, he has been involved, deeply involved in delaying parts and deferring parts and repealing parts of his very own law. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from massachusetts is recognized. mr. mcgovern: mr. speaker, may i inquire from the gentleman how many more speakers he has? burj i have -- mr. burgess: i have -- we'll be closing. mr. mcgovern: we'll close. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. mcgovern: let me ask unanimous consent to insert the text of the amendment that i intend to offer in the record along with extraneous material immediately prior to the vote on the previous question, and this would be the amendment that ms. brownley of california talked about providing manufacturing training for high school students so i'd like to ask unanimous consent to insert that in the record.

the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. mcgovern: now, mr. speaker, let me -- let me begin by talking about the process. let me say two words about this process. it stinks. i mean, we have a bill before us today on the house floor that bypassed all the committees of jurisdiction, and i say to my colleagues, republicans and democrats alike if you're on the energy and commerce committee or the education and work force committee and on the ways and means committee, you should be outraged the legislation that is under your jurisdiction never went to your committees. just showed up in the rules committee last night and on top of all of that, no amendments are allowed. nobody can offer any ideas. i heard some of my republican colleagues talk about they have ideas for making the affordable care act better or replacing it. they don't have the opportunity even to bring those ideas to this house floor. four years ago we voted on a similar measure which said that the republicans would have the committees of jurisdiction report out alternatives. it's four years later and we're

doing the same thing over and over and over again. it is a waste of taxpayer time. it is an insult to the american people. and as far as the substance of what my republican friends are trying to do, i just wonder if any of my friends on the other side of the aisle would have the courage to say to people face to face, i am going to take your health care away, because that's what this bill would do and it's shameful. you know when i first ran for office, i said to my constituents that one of the things i was committed to was to making sure that everybody in this country had health insurance. health care ought to be a right. nobody should have to worry whether or not they can afford to get the health care that quite frankly every american is entitled to and deserves. and we have made a great stride forward with the affordable care act. is it perfect? no. can it be better? yes. but to come up with bill after bill after bill, 56 times repeal repeal, it's getting old.

it's getting boring. people are sick of this. and let me just remind my colleagues about what this bill has accomplished. just because this is no longer a theoretical abstract debate, these are some real things that have changed. the number of insured americans has dropped by -- uninsured americans has dropped by 10 million people. i think that's a good thing. i think most americans democrats and republicans, think that's a good thing. three million young adults have been able to gain coverage through a parent's plan. i think that's good. insurance companies can no longer discriminate on the basis of a so-called xisting condition, like, say, being a woman. i think that's a great thing. i'm sorry my colleagues have a problem with that. lifetime limits and caps on coverage have been eliminated. that's wonderful. seniors have saved more than $11 billion in prescription drugs, an average of $14.--

$1.400. we know this is a flaw in the doughnut hole. this is prevented. solvency of the medicare trust fund has been extended by 13 years. that's a good thing. i know my friends on the other side of the aisle want to privatize medicare or have no use for medicare. but for those that want to see this program move well into the next century and complete solvency, this is a good thing. and the growth in health care spending in this country is the slowest on record while health care price and inflation is at its lowest rate in 50 years. this didn't happen by accident. this happened because we passed the affordable care act. and if republicans get their way, all these things will disappear. so this is a debate i think about values more than anything else. this is about whether or not we believe that everybody in this country ought to have health

insurance, whether or not we ought to make the reforms that i have just mentioned part of the permanent culture of this country. i think this is good. i voted for the affordable care act. i'm proud i voted for the affordable care act. and my friends, this issue about health care and access to health care has been around for decades and decades and decades. and my friends have done nothing. their prescription for health care reform has been take two tax breaks and call me in the morning. that's the total reform they have advocated in the time i've been here and the time i've been paying attention what's been going on in this congress. it is time for us to appreciate that this congress did something -- did something positive in passing the affordable care act. and we ought not let extremists on the other side take these protections away from the american people. and we're going to fight you every step of the way because we believe the people in this country are entitled to health insurance. so mr. speaker, i urge my colleagues to vote no and

defeat the previous question. i urge a no vote on the rule and i yield back the balance of my time. . the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from texas is recognized to close debate. mr. burgess: thank you, mr. speaker. i'll yield myself the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for 11 1/2 minutes. mr. burgess: let me first address the question of process. because the affordable care act did pass in the 111th congress. the affordable care act, as it came to the 111th congress under then speaker pelosi, was not a bill that had been considered in any of the committees of jurisdiction. h.r. 3590 came to us from the senate of the united states. now, in fairness h.r. 3590 had passed the floor of the house, i believe it was july of 2009. but h.r. 3590 when it passed the floor of the house was a bill dealing with veterans housing. so it goes over to the senate to await further work. and to be sure in the meantime, h.r. 3200 and then a couple of

follow-on bills were marked up in committees and then the speaker condensed things and introduced her own bill. we heard it on the floor of the house and indeed it passed in november of 2009. but that was the end of the line for that bill. no one's seen or heard from it again. and my friends on the other side my remember some parts that have bill. what about the independent payment advisory board, was that included in the house-passed bill? no, it was not. but it was a public option because the democrats felt very strongly about having a public option. really they wanted a single-payer system. so that was way to move to a single -- that was a way to move to the single-payer system. but the public option wasn't in h.r. 3590. h.r. 3590, a house-passed bill dealing with veterans housing, went over to the senate where sometime between thanksgiving and christmas was pulled out of harry reid's desk and amended. and the amendment read, strike all after the enacting clause

and insert -- so all of the housing language was removed and all of the health care language was inserted. this travesty was passed on christmas eve 2009. big snowstorm bearing down on washington, d.c., senators wanted to get home to be with their families before the airport closed, so it was passed in the early hours of christmas eve in 2009. now, shortly after that, massachusetts had a special election to fill the vacancy that occurred after the unfortunate death of senator kennedy. and that vacancy was filled for the first time by a republican from massachusetts. i think that was really the first time since the earth cooled the first time that a republican had been elected from massachusetts. but the critical point on that was that harry reid no longer had 60 votes over in the senate. prior to that he'd been pretty much impervious. i've got 60 votes, i'm going to do what i want. democrats can bust a filibuster

on anything because they've got 60 votes. after the loss of that 60th vote, h.r. 3590 could not be changed or at least harry reid 's assertion that it could not be changed, and that speaker pelosi would simply have to pass what he gave her. there was a lot of resistance here on the house to passing, even on the democratic side, there was a lot of resistance to passing that bill that came over from the senate. because it was not a house product. it had the independent payment advisory board in it. it didn't have a public option in it. so many of the democratic members were reluctant to engage on this. in fact i think the quote from speaker pelosi that day was, i don't have 100 votes for this thing over on the house side. but over the ensuing three months, they did convince and cajole enough of their members to pass this by the slimmest of majorities in the early part of march of 2010. and that leads us to where we are today.

but it was the 111th conditioning congress that passed this them -- 111th congress that passed this thing. i had 18 amendments to the affordable care act that i dutifully took up to the rules committee when we were in the minority and said look, i don't like what you're doing, but let's at least keep it from being quite the problems that going to be. and every one of those was rejected, i lost on a 9-4 vote. no surprise. the speaker's committee. she held the votes on the committee. but don't tell me that this was a process of anything other than what was a very flawed and partisan process. now, several people today have referenced the founders and the declaration of independence. you know, the reality is mr. speaker, we are a country that was founded on the principle of government with the consent of the governed. no one was asking for this thing. no one wanted this thing. sure, 14ports of people in this country -- 14% of people in

this country have been helped so they like it. 17% have been hurt, such as myself. lost my health savings account under the affordable care act. so 17% of the country doesn't like it. most everyone else feels as if, i'm basically unaffected, i may have a problem ideologically, either pro or con, but i've not been affected. but i do recommend to people that they pay attention. employer mandate became effective january 1 of this year. won't really affect people until next year when medium sized businesses begin to file their taxes and find if they have not kept up with all of the laborous reporting requirements and paperwork requirements under the employer mandate, they're going to be in a world of hurt when they file their taxes for calendar year 2015. but mr. speaker, today's rule provides for the consideration of a bill to repeal the affordable care act, a piece of legislation that the american

people have time and again said they do not want. i thank mr. byrne for his legislation and for working on this matter. i urge my colleagues to support both the rule and the underlying bill. for that reason i yield back the balance of my time and move the previous question on the resolution. the speaker pro tempore: all time having expired, the question is on ordering the previous question on the resolution. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. mr. mcgovern: mr. speaker, on that i ask for the yeas and nays. the speaker pro tempore: the yeas and nays are requested. all those in favor of taking this vote by the yeas and nays will rise and remain standing until counted. a sufficient number having arisen, the yeas and nays are ordered. members will record their votes by electronic device. pursuant to clause 8 and clause 9 of rule 20, this 15-minute vote on ordering the previous question will be followed by five-minute votes on adopting house resolution 70 if ordered and agreeing to the speakerer's approval of the journal. 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.]

the speaker pro tempore: on this vote the yeas are 242. the nays are 176. the previous question is ordered. the question is on adoption of the resolution. so many as are in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. the gentleman from massachusetts. mr. mcgovern: on that i ask for a recorded vote. the speaker pro tempore: a record the 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 242. the nays are 178. the resolution is adopted. without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid upon the table. pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, the unfinished business is the question on agreeing to the speaker's approval of the journal on which the yeas and

nays were ordered. the question is on agreeing to the speaker's approval of the journal. 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 267. the nays are 148 with one member answering present. the journal stands approved.

the speaker pro tempore: the house will be in order. for what purpose does the gentleman from pennsylvania, mr. pitts, seek recognition? mr. pitts: mr. speaker, pursuant to house resolution 70 i call up house resolution 596 and ask consideration in the house. the clerk: a bill to repeal the patient protection and affordable care act and health care-related provisions in the health care and education reconciliation act of 2010, and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to house resolution 70, the amendment printed in house report-215-13, is

considered as read. the bill is -- committees on education and the work force energy and commerce and ways and means, the gentleman from alabama, mr. byrne, and the gentleman from virginia, mr. scott, the gentleman from pennsylvania, mr. pitts, the gentleman from new jersey, mr. pallone, the gentleman from texas, mr. brady and the gentleman from michigan, mr. levin, each will control 15 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from pennsylvania, mr. pitts. mr. pitts: -- the speaker pro tempore: the house will be in order. the gentleman from pennsylvania. mr. pitts: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material on h.r. 596. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. pitts: mr. speaker i yield

myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. pitts: mr. speaker, i rise today in support of h.r. 596 sponsored by bradley byrne of alabama. today the house acts once again to repeal obamacare. millions of americans continue to feel the harmful effects of the president's health care law in almost every corner of their life. recently, i heard from a president school teacher who told me that many of our local schools are having trouble finding long-term substitutes for specialty classes, such as art music and physical education. under obamacare's new definition of full-time work, substitute teachers are strictly limited to 3 1/2 days a week. children are simply missing out on these important classes or being pushed into packed

combined classes. many of our local schools had to outsource cafeteria workers and other part-time positions. school districts are spending too much time worrying about federal mandates rather than the best way to teach children. republicans have no shortage of good ideas to replace the president's health care law. last session there were hundreds of bills introduce to reform health care with more affordable choices. we will hear many of these good ideas and other reasons for repeal today, and i look forward to hearing from my colleagues. the american people continue to oppose the president's health care law, and today house republicans will stand with them again. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from new jersey is recognized for 15 minutes. mr. pallone: mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. pallone: thank you, mr. speaker. you know, i have great respect for my colleague from

pennsylvania, but i just think that more and more of what i'm hearing from my republican colleagues is what i call fantasy land. this isn't the america we know where in the past few years when the affordable care act has taken effect so many americans who didn't have health insurance now have it. something like 19 million americans who were uninsured now have health insurance. millions of young adults have health insurance because they were able to stay on their parents' plan. 129 million americans no longer can be denied health insurance for having a pre-existing condition. seniors have saved so much money on the prescription drugs. i could go on and on but i don't need to. americans like the affordable care act. it is working. we cannot go back. we cannot let -- turn over the health care system again to the insurance companies that will have skeletal plans, don't have good benefits, raise premiums to whatever they want and not actually have any help from the federal government. when you repeal obamacare or the affordable care act, you

are abasically americans a tax increase because they're not going to be able to get the tax credits or the subsidies that help them pay for their premiums and make those premiums affordable. this is not a -- this is working. this is happening. this isn't something we can just throw away and the republicans say they have some kind of -- what did my colleagues say, the g.o.p. has no shortage of good ideas. what ideas? four years ago when they first took majority in this house, the house republicans passed a similar repeal bill instructed the committees to come back with alternatives and it never happened and it will never happen again. oh me might have a few good ideas here and there, but they have never come up with a comprehensive plan to provide americans low-cost health insurance and insure most americans. that's what we've done with the affordable care act. we are not going back. we are not going to repeal. this is fantasy. the president will never sign it, and i just wish they would stop wasting our time and getting to things that will actually make a difference to the american people.

i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from pennsylvania. mr. pitts: mr. speaker, i'm pleased to yield two minutes to the gentlelady from tennessee, a vice chair of energy and commerce committee mrs. blackburn. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized for two minutes. mrs. blackburn: thank you, mr. chairman. talking about fantasy, mr. chairman i think that it finds its root in this comment from jonathan gruber who was the architect of obamacare and i'm quoting him. if you had a law which said that healthy people are going to pay and sick people will get the money, it would never have passed. lack of transparency is a huge political advantage. call it the stupidity of the american voter or whatever, but that was critical for the thing to pass, end quote. now, mr. chairman, that is the fantasy on which this was based. it does not work. it has driven up costs, and indeed we know that 70 of our democrat colleagues have crossed the ideal and have voted with us -- the aisle and have voted with us to repeal

different provisions of this law because it does not work. it is not making insurance more affordable. it is costing more. one of my constituents, emily, her insurance was $57 a month before obamacare. after obamacare, with the subsidies, $373 a month. another constituent jimmy is saying he can't afford to offer the benefits now because the way obamacare has driven up the cost of insurance. it is -- it has closed his business. that is our choices. that is why we are here. it does not work, and it is time to get this law off the books and, yes, there are lots of ideas. you know, mr. chairman, for my colleagues just to know energy and commerce, we have over 100 bills that have been filed that would repeal different provisions of this law and we are doing it because the american people have said, we are tired of this.

it is damaging health care. it is returning us to the day of the old major medical when you had higher premiums, when you had higher out-of-pocket costs and you had less benefits. now, our colleagues across the aisle, mr. speaker, may say that those are not suitable plans, but guess what, that is what obamacare plans are becoming. it's time to get it off the books, restore choice and option for the american people. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady's time has expired. the gentleman from new jersey. . mr. pallone: i yield one minute to our democratic whip, mr. hoyer. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. hoyer: this bill is about restoring choice not to have insurance, not to have the assurance if you get sick you won't go bankrupt. that's what this bill is about. thank you for the microphone. mr. speaker, this house is about to hold its 56th vote to undermine or repeal the affordable care act which came to us by the way, by route of the heritage foundation, as i think probably most of you

recall. but this vote is different than the previous votes, for one significant reason. since the last repeal vote, the health insurance marketplace has opened and is working. over 9.5 million americans have signed up through these marketplaces for health care coverage through 2015 so far. that means with today's vote, republicans are choosing to take away health care coverage from millions of americans. this vote will also remove patient protections and cost savings reforms. to make matters worse, tate's vote would also defund -- today's vote would also defund the bipartisan popular chip program that helps states cover uninsured children. it abandons children as well. in 2011, when house republicans voted to repeal the affordable care act, they included language that said they would replace it with something else. and notwithstanding i say to my friend, mr. pitts notwithstanding, mr. speaker, that, they have not done so.

however, they still have failed to give us an alternative. i urge my colleagues to vote no. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from pennsylvania. mr. pitts: mr. speaker, i'm pleased to yield two minutes to the gentlelady from north carolina, member of the health subcommittee, mrs. ellmers. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized for two minutes. mrs. ellmers: thank you, mr. speaker. thank you, mr. chairman, for this very important discussion that we are having today. i rise in support of h.r. 596, with aims to repeal the patient protection and affordable care act, otherwise known as obamacare. obamacare has been a costly disaster to my constituents in the second district of north carolina and across this country. i have heard numerous stories ranging from young women to senior citizens, and they all touch on the same underlying problem. obamacare is unaffordable and the results are severe

consequences. as a nurse, i know that repeal alone is not enough because the american people need high quality patient centered health care. i am so proud to be standing with my republican colleagues and many of the democrats that we serve with who are now going to say to the american people not only are we against this awful law, but we are for good patient centered health care and we are going to provide that plan of action for the american people to see. we need to stand with the american people who are overwhelmingly disapproving of obamacare. with that, mr. speaker, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new jersey. mr. pallone: mr. speaker, i yield one minute to the ranking member of the health subcommittee, mr. green of texas. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. green: thank you, mr. speaker. i rise today to express my staunch opposition to h.r. 596 legislation to repeal the affordable care act. yesterday was groundhog day.

today's vote really feels familiar. the house has now attempted to repeal or undermine the affordable care act more than 56 times. it's disappointing that the republican leadership continues its partisan campaign to undermine the a.c.a. and create barriers for millions of uninsured americans having access to health insurance. based on the latest estimate from the congressional budget office, 19 million americans and 20,000 in our houston area district would lose their health insurance this year if the a.c.a. is repealed. these are people who would be without coverage today if it were not for the a.c.a. h.r. 596 would take away critical benefits and health care coverage for hardworking families. not only that this bill would increase the deficit repeal reforms that help slow the growth and health care costs, and undo basic protection that is provide security for the middle class. it's long past time to stop playing political games on health reform. we need to work and enact reforms that improve and build on the a.c.a. for the good of the american people. i return the balance of my time.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from pennsylvania. mr. pitts: mr. speaker, a lot of those people are on medicaid and can't even see a doctor. i'm pleased now to yield two minutes to an outstanding member from pennsylvania, mr. rothfus. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for two minutes. mr. rothfus: thank you, mr. speaker. i stand here today listening both to the rule of debate and debate we are having right now to my colleagues on the other side of the aisle who ridicule our relief efforts and joke about the number of votes that we have taken to repeal obamacare. well, mr. speaker my friends across the aisle may think this is funny, but it's no joke to the folks i represent back in pennsylvania. it's not a joke to the mother who walked into the pharmacy and found out her drug cost -- that cost $40 under her old plan, the one that the president promised she could keep now costs $700 because of the skyrocketing deductibles that she has. it isn't funny to people who received cancellation notice in the mail and have been forced on

plans with ridiculous out-of-pocket costs. a woman i spoke to can't go to a doctor she's seen for 20 years, definitely isn't amused by obamacare. there wasn't one single republican who voted to create the train wreck that's known as obamacare, and we made our opposition abundantly clear to votes before we went to the ballots last november. i urge my colleagues to give americans what they asked for and support this legislation. do it for every american who was lied to about the real costs of this law. do it for the millions who have been hurt by this law. and let's find a better way ford. -- forward. i thank the speaker and yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new jersey. mr. pallone: i yield one minute to the gentlewoman from california mrs. capps. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized for one minute. mrs. capps: i thank my colleague for yielding. mr. speaker, it's not a joke. it's disheartening that here we are for the 56th time, again

considering a bill to repeal the affordable care act. and this time it is different. this time repeal will do more than simply take away the important consumer protections that hold insurance companies accountable and make sure everyone is insurable. this time it will actually take health insurance away from millions of families. plans they have both chosen and paid for. this time it will hit families where it hurts, raising their costs by erasing the benefits that make their insurance more affordable as well as raising medicare prescription drug costs. this time tax credits will be lost, leaving employees without coverage and few if any affordable options. we all know that the affordable care act is not perfect and there are clear areas where we could work together to build on and improve this law, but today's repeal vote would turn back time. reverting back to a system everyone agreed was broken.

the american people deserve better than that from us. i yield a no vote and yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the chair will receive a message. the messenger: mr. speaker a. message from the secretary. the secretary: mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: madam secretary. the secretary: i have been directed by senate to inform the house that the senate has passed without amendment h.r. 203, cited as the clay hunt suicide prevention for american veterans act. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from pennsylvania. mr. pitts: mr. speaker, at this time i'm pleased to yield two minutes to the gentleman from michigan. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from michigan is recognized for two minutes. moo lenar -- mr. moolenaar: thank you, mr. speaker. our nation has over $18 trillion in debt and this law adds to it by spending more money we don't have. the cost of coverage subsidies

alone is expected to quadruple over the next 10 years acording to the c.b.o. the federal government is picking up the tab for medication expansion and it will eventually pass the enormous financial burden on to state budgets. in the last decade alone, michigan has gone from one in eight residents enrolled in medicaid to approaching one in four enrolled in this unsustainable government program. what's more, this law has the effect of throwing a wet blanket on the economy. small business owners say rising health insurance costs are their biggest concern, and the health insurance tax costs them $688 per employee. school districts have cut the hours of part-time employees and businesses can't afford to hire more employees because of the costs of mandated coverage. we have even seen colleges and universities cut back hours for student workers and now they earn less money to pay for their classes.

individuals, families, and businesses all face continuing uncertainty over health care coverage and its costs. the administration alone has made 28 changes to the law, including delaying mandates changing verification retirements, pushing back enrollment dates because the website wasn't ready, and expanding waivers to deal with the cancellation of millions of health care plans. five years after it was signed, the president's health care law is still changing. last november, the department of health and human services proposed 35 more revisions. it's time to permanently repeal the excessive spending, the economic pain, and the continuing uncertainty caused by this law. and replace it with patient centered alternatives with lower premiums that allow individuals to choose the coverage they want. it's time to empower patients to take control of their health care choices. i yield back.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new jersey. mr. pallone: mr. speaker, i yield one minute to the gentlewoman from illinois, ms. schakowsky. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized for one minute. ms. schakowsky: here's what my constituent laurel wrote me. thank you, i'm tired of all this belly aching about health care so i want to share our story. we are small business owners and have a very expensive policy for our two employees, but we have been stuck with that approach because my husband and one of our kids has asthma and therefore uninsurable. our health care broker sent us all the health care information for the next year and our yearly costs will go down if we switch to one of the obamacare options in illinois. although we don't qualify for subsidies, it's cheaper in all scenarios. if our usage is similar to what it was the last three years, our costs go down 20%. the policy is better. everyone in our family is now insurable. my kids still under 21 may be able to get dental insurance.

and the out-of-pocket maximum is lowered if someone really gets sick. wow. she says these savings don't include the benefits, no deductible checkups and preventive drug benefits which have already saved us $1,800 this year. our health care broker and his partner are signing up for obamacare options themselves. i'd like to know what all those republican grandstanders who have been blocked action at every turn are now wringing their hands have done for me lately. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from pennsylvania. mr. pitts: may i inquire of the time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from pennsylvania has 1/2 minutes remaining. the gentleman from new jersey has nine minutes remaining. mr. pitts: mr. speaker, at this time i yield two minutes to the gentleman from alabama, mr. palmer. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for two minutes. mr. palmer: thank you, mr. speaker. i rise in strong support of h.r. 596, a bill that would fully repeal the affordable care act offered by mr. byrne of alabama. right now americans are being

forced to buy a government product or pay a penalty. the constitution mandates freedom, not the purchase of health insurance or any other product. we all remember this promise, if you like your health care plan, can you keep it. and 2013, a reported 4.7 million people in 32 states lost their health insurance when their plans were canceled. that's just the beginning. the congressional budget office projects seven million more americans will lose their health sponsored coverage in 2016. americans were promised that with obamacare their premiums would be lower. instead premiums have skyrocketed. some groups have seen their premiums increase by 78%. at the same time household incomes have gone down. today four years after the pass ang of obamacare -- passage of obamacare, there's still 41 million people without health coverage. there are millions of people out of full-time work and millions more forced into part-time jobs. obamacare must be repealed and replaced. mernts should be allowed to buy the health insurance they want

and need. we need market competition between health insurance providers, and people should be able to buy their health insurance across state lines. this would result in more choices for plans and at lower cost. we need portability so that when a person changes or loses a job, they don't lose their health i shurens. and we need -- insurance. and we need innovative reforms for medicaid and for controlling cost, promoting healthier lifestyle choices, and reforms that treat people with dignity. h.r. 596 starts the process of reforming our health care system by repealing obamacare. this is the first step toward true affordable health care that puts people back in charge of their health care choices. thank you, mr. speaker. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new jersey. mr. pallone: mr. speaker, i yield one minute to the gentleman from north carolina, mr. butterfield. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. butterfield: i thank you mr. pallone, for yielding. i rise in strong opposition to this bill. this vote today marks the 56th attempt by house republicans to

dismantle the a.c.a. if enacted, more than 19 million people who were previously uninsured would lose tax credits and subsidies that make insurance affordable. members who voted for this bill are telling the american people that access to affordable, quality health care should be reserved for only those who have the means to afford it. let me just tell you a story very brief story about a man named carlton stevens jr. from my hometown of wilson, north carolina. last year was a very challenging year for the stevens family of five as they found themselves uninsured. as mr. stevens and his wife found themselves between jobs and on a new town, they prioritized finding health coverage for their family. mr. stevens visited the federal health insurance marketplace to search for coverage and was surprised and elated to know that he and his family qualified for credit of approximately $800. he and his wife were able to purchase insurance for the entire family for less than $200. .

mr. speaker this bill would deprive families, like the stevens family in their time of need. i wonder why the republicans are doing it again. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from pennsylvania. mr. pitts: mr. speaker, the number one health care concern of the american people is cost. the president promised american families they would see $2,500 reduction in premiums. president obama was wrong. according to one study from the manhattan institute, american families are seeing premium increases of an average of 49% increases. this time i'm pleased to yield one minute to the gentleman from arkansas mr. hill. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from arkansas is recognized for one minute. mr. hill: thank you, mr. chairman, for yielding. thank you, mr. speaker. i rise today in support of h.r. 596, which repeals the president's flawed health care law in its entirety and provides to the congress a clean slate to implement

patient center health care reform this nation needs and deserves. the majority of americans are opposed to obamacare and it's harmful, intended or unintended side effects which have increased costs, decreased health access, lost jobs, work hours and wages for many of our hardworking families. this is an opportunity to recognize the flaws of mandates and a top-down approach to health care and allows us to finally consider ideas that will result in a health care system that empowers and encourages individuals to take control of and responsibility for their health care through the use of tools like health savings accounts and incentives that reward healthy behaviors. we need targeted transparent well-thought out reforms that acknowledge the complexity of our health care system and with the right kind of reforms we can get the right kind of health care that's affordable and accessible.

i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new jersey. mr. pallone: mr. speaker, i yield one minute to the gentlewoman from florida ms. castor. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized for one minute. ms. castor: the affordable care act is a great help to american families. now, most americans have health insurance through their employer, and the a.c.a. provides important consumer protections for those families. they cannot end your policy if you get sick. your co-payments and premiums have to go to health services and not profits for insurance companies and for your kids aged 26 or younger, they can stay on your own health insurance plan. for americans on medicare, the a.c.a. is saving you money. in fact, since passage of the a.c.a., more than 7.9 million people who rely on medicare have saved almost $10 billion on prescription drugs. you have new wellness checkups, and the affordable care act extended the life of the medicare trust fund for more than a decade. and finally, before the a.c.a.,

many americans were barred from health insurance because of a previous diagnosis of cancer, diabetes or something else. the affordable care act has been a lifeline for them because it ended discrimination and created new marketplaces for americans to shop for the best plan for their families. in florida alone, my home state, 1.5 million floridians have already signed up for a plan in the marketplace for the upcoming year. 1.5 million floridians. please, colleagues, don't take this away. vote no on this bill. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from pennsylvania. mr. pitts: mr. speaker at this time i'm pleased to yield two minutes to the gentleman from georgia, mr. heist. the speaker pro tempore: -- mr. pitts: the gentleman from georgia mr. hice. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. hice: since passage in 2010, obamacare has a full

takeover of the health care industry and they were sold by false promises that obamacare would lower the costs and increase access to care. the first most egregious promise when the president himself said if you like your health care plan you'll be able to keep it, period. no one will take it away no matter what. in reality some five million americans have lost their plans since that time and have suffered needlessly. furthermore mr. speaker, we were promised that premiums would go down. instead premiums in the individual marketplace have increased by an average of 49% across the country. this is one of the main reasons that only 7% of americans believe that obamacare will actually reduce the cost of care. obamacare has also been a drag on the economy. the nonpartisan congressional budget office has estimated that this law will reduce the full fime work force by some -- full-time work force by some

2.5 million people. and small business wages have already decreased 22.6 billion dollars a year. mr. speaker, with its $1 trillion in new taxes and $2 trillion in new entitlement spending, we must repeal obamacare, and h.r. 596 does exactly that. additionally, we must replace this law with patient-centered free market solutions to the problems that exist in our health care system. h.r. 596 takes the important step of directing the committees of jurisdiction to develop legislation that will do just that. i ask all my colleagues to support h.r. 596. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new jersey. mr. pallone: mr. speaker, i yield one minute to the gentlewoman from new york, ms. compleark. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from new york is recognized for one minute. ms. clarke: thank you, mr.

speaker. i rise in opposition to h.r. 596, a bill that will completely repeal the affordable care act, which was signed into law in 2010 and declared sound by the supreme court. it gives health care coverage to all americans regardless of their gender, health condition or ability to pay. unlike other republican repeal efforts, h.r. 596 does have a bit of a new twist. this legislation instructs the appropriate committee to include provisiones that will provide people with pre-existing conditions access to affordable health coverage and provisions designed to increase the number of insured americans. i'm not sure where the republicans have been in the past five years, but those two provisions is already in the affordable care act, which is already the law of the land. in fact, the number of uninsured americans have steadily decrease under the affordable care act to a record low of 13.4% by the second quarter of freen, and the gallup's -- 2014, and the

gallup's quarterly trend says the uninsured rate will drop over all age groups. the affordable care act is good law and should not be repealed and that is why i vehemently oppose h.r. 596. it is another very cynical attempt to take our nation backwards, and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from -- the chair will inform the managers that the gentleman from pennsylvania has one minute remaining. the gentleman from new jersey has six minutes remaining. the gentleman from pennsylvania. mr. pitts: mr. speaker, i'll verve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from new jersey. mr. pallone: mr. speaker, i'd now yield one minute to the gentleman from oregon, mr. schrader. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from oregon is recognized for one minute. mr. schrader: thank you mr. speaker. i have to say i'm very surprised i have to be here today. i thought after millions of americans said loud and clear this past november they want us to work together and find common ground. we could put divisive bills

like this behind us. when i speak to voters in my district in oregon, none of them asked me to raise taxes on the middle class, which effectively this bill does. none of them asked me to let health insurance plans discriminate against women or against pre-existing conditions. something this bill does. i don't know any seniors that want to pay more for prescription drugs something that will happen if this bill becomes law. nothing i speak with wants the most vulnerable children to go without health insurance, which will happen with this bill going into effect, ending bipartisan support for the children's health insurance program. nobody i know wants to see the deficit grow, to pass on more debt to future generations or reduce the solvency of the medicare trust fund, again, something that will happen if this bill becomes law. mr. speaker, i don't think my constituents are alone in this. americans want us to stop wasting time, come together, put this partisan nonsense behind us and urge my colleagues right now to vote no on this bill and get our

priorities in line. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from pennsylvania. mr. pitts: mr. speaker, i continue to reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from new jersey. mr. pallone: mr. speaker, i now yield one minute to my colleague -- my colleague from massachusetts, mr. kennedy. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. kennedy: thank you mr. speaker. mr. speaker, i rise today in proud support of the affordable care act and the millions of americans that have received coverage under this law. i rise today in support of the idea that in this country, the most powerful in the world, that every citizen deserves access to quality, affordable health care. and i rise today on behalf of the millions of children that get health insurance through the children health insurance program that is also at risk today. mr. speaker, one in five children today are on food stamps. 16 million kids under the age of 18. for the first time in 50 years, the majority of u.s. public school students live in poverty. chip was designed in the 1990's

to try to address these kids and make sure they have access to health care. and since the uninsured rate for children has dropped from 14% to 7%. chip funding expires later this year and includes in this bill, more than eight million children will lose access to health insurance. that is 150,000 children in massachusetts alone. and so mr. speaker, i ask my colleagues today to hear those eight million voices, to vote no on this bill. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from pennsylvania. mr. pitts: continue to reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from new jersey. mr. pallone: mr. speaker i'd now yield the gentleman from california mr. cardenas, one minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. cardenas: i rise in opposition to h.r. 596. americans should know that these same fear-mongering comments were made when congress created medicare. today we have millions of

grandmothers and grandfathers who would not be alive today had that congress abandoned this critical life-saving law. i'm proud to support the affordable care act. last year in the san fernando vamly, thousands of families sat there nervous at first but after realize now their family could afford to see a doctor, i personally witnessed tears of joy. republicans need to stop playing games with people's lives. the affordable care act saves lives. obamacare never existed. obamacare is just a form of a lie. americans need to learn that the affordable care act is not what people call obamacare. millions of people will be alive today and tomorrow and we just have to look at our history in congress to know that fear mongering should not intimidate elected officials. thank you very much. i yield back my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from pennsylvania. mr. pitts: continue to reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from new jersey.

mr. pallone: mr. speaker, i now yield a minute to the gentleman from california, mr. thompson. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. thompson: i thank the gentleman for yielding. mr. speaker it's said that insanity is doing something over and over again and expecting a different result. well, here we go again, the 56th bill to repeal or undermine the affordable care act. we all understand that the majority needs to give their freshmen members an opportunity to say that they voted to repeal obamacare. so let's call this what it really is -- an exercise in futility. it may make for good talking points in your district, but it's bad for our country and it's a waste of time and a waste of tax dollars. you're in charge with the biggest majority in decades, and this is what you decide to do with it? folks on my side of the aisle are willing to work with you on things, like investing in roads growing our economy creating jobs and even making improvements in the affordable

care act. our constituents sent us here to get something done, not to pass bills that are never going to become law. so let's do something meaningful. let's say no to this bill and get on with the work of the people. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from pennsylvania. mr. pitts: might i inquire how many speakers the gentleman has? mr. pallone: we're prepared to close. i'll verve. the speaker pro tempore: -- mr. pitts: we're prepared to close, i'll reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new jersey. mr. pallone: how much time do we have? the speaker pro tempore: two minutes. mr. pallone: i yield myself two minutes mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. pallone: my colleagues on the other side keep saying they will come up with an alternative to the affordable care act and yet not one speaker mentioned an alternative that they have and that's because it doesn't exist. as i said before, four years ago, they came up with a similar repeal bill. they said they were going to instruct the committees to come back with an alternative and they never did. and they never will. the fact of the matter is if you listen to my colleagues on the democratic side, they talked about all the positive

things that have occurred because of the affordable care act. millions, almost 20 million people who didn't have insurance before, now have insurance. pre-existing conditions out the window. how many people had to -- weren't able to get insurance before because they had cancer or they had other pre-existing conditions that made it impossible for them to get insurance? and that is not the case anymore. kids who are on their parents' policies seniors who benefited from the fact now there's no doughnut hole and they can basically get their prescription drugs. how in the world are my republican colleagues come here on the floor and know that all these positive things have resulted because of the affordable care act? and just in a moments notice say they're simply going to repeal it and not even have an alternative to come up with it? it's incredible to me they want to turn the clock back and don't understand that people have benefited greatly from the affordable care act. well, the bottom line is that we as democrats are not going to turn the clock back. we are very proud of the fact the affordable care act has

accomplished so much to reform the health care system, to deal with preventative care, to make changes in the health care system that are provided good, quality care, good benefits at an affordable price. this president said this bill is dead on arrival. he'll veto it. he'll take out his veto pen. let's not waste our time. 56th vote to repeal i hope we don't see another one. it's simply a waste of time and i hope my republican colleagues understand that. so if you have some ideas in the future that you want to make improvements, you want to improve quality, you want to improve access we'll listen to them. we're more than willing to work with you on a bipartisan basis, but we are not going back to the system that existed before where the insurance companies ran the system. we're not giving it back to the insurance companies. i yield back, mr. speaker. . the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from pennsylvania. . >> as i said before, we had several hundred bills, a menu of options to repeal and replace. mr. pitts: some comprehensive, some targeted. i would remind the democrats that obamacare cut $17.16

billion out of medicare to fund obamacare. i'm pleased now to yield such time as he may consume to our great majority leader, mr. mccarthy from california. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california is recognized. mr. mccarthy: i thank the gentleman for yielding. mr. speaker, today the house will vote on a bill that we have voted on many times in this chamber. mr. speaker, you want to know why? the answer is very simple. the law is a disaster. we still can't afford its costs and the american people still don't want it. the house on both sides is intimately tied to the will of the people. we talk, we listen to our constituents every day. in our districts we listen to them at meetings, in the grocery store, at the gas station and in our houses of worship. and every two years our neighbors either send us back to washington to fight for

them, or send someone else. in the most fundamental way their priorities are our priorities. because we directly represent them. and when it comes to obamacare, the people could not be clearer. mr. speaker, you know what they have said? they said, we don't want it. we don't want higher premiums. we don't want to be forced to buy all sorts of coverage that we don't need and can't afford. mr. speaker, they've also said we don't -- said, we don't want to lose our doctors, as millions have. we don't want to give control over our health care decisions to washington bureaucrats. they have simply said, we don't want it. but for years the president hasn't listened. now house republicans have three priorities. we want to increase freedom,

promote opportunity and hold government accountable. obamacare is against all those goals with its outdated, top-down approach. it limits opportunities by destroying the 40-hour workweek and saddling americans with more costs. and it empowers the government that mismanaged the v.a. and gives them even more control over american health care system. we need a new system. we need a system that puts the patients first. one that controls costs through competition and expands coverage by choice, not coercion. that is a system the house is developing right now. so if you ask why we're voting to repeal this law again, we're doing it for the people. mr. speaker, i ask that every member in this house that has a direct relationship with their district to listen.

but at the end, have the wisdom to listen, but the courage to lead and vote yes. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the time has expired for the energy and commerce committee. the gentleman from texas and the gentleman from michigan each will control 15 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from texas. >> thank you, mr. speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. >> mr. speaker, i rise today in

support of h.r. 596, legislation to repeal the president's controversial and expensive health care law. mr. brady: a law that put 159 federal agencies, commissions and bureaucracies in between you and your physician. mr. speaker, today the house of representatives again acts to repeal the costly mistake known as the affordable care act. and in the years since the law's passage, americans, too many americans, have discovered the reality behind the president's promises. americans lost plans they liked. and wanted to keep. they saw their premiums soar and their deductibles. they discovered their family doctor was suddenly out of network and unaffordable. they saw their hours reduced to work and hiring slowed as a result of the law's $1 trillion in new taxes. they realized that under the law more work doesn't

necessarily mean more pay. they saw their tax dollars risked on insurance organizations that are now failing. they tried frustratingly to navigate the complicated health care site to get help, buying what turned out to be more costly coverage. and soon millions of un suspecting americans may know that errors beyond their control could leave them on the hook to the i.r.s. today's action is not simply opposing the affordable care act, it's about standing up for our families, parents, small businesses and local health care providers who have been hurt by this law. the american people deserve better than this. we need to start over and that begins with the full repeal of the president's health care law. but we can't just stop there. we also have to continue to advance our own patient-centered solutions to the problems in health care. solutions that actually lower the cost of health care, that make our current system more

fair, that protect the most vulnerable and put our crucial safety net programs on a path to sustainability for the long term. i'm pleased, mr. speaker, that this bill will allow us another opportunity to put forward these ideas and i encourage my colleagues to support this bill. at this point i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from michigan. mr. levin: i yield myself such time as i shall consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. levin: i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. levin: well, the majority leader says we need a new system. this has been for four years their new system. a total blank page. their problem is that it's working that health care is working. it's working for these people.

1 million uninsured -- 12 million uninsured americans who got coverage. for over 10 million enrolled in medicaid and chip. for three million young adults, three million who are now covered because of their parents' health policy. it's working it's working for 129 million americans with pre-existing health conditions. with pre-existing health conditions who so many of whom were out in the cold. for 105 million americans who no longer have a lifetime limit or an annual limit. and for seniors for seniors who got the benefit of filling the doughnut hole. there's some reference here to increased health care costs.

it's a lie. health care costs have been going down. it's a fib. it isn't true. i think what bothers republicans most of all is that it's working and their ideology is blind to success or they don't want to see it. we're going to vote no, what is this, the 56th time? we've lost track how many times we voted no. we're voting no because of the millions of people who were left out by our insurance coverage who now have the decency, have the decency of health care coverage and the protection of health care coverage. we're proud of health care reform. so we stand up to say yes to it

by voting no. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from texas. mr. brady: mr. speaker, i'm pleased to yield one minute to one of the health care leaders on the ways and means committee, congresswoman from tennessee mrs. black. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized for one minute. mrs. black: i thank the gentleman for yielding. mr. speaker, as a nurse for over 40 years, i saw how decisions in washington affected the real people. i witnessed the affects of congress' action on my patients' faces and in their billing statements. i understand better than most the need for health care reform. but obamacare was never the way to do it. just ask the 16,000 tennesseans who lost their health insurance through cover tennessee despite the president's promise, if you like what you have, you can keep it. or the 11 million small business employees that c.m.s. says will see their premiums spike because of the law. the results are in. obamacare was a mistake that

hurts the very people it pretends to help. and that's why today i will vote to repeal this law once and for all. thank you and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from michigan. mr. levin: i now yield a minute and a half to the distinguished gentleman from new york who has worked on health care for how many years, mr. rangel? the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for 1 1/2 minutes. mr. rangel: thank you for this opportunity to try to figure out what's going on the floor today. normally republicans are rational, intelligent people and that's the reason why they keep talking about obamacare. it's clear to me that we're not voting on obamacare. i haven't seen obamacare in any of the papers we have today. so they must be saying that they want to repeal the patient protection and affordable care act. that makes it easy to understand what they want to do. they want to repeal health

care. and they want to replace it with -- well, they want to -- they want -- i don't know what they want to do. quite frankly. but i know they want to get rid of this. i think we've reached the point where we've exhausted the legislative process. i figured it out. this senate is prepared to join with them in this insanity. the only thing missing is the president of the united states. now, they must have a plan how they're going to pick up 2/3 of this house and 2/3 of the senate to tell the world, we don't want americans to have health care. now is the time for the spiritual leaders to come in. because i've been reviewing the bible and -- christians, jews, everybody says that we have a moral obligation to give the sick an opportunity to get well.

to allow children the opportunity to breathe. and i know the concern for the unborn, that we all have. but what about the born, the aging, the disabled? and so collectively we all have to -- in god we have to trust. this means we've given up on the process. 55 56 times. it's time to trust in god. so i'm calling upon all of those solemn voices there that are waiting to see whether sanity could ever come to the well of this house, and i think we've proven today don't count on us, god, we need your help and only god can get us out of this one. thank you for the opportunity. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas. mr. brady: mr. speaker, i'm pleased to yield one minute to one of the new members of the house of representatives, the gentleman from minnesota, mr.

emmer. mr. emmer: thank you for your leadership on this issue. i rise today to address the urgent health needs of this nation. i asked my constituents to share with me how obamacare has affected them and i want to share a few of their stories with you today. troy wrote that his family's premium went up and coverage went down drastically -- went down drastically -- drastically affecting the cost of his son's hearing aid. a mental health clinic has steadily lost clients due to regulations. today congress will vote to get rid of this fundamentally flawed and unworkable law, but this cannot be for show. it is not enough for congress to simply be against obamacare, we need to offer alternatives. . by offering market-based consumer-base reforms, we can find real solutions and i'm committed to working with my colleagues to get it done. it's time to stop playing party politics with the public's health. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from michigan.

mr. levin: i now yield two minutes to mr. mcdermott -- we're talking about health so dr. mcdermott from washington two minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman 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, i feel like i'm telling -- i'm hearing stories told to children. the story is this. when president obama became president, most people didn't live in the house of health. there were 30 million people out on the street had nothing, and so president obama built them a house and said everybody can live in the house of health and have health care. their next door neighbor didn't like the house, complained about the house, said there was everything wrong with the house and has tried 55 times to blow the house down.

just like the big bad wolf and the three little pigs. and this time they come with a bulldozer and they want to knock the house down and put everybody out on the street again. now, it wouldn't -- this would be not so silly if it wasn't for the fact that they have no plans to build anything for the people to live in. they've talked for five years, we have plans, we have a committee, we have -- oh, we're going to have plans any day. the fact is they have no plan for the people. they simply say to the american people, we want to knock down your house of health your pre-existing condition will now keep you from health care, your kids are off before 26, all of this is going to happen because we don't think you should have a house of health in this

country. they have no plan and they know it, and they're ashamed of it but they can't stand the fact that mr. obama built the house that covered everybody. it's a glorious creation. is it perfect? no. did they come over with a hammer or paint or something to change it? no. it was always knock that house down. folks, vote no. keep the house up. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas. mr. brady: mr. speaker i'm pleased to yield one minute to a business woman former state ladies and gentlemen legislative slator, who understands the harm of the -- legislator, who understands the harm of the affordable care act mrs. walters. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized. mrs. walters: the affordable care act was sold on numerous false promises. premiums for a typical family would go down. the president told americans that if you like your health

care plan you can keep it, and if you like your doctor you can keep your doctor. however that was not true and now many americans are grappling with a very different reality. as a result of obamacare, millions of americans have seen their health care plans canceled, families are finding they may not get to keep the doctor they like and premiums in the individual market are increasing 45% in the average state. mr. speaker, the american people deserve better. instead of putting the federal government in the driver's seat of our nation's health care decisions, we need solutions that will protect the doctor-patient relationship, foster economic growth and empower patients by giving them the choice and control. today i'm pleased to stand in support of h.r. 596, legislation that would not only repeal obamacare but would instruct the house to come forward with a patient-centered free market alternative. mr. speaker, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from michigan. mr. levin: i now yield two

minutes to another distinguished member of our committee mr. pascrell, two minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new jersey is recognized for two minutes. mr. pascrell: mr. speaker i rise today in opposition to h.r. 596. you'd think that if my friends on the other side cobbled together all of the time they spent trying to undermine the a.c.a. they should have been able to come up with an alternative for this law, the law they can't find anything good to say about. but i'm not holding my breath for that. while we have been here 55 times before, including my republican colleagues shutting down the government over a.c.a. -- let's not forget that. you shut the place down in trying to stop a.c.a. today -- oh, by the way, you didn't know how much that cost them.

billions of dollars in jobs. now we're repealing the law after the major coverage expansion provisions have gone into effect. today's vote in repealing the a.c.a. means taking away health insurance for the 19 million americans who received coverage under a.c.a., including 213,000 people from my home state of new jersey. second, ending the tax credits 85% of americans with coverage through the exchange are using to help offset the premiums and requiring them to pay back the tax credits they already received. and third among the many reasons, seniors losing the new medicare benefits the a.c.a. created, such as lower drug costs and free preventive services. you tell this -- i want to be there when you tell the seniors in your district that are covered under this plan that they don't have it anymore. i want you to tell them how much it's going to be increased

on prescription drugs. you stand there. don't pontificate on this floor. go to your district. tell the people what you're doing. before the a.c.a., many people were paying for plans that didn't provide them with the coverage they needed. the plans they purchased at high out-of-pocket costs and artificially low caps on coverage. my friends, my friend from texas, and i call him my friend -- the speaker pro tempore: the chair would remind members to address their remarks to the chair. through the chair. mr. pascrell: through the chair, my friend from texas -- i call him my friend i think sincerely. i agree with him, this we want results from what we're spending on health care. want to see the results. results oriented. absolutely. that's what health care and a.c.a. are all about. we are removing ourselves from the fee for service which have

placed -- made patients prisoners of hospitals. and you agree with me on that, i believe. make the a.c.a. better. help us improve it for a change. you know there are good things in this bill and in this law. help us make it better for the american people and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from texas. mr. brady: mr. speaker, i'm proud to yield one minute to a new member of congress and a former state legislator who helped lead the fight against the damages of the affordable care act in north carolina, mr. rouzer. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. rouzer: thank you mr. speaker. one of the best things we can do in congress to create an environment for good -- better paying jobs is to repeal obamacare. under obamacare, health insurance premiums have gone up access to quality care has gone down and doctors all over this great land are plotting their exit strategies. not to mention the chill effect

this law has had on our economy resulting in lost jobs all over america. it's a simple fact, if you're going to get the best product for the lowest possible price you must have competition and transparentsy. we have very little of either in the health care sector today, and obamacare, with all its rules and mandates, has made it that much worse. if we want to do right by the american people, we should allow individuals and families to buy insurance across state lines, let small businesses and other groups establish associated health plans so they can pool their resources and have the leverage to buy health insurance at lower rates. and we should let individuals and families to set aside money in health savings accounts tax-free. mr. speaker, those are just a few of the simple commonsense steps we can take to help drive down costs. the american people know that obamacare is not the answer, and those seeking a good-paying job definitely know it. so let's do what's right. let's repeal this disastrous law and start anew.

mr. levin: it's now a pleasure to yield to the gentleman from new york, also the vice chair of our caucus, mr. crowley. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for two minutes. mr. crowley: i thank the gentleman for yielding. mr. speaker, i heard my friend, the gentlelady from tennessee, mrs. blackburn, as she was leaving and finishing remarks she said -- and i somewhat quote. she hopes this repeal of the a.c.a. will be once and for all , the end of the a.c.a. act. once and for all. if they've done it once they've done it 56 times. it's not one time, it's 56 times you wanted to repeal the affordable care act. 56 times. my colleagues on the other side of the aisle are probably pretty proud of themselves. after all, joe dimaggio, he had a 56-game hitting streak. something people say will never be equated again. but unlike joe this one isn't a streak of hits. it's a streak of losses, a

streak of strikeouts for the american people. it's a streak of being willing to sacrifice the health and well-being of your constituents just to make a cheap political point. this majority is apparently ready and eager to actually take away health coverage, and as my friend from new jersey, mr. pascrell said try explaining this to your constituents back at home. take away health coverage people have purchased and have been using for over a year. they would make people particularly seniors, pay back the tax credits that helped them afford the coverage in the first place. they would ask their seniors to go back to pinching pennies to afford prescription drugs and even force them to repay the rebate check they received for the high prescription drug costs. they would put insurance companies back in charge of what kind of health care you can get and when you can get it and how much it's going to cost. that's not a win to me. that's not something to

celebrate. it's something you should all be ashamed of. mr. speaker, you all know joe dimaggio. some streaks put you at the top. this one puts you at the bottom and unfortunately it puts the american people on the bottom as well. with that i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas. mr. brady: mr. speaker, i'm pleased to welcome a new member of the ways and means committee who has quickly become a leader on health care issues, the gentleman from missouri, mr. smith. the speaker pro tempore: how much time does the gentleman yield? mr. brady: one minute. mr. smith: we heard the comment numerous times, if you like your health care you can keep it what the president had said. mr. speaker, we know that was not true. and i would like to give you an example of just one of thousands that i've had from my district. this comes from frank whenever you contacted our office he said my first sbroydux to obamacare was a cancellation notice on december 31, 2014. he said, i wasn't canceled for

numerous claims or because of my health. i was canceled because of obamacare. and let me tell you. he lost his health insurance, and this is the change of his current health insurance he was supposed to keep to now what he has to have. his current policy premium was $237.86. his new premium is $531.89, an increase of $123 -- 123.6%. his deductible on his old policy was $2,500. his new policy deductible is $6.350. his co-pay on his prior policy was a zero co-pay within the network. his new program was a 40% pay above his deductible. so let's look at it. if you have a $30,000 medical procedure, under -- mr. brady: mr. speaker, i yield an additional 30 seconds. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. smith: thank you, mr. chairman. under a $30,000 medical proper prore, his old insurance claim, he had a $2,500 deductible.

with his $6.350 deductible, he's going to be out $15,810. this is what my constituent frank wrote. obamacare is clearly the biggest, most costly lie that has ever been forced upon me by the federal government. it should be entitled what it is, the most ridiculously unaffordable health care act. mr. speaker, that is why i'm standing here today with my colleagues, asking for a vote on h.r. 596, to repeal the ridiculously unaffordable health care act. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from michigan. mr. levin: how much time is there, please? the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from michigan has four minutes remaining. the gentleman from texas has seven minutes remaining. mr. levin: i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from texas. mr. brady: thank you, mr. speaker. i'm pleased to yield one minute to a business owner who's had to provide health care to his workers and leader on the ways and means committee, the gentleman from pennsylvania, mr. kelly. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. kelly: i thank the

gentleman. mr. speaker, i rise in strong support of h.r. 596 because i think it's time for everybody that sits in this house to listen to the american people. this is health care america's house. this is the house of representatives. it's not the republican party who disapproves of the affordable care act. it is the american people, and it doesn't matter what poll you look at. overwhelmingly, whether it's rasmussen, cbs news, fox news, associated press, gallup pew research, americans are saying resoundingly, we do not like this bill, we disapprove of this bill. and to continue to say somehow we're taking something from somebody, wait until the tax season hits. i'm talking to people back home that do tax preparation. they're already looking at just day two of tax preparation, my goodness, what we were told was a lie. now, mr. gruber couldn't be more truthful when he said, we relied on the stupidivity -- stupidity of the american people to get this passed. where i'm from you are's allowed to make a mistake but

not lie to people. they won't forgive you for that. it's time to repeal this horrible piece of legislation that was passed through lies. is it didn't get passed through honesty. it's dishonest to say that the republicans are trying to hurt the american people when the american people speak out in a great majority and they disapprove of this law. i thank you and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from michigan. . mr. levin: i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from texas. mr. brady: mr. speaker, i'm pleased to yield one minute to a small business person and a dynamic member of our house of representatives, the gentleman from north carolina, mr. pitting injury. -- mr. pittinger. mr. pittenger: mr. speaker, i rise today in support of this, to repeal the affordable care act. i would ask my colleagues on the other side of the aisle, if this obamacare is so good, why am i hearing so much from my constituents that they can't keep the insurance plans that they liked? many have seen their premiums skyrocket and too many who need health have fallen through the

-- help have fallen through the cracks because of a flawed system where obamacare picks winners and losers at the expense of the american taxpayers. today's vote on repeal is an important first step. we will replace obamacare with patient-centered reforms increasing competition and lowering costs by allowing insurance to be sold across state lines. ensuring portability and safeguarding individuals with a pre-existing condition. all by providing freedom of choice, not more fines and taxes. obamacare is a train wreck. i urge my colleagues to support today's repeal and join me in spork -- working toward a commonsense replacement. thank you and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from michigan. mr. levin: i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas. mr. brady: i'm pleased to yield one minute to the gentleman from florida. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> thank you, mr. speaker. i appreciate you mr. chairman. i stand in support of h.r. 596, the a.c.a. was passed not in

open, transparent government, it was passed with not one republican support behind it. we hear on the other side how we're repealing it again and i think you ought to take heed to the notice that the american people sent the largest majority of republicans back to congress primarily to repeal this bill. mr. yoho: i have seen my own story my family, my wife and i and our kids, our policy got canceled because of obamacare and through the house exchange, as a member of congress, my premium went up $870 extra a month. that's almost $11,000 extra it's costing me with decreased coverage, increased dedubbletblingt -- deductibility and the price went up. it was a fabrication that the prices would go down. if it's happening to me, it's happening to everybody around america, which leads to a quality of our lifestyle decreasing and health care is not improving because the majority of the people getting care through this is on the medicaid system. if you look out at the outcome around the world, our medicaid health system is at the bottom and that's where we need to

repeal this bill and replace it with the reforms we have. thank you and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from michigan has four minutes remaining. the gentleman from texas has four minutes remaining. the gentleman from michigan. mr. levin: we may have one additional speaker who's not here yet so i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from texas. mr. brady: mr. speaker, let me yield myself one minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. brady: we heard a lot about 56. 56 times we voted to repeal or defund this bill. but think about the hundreds of times this white house and our democrat colleagues have tried to force tax increases on families and small businesses. how many hundreds of times they tried to force global warming mandates that only drive up energy costs. how many hundreds of times that they forced red tape down our local businesses that they can't possibly survive. and how many millions of people have been forced into health care plans they don't want.

forced into higher monthly premiums higher dedubbletbles, they can't see their doctor -- deductibles they can't see their hopts or doctor or provider -- hospitals or doctors or provider. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from michigan. mr. levin: i'll reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from texas. mr. brady: mr. speaker, we are ready to close. so if the running backing member would like to -- ranking member would like to proceed. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from michigan. mr. levin: i yield -- i have four minutes left? the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman has four minutes. mr. levin: i yield two minutes to the gentleman from washington. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for two minutes. without objection. mr. mcdermott: mr. speaker, it is hard to conceive of a

democratic society in which everyone does not have health security. when you look across the face of the earth every industrialized society on the face of the earth has given health security to their people. they've had their own plan. the germans had their plan, the japanese had their plan, the british had their plan, the canadians. everybody's had their own plan. now, what we're arguing about here today is the president brought a plan to the congress and tried to work with the other side, but they said no, no, no, no. so we passed a bill. now, there isn't anybody in this business who's done any work in any legislative body who believes that you can write a perfect piece of legislation. you always have to make changes in it. you find things in it that need

to be changed. and we have had no help whatsoever of bringing out the kind of changes that would make sense to make this bill work for all americans. when you get sick, you're not a democrat. when you get sick, you're not a republican. you're not in the tea party, you're not on the left. you're just sick. and you want some help. and that's why this bill is way beyond partisan politics. and i had a conversation with bill frist about a year and a half ago. he wrote an editorial in which he said, don't repeal, fix. so i called him up and said, you know, you and i ought to work together and see if we can't work with the republican caucus maybe you can get into them, i can't, they won't talk to me about working together. and he said, well, i'll do what i can. but we never got there. everybody knows that you're not

-- you do not want to have a situation tomorrow where you have a pre-existing condition and you have no health insurance. and that's the kind of thing you're creating by repeal. it's just a bad bill. put it aside and let's work on it. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from michigan. mr. levin: mr. brady, are you ready to close? mr. brady: mr. speaker, how much time do we have? the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman has four minutes remaining. or 3 1/2 minutes. mr. brady: i'm pleased to yield one minute -- pleased to yield one minute to the gentleman. >> thank you. i rise in support of the repeal. obamacare came with many promises, but the american people are finally getting the bill in the mail and they don't like what they see. we were promised lower costs, but we've seen most premiums and dedubbletbles only skyrocket -- deductibles only skyrocket. people need a government

subsidy just to afford it. as i traveled my district, i talked with countless small business owners who think of their employees like family. and they already provide health care coverage for their fine workers. but now that obamacare is forcing them to buy more expensive insurance, many are having to lay off their own employees or convert them to part-time to avoid these skyrocketing costs. at a time when we should be growing the economy, obamacare is forcing businesses to lay off people, cut their hours and cut off their health care coverage. health care in america certainly had problems before this law. but obamacare has been a cure worse than a disease. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from michigan. mr. levin: mr. brady, are you ready to close? mr. brady: in a moment, sir yes, sir. so if you'd like to close we'll follow. mr. levin: then you'll close? mr. brady: yes, sir. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from michigan. mr. levin: i yield myself the balance. the speaker pro tempore: the

gentleman is recognized for two minutes. mr. levin: i ask unanimous consent to put into the record a statement of administration policy. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. levin: this came from the president. the president said when he ran for office, yes we can. and he came here and eventually secured a majority to pass a bill to rectify 75 years of inaction. 75 years for americans without health care by the millions. and so we get it. the republicans have said we will. but they never have. we've never seen a bill that addressed this issue comprehensively. and so now they're on the run

because millions and millions of people have now benefited for a variety of reasons who never had a single hour of health care for themselves or their children. and so now the republicans say, we'll come up with something. it's too late. health care reform is here to stay. we can improve it. but republicans will never destroy it. the american people know it's complex. but they know their health needs. we responded we responded. that should be and is respected. not the disrespect of coming here 57 times to say no when they've never come up with anything.

i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from texas. mr. brady: i yield myself as much time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. brady: frightened. in the days before this health care law was brought to the floor democrats were meeting in the white house in secret, cutting special deals, trying to find a way to pass this bill, because they were frightened that they -- if they did it in the public, out where people could see where they were creating, that they would fail. the night they brought it to the house floor, they were frightened that the american public would know what was in it. they brought it to the floor where literally no one on this floor knew what was in it. they were frightened about what the american public would believe. since its pass -- it's passed, frankly too many americans are frightened by what they've been exposed to, which is forced into health care plans, they had good ones in their business

and now they're forced into ones that cost more, the deductibles have soared, they can't see their local doctor or go to the local hospital or pay for medicines for their children because of this health care plan. democrats at the time didn't allow a vote on any other alternative. no ideas, no options. because they were frightened the american public could see there is a better way. the question today is, can we do better? can we do better than this law that, yes, has helped some, but has hurt so many more? today is about taking the first step to allowing a better option for american families and providers and patients. by first repealing this controversial and troubling law and then bringing to the floor directing our committee to bring a better idea to the floor so that the american public has a chance for real affordable health care that's directed toward them, not washington, that goes with them from job to job, state to

state, home to raise a family or to start that small business, one that's tailored to them not washington. this law is about not top-down but bottom-up and it is long overdue. i support and strongly urge repeal of the health care law and passage of this bill. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. all time for debate of the ways and means committee has expired. the gentleman from alabama, mr. byrne, and the gentleman from virginia, mr. scott, each will control 15 minutes. mr. bryne: mr. speaker, i rise today in strong support of h.r. 596 and yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. bryne: thank you, mr. speaker. by now we have heard all the stories. from canceled plans to higher deductibles to longer wait times at your doctor obamacare

is full of broken promises. everywhere i go in southwest alabama, i hear a different story about how this law is having a negative impact on families, small businesses, doctors and hospitals. and the problems aren't just in alabama. nationwide studies show that under obamacare, individual premiums have gone up by an average of 49%. and deductibles have skyrocketed for the average american family to the point where many people can't afford to pay their deductibles, now how is that affordable? even worse, only 7% of americans believe that this health care law will reduce their health care costs. . 7%. that is astonishing. i don't believe obamacare can be fixed through piecemeal reforms. i think the only way to truly get rid of this harmful law is to repeal obamacare in its

entirety. for the first time republicans now have control of the senate and senate democrats can no longer stand in the way of having this legislation brought up for a vote. this also marks the first full repeal vote since the law has been in implementation. right now american families are sitting around their kitchen table to do their taxes and realizing yet another area this law has caused a confusing maze in order to avoid penalties and we're told that millions of americans have to pay penalties. we were told we would like the law once we found out what was in it. the opposite has been true. we were told we could keep our health care plans and keep our family physicians. that also is not true. the more we learn about this law the less it makes sense,

and today's vote is not just about getting rid of obamacare. it's about charting an appropriate path forward. my legislation instructs the appropriate house committees to move forward with alternative solutions to improve our health care system based on patient-centered reforms that aren't run by the federal government. i look forward to being a part of that process. mr. speaker, i'm proud to champion this legislation on behalf of families in southwest alabama and all across america who have been negatively impacted by this law and i urge my colleagues to vote yes on h.r. 596, and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from virginia. mr. scott: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. scott: thank you, mr. speaker. i rise in opposition to h.r. 596. as the reserve the balance of my time of the education and the work force, i know that protecting access to affordable health care for america's workers and families is a high

priority, and despite scare tactics and misinformation, the bottom line is that the affordable care act is working. perhaps those that want to repeal the affordable care act have a short memory. it's important to remember why the affordable care act was passed in the first place. before the a.c.a. the employer-provided coverage was shrinking. more and more employers were just dropping coverage altogether and there were months in 2008 and 2009 when 14000 people a day were losing their health insurance because employers were not providing it and because it was above their ability to pay. now, from 1999 to 2010 the cost of premiums for employer-provided health insurance increased by 138%. workers earnings only went up around 40%. and those who were employed were often locked into their employment for fear of losing their health care insurance because even though they wanted to retire, they couldn't get

insurance somewhere else. and so they were stuck in their job. every american -- for every american family with insurance had to pay a hidden tax of about $1,000 per family for the cost of paying those without insurance, who would go to the hospital and not pay so when they would go to the hospital they would have to pay a little extra. that little extra was about $1000 per year for every family with insurance. this was the reality that american workers and their families faced before the passage of the affordable care act, and we should not go backwards. today, thanks to the a.c.a., workers are enjoying the peace of mind that they have options. if the employer-provided coverage is not available, they can enter the marketplace. if it's not available, they have a requirement that at least 80% of the premiums be spent on actual health care, not corporate jets and c.e.o. bonuses and we ended insurance

practices such as caps on payments. it would only pay so much overall and then you're on your own. or so much for your lifetime, then you're on your own. and cancellations where they could just arbitrarily cancel your premium after you paid year after year after year. when you get sick, well, they check and they just want to cancel your premium. those abuses can no longer take place. employers will also suffer under the repeal, in 2014, premiums for employer-provided health care grew at the lowest rate in 15 years. if the a.c.a. is repealed, many employers could again be charged health-related premiums, so if they have a few sick employees they'll see their premiums skyrocket. the vast majority of large employers who provide health insurance to their employees may suffer an increase in premiums due to the return of the hidden tax the cost shifting of uncompensated care. and when employees leave a job,

they're on their own. to get the insurance if they can because there was a prohibition. they could deny people with pre-existing conditions. so if you have a pre-existing condition and leave your job, then who knows what's going to happen? in addition, small employers would suffer. since all small -- since all small group market reforms, including rating reforms, would disappear. small employers used to pay 18% more in premiums than large businesses on average. at c.a. leveled the playing field so now they're paying the rates like everybody else. if you repeal the affordable care act they're up another 18% where it was before. now, we've heard all the statistics. over three million uninsured young adults have access to health insurance through their parents' policies. eight million senior citizens in the so-called medicare doughnut hole have been getting relief and have saved billions.

12 million more americans have health insurance because of the affordable care act. these numbers represent real people, and these real people would lose access to their benefits in the affordable care act is repealed. now, those trying to repeal the law should be honest to seniors about what would happen to their free preventative care in the absence of the affordable care act. they should explain to young adults that the law would kick them off their parents' policies. they would have to explain to millions of americans who only have insurance because of the affordable care act, many for the first time in their lives, why they'll now have to go without coverage. and while the majority -- republican majority continues to talk about repeal we should be talking about the progress we've already made and how we can continue to move in the right direction. so when the republicans talk about replacement of legislation that's important -- it's important to note there's no meaningful replacement proposal on the table. and delaying the effective date of this repeal for 188 -- 180

days is not make a meanful replacement any more plausible or likely. this is the 56th attempt to repeal or undermine the affordable care act this is a distraction and i hope the republican majority will refocus efforts on real policy solutions to the american people, the american families and workers. mr. speaker, i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from virginia reserves the baffle his time. the gentleman from alabama is recognized. mr. byrne: mr. speaker, i'm pleased to yield to the distinguished majority whip of this house who's not just traveled around his district talking to people harmed by this law, but traveled around the united states of america, the distinguished gentleman from louisiana, mr. scalise, one minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from louisiana is recognized for one minute. mr. scalise: thank you, mr. speaker. i want to thank the gentleman from alabama for yielding and for his leadership on bringing this bill to the floor to repeal the president's health care law. mr. speaker it was back in 2010 when then-speaker pelosi infamously said we have to pass the bill so we can find out what's in it.

well mr. speaker, we know what's in the bill. american people across the country have seen the devastating impacts of the president's health care law. millions of people have lost the good health care that they had, that they liked. we all heard the promise, if you like what you have you can keep it. the promise was broken to millions of people. and not only did they lose good health care, but many, many millions of people have seen dramatic increases. they're paying double-digit increases for the health care they do have. and what's worse mr. speaker, is that we've seen that vital doctor-patient relationship violated now by unelected bureaucrats in washington who have come in between the doctor and the patient, to make decisions for people's health care. that's not the way to do reform. that was the old way, the washington-knows-best way. there's a better way, and this bill starts that process by first repealing the law in its entirety and then getting the committees of jurisdiction involved putting an alternative in place with a shot clock of 180 days where we can come up with a real bipartisan alternative. let's repeal this law.

let's restore that doctor-patient relationship. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from alabama reserves. the gentleman from virginia is recognized. mr. scott: i thank you mr. speaker. mr. speaker, i yield three minutes to the gentleman from colorado, mr. polis. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from colorado is recognized for three minutes. mr. polis: i thank the gentleman from virginia. mr. speaker, it's week five of the 114th congress, and i really feel like that movie "groundhog day" where the same day just keeps repeating itself over and over and over again. this is the 56th time we've been through this particular exercise, repealing the affordable care act here in the house. we get it. republicans want to repeal the affordable care act. go ahead and try to get president obama's signature on that piece of legislation. it ain't going to happen. but here we go again and again and again we're considering recycled political gimmicks that everyone here knows deprive the american people of affordable health care and

won't create a single job and will increase our deficit over $00 billion. by the way, there's an accounting trick in the ryan budget. what the republican budget does is it keeps all the obamacare taxes and gets rid of all the benefits. that's the worst of both worlds. the republicans want you to pay for obamacare and not get it. does that make any sense, mr. speaker? we're starting to see the dengers of this strange -- dangers of this strange groundhog day brand of so-called policymaking. this is what happens when we abandon regular order, we don't have markups in committee, we don't have hearings, to jam through partisan legislation under a closed process without an opportunity to even suggest what might replace the affordable care act or what kind of health care policy we want to make health care more affordable in our country. this bill would leave 27 million americans out in the cold without health care. what about even more americans who wouldn't have coverage for

pre-existing conditions, who wouldn't have access to affordable prescription drugs? this bill would mean real harm and real hardship for people in my district. couples like mike and lynne in loveland whose health care cost is more than their mortgage before the affordable care act. it cost $850 a month. but thanks to the affordable care act, they were able to find a plan that cost $00 a month. people like robin in eagle county in my district who could barely afford $600 a month in health care costs but now thanks to the affordable care act and the tax credits pays just $132 a month. another constituent of mine didn't go to the doctor for years because he was uninsured. but because of the affordable care act, he was eligible for the medicaid expansion for. for the first time he received a colonoscopy and doctors discovered and removed a precancerous poll-- polyp.

without a.c.a. that might have cost him his life or tens of thousands of dollars because of that procedure. we can do better. we can escape this endless loop this groundhog day and talk about real job-creating legislation, improve health care that republicans and democrats agree on because they make sense for our country. there are real lives at stake mr. speaker. i urge my colleagues to vote no and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from virginia reserves the baffle his time. the gentleman from alabama is recognized. mr. byrne: mr. speaker, i'm pleased to yield to a new member of the education and work force committee a new member of this body, the distinguished gentleman from georgia, mr. carter, for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from georgia is recognized for one minute. mr. carter: thank you mr. speaker. i stand before you, mr. speaker in support of house resolution 596. for three reasons. first of all i'm a middle of the middle class.

secondly, i had a small business and had employees. perhaps most importantly, mr. speaker, i'm a health care professional. the only pharmacist in congress. and i can tell you that affordable care act that obamacare is destroying health care that i have worked in for over 30 years and i refuse to set aside and let that happen. mr. speaker, it has increased costs, increased deductibles and decreased coverage for the middle class. that is not what it was supposed to do. for employers, it has increased costs and decreased the coverage for their patients. and most importantly, for health care mr. speaker. what obamacare has done is to drive the free market out of health care. you don't see any more independent pharmacies. you don't see any more independent doctors. they're all members of health care systems or hospitals employed by them. there are only a couple of -- three or four major pharmacies now, and we're headed more toward that. you don't see patients having a

say in their drug coverage any more. drug therapy is decided not by your pharmacist, not by your doctor, not by the patient but by insurance companies and government. obamacare has to end. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from alabama reserves. the gentleman from virginia is recognized. mr. scott: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent to enter into the record the following letters in opposition, one from the national committee to preserve social security and medicare, another from easter seals, another from the afl-cio, and the other from sciu. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. scott: i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from virginia reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from alabama is recognized. . mr. bryne: mr. speaker, i'm pleased to yield to the gentleman from michigan, another new member of this body, another new member at the education and work force committee, who brings a unique experience to this body, i yield for one minute to the gentleman from michigan, mr. bishop. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from michigan is recognized for one minute. mr. bishop: thank you, mr. speaker. i thank the gentleman for yielding.