the chair: on this vote the yeas are 189, and the nays are 231. the amendment is not adopted. the unfinished business is the request for a recorded vote on amendment number 9 print the in part a of house report 115-2 by the gentleman from rhode island, mr. cicilline, on which further proceedings were postponed and on which the ayes prevailed by voice vote. the clerk will redesignate the amendment. the clerk: amendment number 9 printed in house report 115-2 offered by mr. cicilline of rhode island. the chair: a recorded vote has been requested. those in support of the request for a recorded vote will rise and be counted. a sufficient number having arisen, a recorded vote is ordered. members will record their votes by electronic device. this will be a two-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 s. house of representatives.]

the chair: on this vote, the yeas are 190 and the nays are 2323. he eement is not adopt -- 232.

the unfinished business is recorded vote on amendment number 2 on which further proceedings were postponed and the noes prevailed by voice vote. the clerk will rezregget the amendment. the clerk: amendment number 10 printed in house report 115-2. offered by mr. johnson of georgia. the chair: a recorded vote has been requested. those in support of a recorded vote will rise and be counted. members will record their votes by electronic device. this is a two-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 chair: on this vote, the yeas are 188 and the nays are 234 and the amendment is note adopted. the unfinished business is request for a recorded vote on amendment number 11 printed in by a of house report 115-2

mr. rue ease. the clerk will redesignate the amendment. the clerk: amendment number 11 printed in house report 11-2, offered by mr. rue ease of california. the chair: a request for a recorded has been requested. a recorded vote is ordered. members will record their votes by electronic device. this is a 2-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 chair: on this vote, the yeas are 190 and the nays are 233. the amendment is not adopted. the unfinished business is request for a recorded vote of amendment number 12 printed in house report 115-2 on which further proceedings were postponed and the nays prevailed. the clerk: amendment number 12 rinted in house report a 115-2

offered by mr. scott of virginia. the chair: those in support of the recorded vote will rise. a sufficient number having arisen, a recorded vote is recorded. this is a two-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 chair: on this vote, the yeas are 195, the nays are 227. the amendment is not adopted. the unfinished business is the request for a recorded vote on

amendment number 13 printed in part a of house report 115-2 by the gentleman from new york, mr. tonko, on which further proceedings were postponed, on which the noes veplail -- pr prevailed by voice vote. the clerk will redez ignate the amendment. the clerk: amendment number 13 printed in house report 115-2, offered by mr. tonko of new york. the chair: a recorded vote has been requested. those in support of the request for a recorded vote will rise and be counted. a sufficient number having risen a recorded vote is ordered. members will record their votes by electronic device. this will be a two-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 chair: the yeas are 188, the nays are 235, the amendment is not adopted. the unfinished business is the request for a recorded vote on earment number 14 printed in part a of house report 115-2 by the gentleman from arizona, mr.

grijalva, on which further proceed wrgs postponed, on which the noes prevailed by voice vote. the clerk: amendment number 14 printed in part a of house report 115-2, offered by mr. grijalva of arizona. the chair: a recorded vote has been requested. those in support of the request for a recorded vote will rise and be counted. a sufficient number having risen , a recorded vote is ordered. members will record their votes by electronic device. this will be a two-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 chair: on this vote, the yeas are 185, the nays are 236. the amendment is not adopted. there being no further amendments, under the rule, the committee rises. the chair: mr. speaker, the committee of the whole house on the state of the union has had under consideration h.r. 5 and pursuant to house resolution 33, i report the bill back to the house with sundry amendments adopted by the committee of the whole. the speaker pro tempore: the chair of the committee of the whole house on the state of the union reports that the committee has had under consideration h.r. 5 and pursuant to house resolution 33 reports the bill back to the house with sundry amendments adopted in the committee of the whole. under the rule, the previous question is ordered. is a separate vote demanded on any amendment? if not, the chair will put them in gross. the question is on adoption of the amendment. those in favor say aye.

those opposed, no. the ayes have it, the amendments are agreed to. the question is on engrossment and third reading of the bill. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. the ayes have it. third reading. the clerk: to clarify the nature of judicial review of agency interpretation, ensure complete analysis of potential impacts on small entities of rules and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: the house will be in order. the house will be in order. he house will be in order. members will please remove their conversations from the house floor. he house will be in order. the house will be in order. members please remove your

conversation from the house floor. members will please clear the well. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from florida seek recognition? >> i have a motion to recommit at the desk. the speaker pro tempore: is the gentlewoman opposed to the bill? >> i am opposed to the bill in its current form. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the motion. the clerk: mrs. demings of california moves to recommit the motion back to the committee with the following amendment, page 36, line 10, strike all that follows through page 37 -- >> mr. speaker, could i ask for unanimous consent to suspend the -- dispense with the reading. the speaker pro tempore: is there objection? without objection the reading is dispensed with. the house will be in order. members please remove your conversation from the house floor. the house will be in order. pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from florida is

recognized for five minutes in support of her motion. mrs. demings: thank you, mr. speaker. this is the final amendment to the bill which will not kill the bill or send it back to committee. if adopted, the bill will proceed to final passage as amended. mr. speaker and members of the house, throughout my 27 years of law enforcement experience, i protected and served my community. and i stand here today to protect the most vulnerable of seniors in central florida and seniors all over our nation. we have a responsibility to see that seniors are not put in a position where they will have to choose between buying food or buying their medication. which was the case before the affordable care act. we must resist all efforts to reopen the medicare part d prescription drug coverage doughnut hole. this doughnut hole requires seniors to pay full price for

their prescription drugs after they reach their catastrophic threshold. research found that because of this doughnut hole, seniors will put their health at risk because they could not afford to pay the prescriptions which ultimately lead to higher health care costs. because of the affordable care act, this doughnut hole is being completely phased out of the medicare part d prescription drug program by the year 2020. since the a.c.a. passed in 2010, closing the doughnut hole has aved our seniors more than $23.5 billion on their prescription drugs. we know this is working. florida seniors enrolled in the program are now saving an average of $987 a year because

of closing the loophole. we know what $987 means to the average senior on medicare. we also know that if this coverage gap discount disappeared, part d enrollees would have to pay $3,725 for the time period they are in the doughnut hole. represents nearly 15% of a medicare enrollee's income. with too many floridians and seniors across the nation struggling to make ends meet, i strongly believe that congress can do more to make sure we do not go backwards and reopen this no one should have to

choose between medicine and food. consider the dignity of our vulnerable seniors and vote for my amendment to protect access to affordable prescription drugs for older americans. i yield back the balance of my time. . the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from texas seek recognition? mr. olson: i oppose the motion to recommit. mr. marino: this bill is in the heart of the regulatory reform this nation needs and i cannot understate how desperately we need it. because after eight years of the administration's blowout, administrative state, what do we have? we have an economy that for

eight straight years has failed to produce enough good, new full-time jobs to sustain growth and restore dignity. we have 92 million americans outside the work force, a level not seen since the carter years. have nearly $23 trillion of american wealth to be spent as washington bureaucrats demand through runaway regulation. $2 trillion. this is more money than the g.d.p. of all but eight countries in the world. we do not need a regulatory state that is that size. we need a regulatory system that is cut down to size. unless we ever forget, we need a regulatory system that never again allows a runaway executive branch to do what the obama

administration did to use a pen and a phone to take the run-around congress and force job crushing policies that congress never supported. this motion to recommit turns a blind eye to all of that. it says to the runaway administrative state, keep on running as fast as you can. we don't care. it says to the american people, sit down and be quiet, washington bureaucrats are your betters and you need to keep doing what they keep telling you to do. the hardworking taxpayers have spoken and yanked the boots of unelected bureaucrats off the throats of hardworking americans. enough is enough. reject this motion to recommit and show the american people that they come first, not bureaucrats in washington. i yield back.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from pennsylvania yields back. without objection, the previous question is ordered on the motion to recommit. the question is on the motion to recommit. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. the noes have it. mrs. demings: mr. request a recorded vote. the speaker pro tempore: a record a sufficient number having arisen, a recorded vote is ordered. members will record their votes by electronic device. pursuant to clause 9 of rule 20, this five-minute vote on the motion to recommit will be followed on passage of the bill, if ordered. this is a five-minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.]

the speaker pro tempore: the yeas are 190 and the nays are 2 . the question is on pass age of the bill. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. he ayes have it. for what purpose does the gentleman from michigan seek recognition? > ask for the yeas and nays. the speaker pro tempore: the yeas and nays are requested. those favoring a vote by the yeas and nays will rise. a sufficient number having arisen, yeas and nays are ordered. members will record their votes by electronic device. this is a five-minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of

representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.]

the speaker pro tempore: on this vote, the yeas are 238, the nays are 183. the bill is passed. without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. the chair announces that the speaker's appointment of members on the permanent select committee on intelligence on january 6, 2017, without objection is made not withstavending the clause of clause 11-a, 4-a of rule 10. for what purpose does the gentleman from new york seek recognition? >> mr. speaker by direction of the democratic caucus, i send to the desk a resolution and ask unanimous consent on its immediate consideration.

the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the resolution. the clerk: house resolution 45, resolution electing certain members to standing committees of the house of representatives. the speaker pro tempore: is there objection to the consideration of the resolution? without objection the resolution is agreed to and the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. the chair will now entertain requests for one-minute speeches. any one-minute speeches? the chair recognizes the gentleman from florida, mr.

yoho. mr. yoho: thank you, mr. speaker, i wish to address the house for one minute and revise and extend my remarks. mr. speaker, today is national human trafficking awareness day, an issue close to my heart. human trafficking is nothing more than modern day slavery. last congress, the foreign affairs committee shined a light on the scourge that affects millions around the world and passed into law the international megan law which attacks child sex tourism by child sex offenders, improves international law enforcement cooperation, and improves notices of child sex offenders traveling to the u.s. we've come a long way in creating awareness, but more must be done. according to the polaris project from 2007 to 2015, over 25,000 cases of human trafficking were discovered in the united states. 7,700 of these were minors. over 100,000 calls were made to the national human traffic regular serious hotline. we all know this is an issue

that does not discriminate and can affect everyone. in north florida other christmas, a man was arrested for trafficing a woman across five couventy lines this case started with him luring her to florida over the internet and ended when the law enforcement were able to save the victim after seeing her in adult advertisements online. i want to thank all those who were involved in bringing this person to justice and on this national day of awareness, we in congress will not look away, we continue to fight this scourge called human trafficking, and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from pennsylvania rise? >> i ask permission to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> thank you. mr. speaker, today we have more questions than answers about

profoundly disturbing ties between the president-elect and shadowy russian influences this eamerican people deserve full disclosure about any financial or personal interests held over this incoming administration by foreign entities and potential co-lution to undermine our democracy. why has mr. trump failed to oppose russia's forceful annexation of crimea? why did he pressure his party to officially withdraw a plank calling for assistance to ukraine. why did mr. trump reflexively attack our own intelligence officials when they warned of russian interference in the election. why is he avoiding regular intelligence briefings? now that our intelligence community has concretely confirmed that russia meddled in our democracy, we must demand to know if there's been any undue

influence on mr. trump since he began his campaign. these new allegations finally shed light on his potential motives. mr. speaker, congress as a co-equal branch of government must conduct a bipartisan investigation and do it immediately. thank you and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from texas seek recognition? >> i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection the gentleman is recognized. mr. poe: mr. speaker, human trafficking victims are slaves, living in fear. totally losing their identity. on this national human trafficking awareness day, it's time to publicly expose the traffickers. as a former judge in texas, i used public punishment to keep criminals from returning to my courtroom and to discourage other criminals from committing

more crimes. this form of public shaming can combating human trafficking. that is why today i introduced the shame act. bill will give federal judges the ability to publish of ames and photographs both convicted human traffickers d the buyers of trafficked victims. buyers will no longer be able to hide in plain sight under a of ano, ma'am -- anonymity. act strikeshe shame fear in those who think about purchasing young women for sex. having the thought of their face on a billboard will make the scoundrels think twice participating in the modern day slave trade. it's time to shame these out of business. that's just the way it is. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for the gentleman es from california seek recognition? without objection, the gentleman s recognized for one minute. >> thank you, mr. speaker.

rise today in sadness to honor a friend, the chaner, ul stewart known as stu he passed away 13, at the cember age of 76. he's been a resident of california, since age 5. a prominent member of the mmunity, known for his civic engagement and true passion for his small town, the one i grew well.as while poor eyesight prevented military , ning the he served in many ways, serving veterans, serving the community and making veterans feel eserved his community in so many different way, it's hard to not think of as the main fiber of our own of oraville. one of his life's goals was to for veterans in the town. he worked for over a decade. heard from stu, you heard from him. he was going to get this done. determined to be

helpful for him. otherwise he was relentless. new s to his efforts, this park is under construction at this very moment. he was a good guy. they have good guys. who loved his family his town their votens who served country. od bless stu's family. we will miss him. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman recognition?seek >> i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without is ction, the gentleman recognized for one minute. applaud today to governor deal's plan to begin georgia ion on the cyber and innovation training cent for the georgia. the new threat in warfare. a 21st century military is essential. in are community back home georgia is proving to be a major fluencer and champion in the cyber arena. but the u.s. army cyber fort 's transition to gordon, numerous tech companies

and johns, the creation of local the nstitute and now establishment of the georgia cyberand innovation training the , georgia 12 has potential to become the security technology and innovation hub of soviet. -- of the southeast. mr. allen: we will be leading creating the cyberwork force and leading our nation. the battlefields don't look like to and we've got to adapt fast. i'm thankful to governor deal or his efforts to not only create jobs, but to strengthen our national security and invest in our community. yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the entleman yields. the chair lays before the house the following personal requests. leave of absence requested for mr. nadler of new york for today. the clerk: leave of absence requested for mr. nadler of new york for today. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the request is this echair lays before the house the following message. congress of the the united states.

i am pleased to transmit the control nal drug strategy summarizing the accomplishments of my dministration's 21st century approach to drug policy and opportunities to continue to reduce the burden of substance se in the united states. my administration released its first strategy in 2010 with a use the best available science and to consult broadly to develop a balanced comprehensive approach to drug policy that incorporates public lic hell and safety approaches to address this complex problem. goals to essive reduce delug use by 2015 and though the results of our we have seen xed, progress in reducing drug use and in cooperation both internationally. as a nation we exceeded our alcohol and ducing tobacco use and for reducing the infections w h.i.v. attributable to drug use. we have been less successful in drug in youth st

and young adults as well as reducing the number of and drivingd deaths while drugged. we also face serious challenges epidemic of opioid se and deaths as well as those involved in manufacturing and distributing cocaine and synthetic drugs. these threats may continue to have an impact on drug use particularly ans, chronic drug use and its onsequences that contribute to poor academic performance, crime, underemployment, lost productivity and health care all of which threaten families and communities. my administration has consistently sought a broad of partners to provide input into the development and strategy t of the during the past seven years. we have invested in science to etter understand the nature of addiction and informed the -- and inform the prevention and treatment of addiction and help services to maintain recovery in in the community. we have sought to use medical nonstigmatizing

language when discussing substance abuse disorders, and from this ffer disease. our support for law enforcement has led to significant outcomes g down drug trafficking organizations and removing millions of pounds of drugs from market. in our work with our international partners has been strumental in our allies increasing regulation of chemical precursors to synthetic drugs and reducing their across the globe. throughout my administration we have used this best available nation'sto balance the public health and public safety everts collaborative to cree eat healthier, safer and more prosperous communities this drug n's work in reducing use and its consequences is not done and there are many opportunities for advancing address ongoing and emerging challenges. i think the -- i thank the ngress for its continued support of you are efforts and ask that you continue to support this vital endeavor. white barack obama, the house, january 11, 2017.

the speaker pro tempore: referred to the committees on he judiciary, agriculture, armed services, energy and commerce, education and the work services, cial homeland security, oversight and foreign reform, affairs, natural resources, ansportation and infrastructure, ways and means, veterans affairs, and the committee on ct intelligence and ordered printed. der the speaker's announced the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from north carolina, walker, is recognized for 60 the designee of the majority leader. mr. walker: this is a time for bypass outside influences. we are presenting something that

is very important, not just a something that is nearly six years ago, right here we stand tonight was passed in an overly bipartisan have burdened american people in what is now obamacare, the affordable care act. this is a piece of legislation has been burdened small businesses and individuals alike. we have been asked to fix replace.eal and to what takes members to be able to have experience in this articular field, to understand the heart of community, one of , people who do that most specifically in the area of reachesinitiatives that

across community lines, reaches my good rty lines is friend, representative andy barr kentucky. the ld five minutes to the gentleman from from kentucky. bower i thank the gentleman for his leadership as e new chairman and i welcome you as the new chairman of the republican study committee but your leadership on issues related to the importance of disastrous law that is making life harder on justmerican people and not replacing it and repealing it but replacing it with policy puts power back in the hands of patients, their doctors, nd their instead of driving up costs, their people to lose health care plans, forcing the ration health care. we need a better way and i'm to say that we are supporting not just repealing

tonight, but bringing to the american people positive ructive, ideas that will make life easier livesem and improve their hrough better patient-centered health care. kentucky was once portrayed by state, t obama as a red a model of the implementation of obamacare. kentucky and in my district, i hear stories from businesses small and individuals who have been hurt by this disastrous law. the next few weeks as president-elect trump comes into congress as this revisits the issue of health i expect we will hear from our friends on the don't de of the aisle, repeal obamacare. we have 20 million americans who ave insurance. but that statistic needs to be scrutinized. because the truth of the matter obamacare forced people to

lose their health care and in many of my quints -- lost high quality health care and received the mail.on notice in their small employers told them to have to change their health plans because of this law. only do we see those whong costs for have health insurance, but many americans that our friends on side of the aisle say they are covered. these are folks who lost their insurance before. and what happened? insurancehigh quality and inced into exchanges kentucky, they went to the heapest plan available which happened to be medicaid. my fellow americans, access to a is not access to

health care. is nfortunately, medicaid to a waiting ss line and not access to true health care. so president obama's promise would health care law help people would not turn to be the case. this is called the affordable but act, but it is anything affordable. even though he promised that would decline $2,500, emiums have actually increased. remiums increased for 11 million people and millions of coverage lost previous or had to change doctors due to law. sastrous take, for example, laura. mother who had a and baby girl katherine heart diagnosed with a

defect which is a hole in the ll of the heart and they eeded high-quality pediatric medicine and they got a special children's on's hospital. they wanted the best for their when obamacare went into effect, unfortunately, they their job-based health surance that allowed them to access these specialists and they lost their doctor. think a young mother and father are going to o in that situation? guess what? they had to find a very cover a policy to boston surgeon out of network, out of state. costs skyrocketed. this is the kind of thing that of appening to millions americans as a result of

obamacare. obamacare reduced choice and competition. participating in the obamacare exchange which 78% of the enrollees and in many states there is only one pln. to left many families purchase high deductible coverage. coverage bye raised 23%. there is a better way and the is health care reform s focused on the patients, not taking away choices, driving up costs, not forcing people out of their high quality private health insurance into but ment-run health care empowering patients to access coverage. able one of the way to make it more

access le for people to high quality private health care is reform. driven up thehave cost significantly. addressed re never this cause of health care inflation. over the course of their estimated 75% of all ysicians will face a malpractice claim. o be sure, some of those cases of medical negligence are legitimate and those plaintiffs to fully recover for those cases of genuine malpractice. but for the frivolous lawsuits at is driving up the cost of care. and the fact that obamacare never even dealt with that issue flaw in the al previous efforts to reform our

system. re and in oud co-sponsor the health care reform act is egislation that i introduced with called the saving livings costs act, and what it a s say, if there is frivolous claim, if the liability climate is producing lawsuits, what we say is this. if you are a hospital or a nurse and you practice in accordance with clinical-based guidelines, there should be a proof for ard of that plaintiff to get to a jury want a safe harbor for our professionals who latest state he of the art guidelines of how to patients.of it raises the standard of care. and high quality medicine nd cutting out frivolous lawsuits, this lottery, that is

driving up the cost of health are for all americans. this is the kind of reform that if enacted would replace with reforms that would actually lower the costs health care without growing government. with that, mr. chairman, i yield back. of applaud the efforts republican study committee for offering real solutions that patients and doctors in washington, d.c.,. mr. walker: we appreciate your evening. couple of numbers i would like the are and puts it in context of what we are dealing with here. co-ops have failed. in five states, americans are one option. the great thing about our we have had tory choices and decisions. since the take over of this health ation of our care, the choices have continued

to reduce. congress you may hear this or congress that. one of the great things is the from of people coming diverse backgrounds. mike xt representative is bishop, who was already working when he came to he united states congress. i yield to congressman bishop. mr. bishop: thank you for your leadership and for the to tunity to rise today join you and this group in this urgent discussion regarding for our nation's health care crisis. i do appreciate the opportunity tonight and sense of urgency that i feel from this address a very important issue. 2,700eaker, since the -page health care law was 2010, when our

olleague from across the aisle absurdly rose and declared that we would know what was in it as passed it, young adults, families and seniors been punished and their policies canceled. seen skyrocketing costs, poor coverage and clearly a lack of choices. hear from constituents every single day. not made health care more affordable, as president promised it would. stead, health care insurance premiums are slated to increase gain and again and again regardless of what congress is able to do about the law this ear. those who have a plan can expect an increase of 73%. who are just ls increase ll see a 96% in premiums.

providers are getting smothered as well. joining congress, i was a member of the private sector can tell you firsthand that small businesses are cutting hours. letting go workers. all of these things that they're for the ever room expanding health care law. economy, ting the small business, which is the backbone of our economy, from owing to its fullest potential. and for all these reasons, eight americans now favor changing obamacare ignificantly or replacing it all together. and what we do know is that an option. g is not will result lone

in further costs. rther struggles by our families and small businesses. whole ill see this ealth care law collapse upon itself. and i do not believe and i don't think my colleagues believe that doing nothing is an option. ast year, in michigan, deductibles went up across all plans. our exchange rates would jump 17%. budget, just like everybody else and they that kind t absorb of cost increase. further, ng matters insurers like united health group are leaving the exchanges. practices are folding and doctors are being forced to they cannot financially stay afloat. and from a personal perspective own family, i have seen my doctor disappear recently this year seemingly overnight,

retired and moved away because could not keep up with the as s of staying in business a private practitioner. i had a doctor in my district treats many very seriously tients -- seriously, rheumatoid patients in our district, very sad fact. him. people count on they have been forced out of his practice because they no longer into the network. is forced with overwhelming compliance costs and he doesn't have the same reimbursement rates. and after all is said and done, a private practitioner, a like this can no longer stay in business and amilies like ours, people like you and like me can no longer continue to have that that doctor-patient

relationship, a very personal elationship that we have had for years. . are people that are struggling to stay financially afloat. end result is, we're losing good doctors. cause of the failures of obamacare. mr. speaker, when a law has consequences, congress has an obligation to things right.ke in 2017, this will require a bipartisan approach to address the issue. this is about finding a forward ay to move with health care in our nation. to ensure our neighbors and our amilies don't have to struggle to make ends meet. because of failed law. mr. speaker, and with that i yield back and i want to thank the chairman, your an walker, for continued support, your continued leadership on this very important issue. . walker: thank you,

representive bishop. one of the numbers my friend out of ioned is eight 10. nearly to%, according to -- 0%, according to gal up, believe this law should be overhauled or completely repealed. tonight ple watching and my friends across the aisle, are we to do nothing? in fact, even in the press onference today, president-elect trump said, if we did nothing, it would continue to fail. but we have an obligation to and do what's right. we can't do anything. people are suffering. suffering to the place that even recently a couple of governor minnesota was honest enough to talk about how the damaged small business. goodness gracious, even a former democratic president has acknowledged the destruction it has caused for individuals of businesses. no one knows more about what it oes to our states than individual representatives. one of the fine gentlemen that's representiveght is french hill. the sharper minds we have, part 114thth class, that i've

been privilege -- 114th clags, been privileged to -- class, that i've been privileged to work with. mr. hill: i thank the chair for yielding and for the time and for his leadership to set aside this time for us to the american people and talk about empowering .atients, not politicians you know, for six years we've witnessed the failed rollout of obamacare program. we didn't get to keep our plan that we liked. keep our doctor that we had such a good relationship with. we've seen physicians leave the business. on e spent billions duplicative, unnecessary exchanges that are now failing across this country. i commend the republican study committee and proud to be a part of this group to talk bring relief to the failed people on the obamacare law.

still hear from constituents even now, six years later, from this rolling evolution of that have seen their increases t, their in health care costs skyrocket. and this health care regulatory talking about re tonight, which has led to droves part-time jobs instead of full-time jobs, and unaffordable group plans for the people that good small business group plan. this regulatory burden is on top six-year to en a eight-year crushing burden on business from many different from the e.p.a. and beyond. to my stituent wrote office after he was forced to accept an insurance plan that -- the affordable care act $1,300 a st him month. has to meet two $2,500 deductibles before the kicks in.coverage

a year.20,600 mr. speaker, i was a small usinessman before i joined congress. had employees that made $20,600 a year in our small business. the family ft for budget when you're going to spend $20,000 for health care? that's typical now. after the rollout of obamacare. for a family of four. in a place where our country, where health care costs a year in 30ds,000 out of pocket -- $30,000 a year out-of-pocket expenseses, obviously this system is broken -- expenses, obviously this system is broken. arkansas, much like the

rest of the country, where large are seeing increases in obamacare premium, arkansans on the exchanges are lower than those average increases. and in my view, this is largely and our f our governor state legislature working hard to make the best out of a bad and fighting to pursue innovative measures that work small state. the arkansas works program has lped to prevent skyrocketing premiums on the exchanges. subject, te's still though, to duplicative reviews by federal and state agencies nd costly and burdensome regulations that have nothing to do with trying to lower the cost arkansans. re for this week governor hutchison , ote the house leadership decrying the individual and employer mandates. health g the need for care reform that provides our tates more flexibility, more flexibility, mr. speaker, to design programs that fit the eeds of people in our state, while increasing predictability and affordability. governor e points hutchison made in his letter to our leadership include calling having the option of

receiving medicaid funds through a block grant. enabling them to tailor the program in the medicaid under health care in what fits arkansas, what in sans can afford, and fact that is our better way approach, mr. speaker. population.caid he calls for the elimination of the federal health insurance exchanges. e had exchanges before obamacare that can be operated by states and the private sector without federal interference. governor hutchison called for duplicative he reviews of rate and plan filings by c.m.s. being done by our individual state insurance regulators. that course the thing drives up costs not only for the

medicaid population, for people exchanges, for people out in the group health the essential health benefits requirement. governor hutchison says, this driven up costs for everybody, for government, for families, and elimination of requirements would provide flexible options for insurance providers to offer cheaper plans to younger and healthier individuals. choice, mr. speaker. in some counties, arkansans now one insurance option. don't think one option is an option. there is no choice. pricing, nopoly combined with the mandates are emonstrating the unaffordability of the affordable care act. with the recent election, we now unique opportunity to this ize these flaws of one-size-fits-all big government top-down approach to health care and reverse course and, again, bring relief to the failed people of this law put forth by the obama administration. chairman walker and the

committee have put together a comprehensive an to repeal obamacare and replace this failed law with conservative principles. want eaker, americans change. we're asking that we design those changes with patients in and that we in fact in this group, mr. walker, i know ou agree, will read the bill before we pass it. so, the proposal, the better way framework outlined by speaker going to bring relief, change and opportunity that fit have he principles that guided the republican party, the republican outlook, the committee, tudy which is, we will bring competition, we'll bring efforts to lower price and increase access for the american people. with that, mr. walker, i commend you again and i yield back the balance of my time. thank you, representative hill. you listen closely there, representative hill talked about

premiums increasing. even ink back six, seven, eight years ago, even part of the original campaign, talking about the affordable care act, his obamacare. we think about three promises, we've all heard them. ep your doctor, you can keep your health care plan, premiums are going down. specifically one that stands out more was the premiums going down $2,500. want cratic friends may to ignore some of those numbers, but here are the facts. premiums increased cross the board 37%. 2015, again, last year, 25%. in fact, in some states it's out sight. my home state of north carolina, 40%, but in some places, in 116%.a, it's as high as so the process of working to put r.s.c. plan , an and the replace and re-- repeal and replace, who better than to who have experience in this, and there's maybe nobody better in the house that

background ance than our friend, austin scott from georgia's eighth district, ho i yield five minutes. thank you, mr. scott. mr. scott: thank you, mr. chairman. i'll try to be a little briefer with this. there's something i very much want to speak on. i rise today on behalf of my constituents back in georgia's eighth congressional district. who have been negatively impacted by obamacare. to the vast lear majority of us that the attempt to fix our nation's health care more s by inserting federal control into the system has simply failed. there's some counties in the in ict that i represent south georgia that are down to one, maybe two insurance ovides that are people can choose from. that's not competition. that's not affordable. choice, really. and it's certainly not if you keep it. plan, you can my colleagues and i on the republican stud canny committee ve worked for -- study committee have worked for a couple of years and we've offered a plan to repeal bamacare and replace it with

patient-centered reforms and free market solutions for american citizens. the american health care reform is not just about repealing obamacare. it's about fixing problems that the health care system before obamacare, and problems that quite honestly worse by obamacare. there's a lot of talk about a t's in the bill that's problem. i'd like to talk today just a second about what's not in the bill. a problem. . speaker, the president, by leaving the health insurance industry exempt from the , ti-trust laws of the country created a bigger problem than we prior to the health care bill going into place. that's right. hear what i said. under obamacare, health providers are exempt from the anti-trust laws.

the very laws that are designed to promote competition for the benefit of the consumer. is it that obamacare can mandate americans purchase a that t from an industry that very bill left exempt from by the rules? why did the president and the democratic leaders leave the health insurance industry exempt anti-trust laws in the bill? i've asked these questions over and over. baffling to me. it means the big boys can play and the little man has to pay. i wish somebody from the press would ask that question. why the presstand doesn't ask the democratic party did you leave the health insurance industry exempt from the anti-trust laws of the country? t's a question the president should answer. health care ican reform act reverses that. our legislation injects competition into the health insurance marketplace by eliminating the anti-trust

for the insurance providers -- exemptions for the insurance providers, by applying anti-trust laws to the insurance industry, we're making the market more competitive, which in turn will drive down choice osts, increase and does so without adding any new taxes. health care erican reform act will serve as the baseline for discussions on how to repeal and replace obamacare, about debaten how to low -- debate on how to lower health bring in input from both sides of the aisle, something obamacare did not do. along the way, mr. chairman, i sure do wish the press would president and the democratic leadership, how could you do that to the american itizens? articulated. ll appreciate your heart on this. looking at this and tackling is project, because of the and, pages of complexities i guess we don't need to reiterate it, but how minority pass said, we needed to

this law to be able to figure out what's in it, obviously it's more than just a running joke. the people in the background, take to kind of wrap our mind around this, to wrap our arms around it, to be back, it nd a way takes people with medical experience, takes people with this is goingnce, to be huge. one of the members that we have here with us tonight is the vice chair of the committee on budget, someone who has great concern about the damage that has caused to the fine folks of the indiana -- of indiana that he represents, it's yield some time, four minutes, to the representative from indiana, representative rokita. mr. rokita: i thank the speaker for organizing the time. on leading this organization. i look forward to working with you. know, we could all stand up take the barbs leveled we don't kay about

some and just focused on the nothing could be further from the truth and by s because we could sit and watch this terrible, continue to implode, continue to hurt more americans. insidious, because it's built on like you can keep your doctor if you want to, you health plan if you want to. not true in any case. instead, we are here tonight, talking with the about what could be when we first get rid of this law, something that we times to do. we have the opportunity not only senate epublican house, and a president willing to work

with us. verdict is in, i have met horror fter person with stories about the failure. with anna and her husband's cancer. practicing due some costs. and it's not just doctors who able to perform their duties, their profession under law but insurance companies by withdrawing from the market as we speak. indiana's we saw exchange lose 50% of its health carriers. this included i.u. health that hoosiers. they are being forced to pay for

want ge that they don't and don't need and in fact they do more harm than good. in my district talked about saying he impacts was forced to buy insurance with for the ors listed entire county. does this insurance do? i'm very proud to have worked on this republican study committee force e health care task with dr. phil roe and over a or so, we put together a plan that is a very patient-centered, consumer-focused, free-market replacement for obamacare with one big difference, our it would work because harnesses the value that we all

americans and really as humans and that is the once we value price have the information. this chamberi left leg, i forbid i broke my wouldn't worry about where i was going. our at's not most of health care transactions. most of our health care can be made by to the services and products that we want. other part of ry our consumer-driven life. it with health care. done. what dr. roe has that's what we know as american consumers. can't we be trusted to do that with our health care? intent is malicious or maligned, the intent for obamacare, upport that insidious law, is wrong.

just give your life over to these few people and let a while and or everything will be fine. form not only throughout american history and every time it has been tried here and world failed. it has control over the individual has failed and it will do the same we are seeing every day now with regards to our health care. this insidious law back to replacing with something we can trust ourselves. th mr. chairman, i yield back. your ep for leadership. mr. walker: i just received a fire om the volunteer department official right outside charlotte, north arolina, saying watching the proceedings this evening and want to let you know that even drug prescription has gone up

of pocket for per person. stuff. real life this is why we are stepping in of part of our plan replacing, allows you to have access to your and savings account wouldn't have to worry about the money needing a prescription, needing medicine and every time $200 out of the pocket. is important to move and move with diligence. about this is ws dr. babin from texas, who has dealing with with this, someone who cares about his cares about all americans and i yield a few friend from the ne star state, dr. brian babin. r. babin: i wish to thank my

this specialnd for order opportunity tonight. d mr. speaker, americans are hurting right now with their health care. obamacare supporters are quick americansut that some have actually been helped by obamacare. over a ter spending trillion dollars of borrowed oney, i would certainly hope there are at least some people who have been helped by this forced on w that was us over six years ago by one single hout republican vote. thousands of my constituents are demanding to be rescued from obamacare. they have shared their with me aboutries how it has hurt them. excessive ums,

deductibles and how it disrupted treatments, forced them to change doctors and cost many jobs. this is what real people are saying. my constituents. telling me. they're a young couple with three living in tyler, texas, gone how their premiums up year after year, with a $900 $2,500 deductible and the next year, the premium $1,100 and deductible up $5,000. forced to an $6,600 deductible. nd these are individual deduct i believe so. that's $33,000 plus the $12,000 year premium, that is an

on a young family. they tell me about this problem see me and see me a lot, because this is my son-in-law and my three grandchildren. in texas wrote to tell me their obamacare mandates forced their employer to cut hours and losing income each and every month. 30-hour mandate means that this college student has lost hundreds of dollars in pay that she could have earned recent christmas break. tim in baytown wrote to share it cost him his job. county and rris frank in jasper, shared how they significantly experienced higher costs and

coverage. roy in pasadena said his now over $12,000. ben in carroll like thousands of others in southeast texas have ad their health care plans canceled. these unaffordability and poor have been licies like linda in ta who has to choose between their medications and food. and cheryl and brian in houston and continues affect folks every single day. faced a doubling of seen emiums and carol has substantial increases in her remiums and deductibles. retirees who have worked their

entire lives like jack from and glenda wrote to tell me how they are finding it to afford their health care costs and let's not forget obamacare cut hundreds of servicesof dollars and for medicare hurting the sick. randall from harris county who disrupted eatments by obamacare. hear it all the time, first-hand accounts who are at end under thismon tropical stormity. provide relief o brian, brad, gail, elisea, tim, paul, frank, roy, linda, brian, carol, thousands moreof

texans just like them. paul in deer park sums it up the best. increased the cost and coverage.my i have heard ry and why this failed program must be repealed and replaced with a plan that restores health care to all americans. health plans that are affordable their families' needs hat they choose, not the emfederal government. relief now.ed . walker: thank you, dr. babin. invocation l for an at this time. this is not just a problem in red states. problem in blue tates, like it is with my good friend from the first district f california, representative

doug lamalfa and i yield three minutes. -- you share your heart. i want to chairman lker of the republican study committee. i appreciate your leadership on this event as well as the great do on that committee. we have had alternatives to the since ile care act ever have been here. the affordable care act has put republican study committee has the elements we ave been talking about for several years with the forcedble care act being upon americans, not a bipartisan votes of onetly by party. and we are suffering the effects that now. one of my colleagues talking

reported isn't this and why isn't it affecting the paying for at are it. people in my district, ever a member of been this house are pleading with us high something about these premiums, the high deductible, e lack of access they have especially for rural areas. why are we continuing to prop up its proponents -- why are continuing to prop this up? t's clear it doesn't cost. igher costs, unworkable plans. the exchanges, most of them in llions of investment are closing up shop. billions go? but on a patient level, preet

more on our a system that is known to be unsustainable ensuring access to quality care. finding that a success? reason is the high cost coverage and instead of investing vast amounts of money, root of t fixing the the problem. this is by increasing mpetition, giving patients more options, choices, mr. speaker. of options they can pick themselves, to what need. 20-year-old young man has a than aely different need 0-year-old mom. let them have the choices. get rid of the costly mandates, everything xes on to help prop obamacare including in college. let's build our successes that and e seen in the past part of the proposal of the

republican study committee in health care affordable act.h care . very rural ones, such as my own district at home. health care reform effects the lives of every single person in this country. time we why a it's high put the health and well-being of the american -- why it's high we put the health and well-being of the american people first. down the cost and increase access to care in each part of the country. let's give back to americans, you liked, n that keep your doctor that you liked. folks, it's time. time to stop the partisan it and the er for ion that has gone on what is indeed for some a legacy, a bad legacy for the american people. mr. chairman, thank you for the time.

thank you for your efforts on this. mr. walker: thank you. at this time i yield four minutes to my good friend from our resident veterinarian in the house, dr. oho. mr. yoho: thank you, mr. chairman. i really do appreciate it and i've got a timer here because i to go over. thank you for putting this on. it is time, the american people have spoken, it's time. a.c.a., the affordable care act, which it's not, and we know want to take you back, back prior to 2009, before came ordable care act out, 85%% of the people in of the people 85% in america had health insurance. 15% did not have health insurance. yet, congress, in their wisdom, instead of fixing it for the 15% them into the pool of people that had health insurance, said, no, we're going change it. we're going to change it and

whole health care market and 20% of our economy. the epitome of legislative malpractice. controlled by as one party, the democratic party, senate the house, the and the executive branch. 2,900-page ed a bill at the end of the year. nobody read. you can't do that. in any other business, without to jail. president obama sold us a bill of goods on a lie. doctor,ant to keep your you can, or your insurance, and $2,5 -- e will go down $2,500. let me share stories. 54-year-old man who came into our office, single, six-figure income, he changed his plan, wanted to pay for it right then and they saint

it -- on't worry about said, don't worry about it, we'll send you a bill. they didn't send him a bill, his canceled. ot he could not buy insurance because it was through the exchange and the sign-up period had expired. whatever the fine was. he got fined trying to do the right thing. another one, john -- a friend of ine, i can't say his name. owns a restaurant franchise. has 500 employees. can't afford to pay so he health insurance, moved people from working 32 or 26 urs a week down to hours. i can tell you a real personal story about a couple i know real well. they came to congress, their canceled. their premiums went up by over $11,000. deductibles went up and their coverage went down. and know that couple real well myself.it's my wife and the american people have spoken and given us the majority for a eason. that's to fix health care.

and allow the best health care best medicine, the best research and the institutions in america to that for all americans. to all er that care americans. the republican congress has a better way. with putting health care back into the hands of the physicians to the it has a better way, , the cure, thess quality at a lower cost, with a table transition, so no one is left out. and it starts with the repeal of .bamacare chairman walker, i appreciate you doing this and this is a message we're going it drive and home and home and we are going to fix this and the american people will be better off and our economy will be etter off. thank you. i yield back. mr. walker: thank you. appreciate your heart tonight. we talk about numbers.

of all americans have been damaged at some point under this affordable care act. 25%. we cannot look the other way. e gentleman who doesn't look the other way but stands up and speak the truth, representative from texas. three minutes. mr. olson: thank you so much, chairman walker, from the tar heel state. friend knows the american people spoke on november 8. our party control of the entire congress and the ite house because of the job-killing, promise-breaking aw known as obamacare. this was a repeal mission for it'st seven years, but now become a rescue mission. americans like andrea, my texas, 22. she wrote me this letter last eek.

i'm a 42-year-old legally blind sugarland. t in -- sugar land. self-employed. two ng very hard to rear great kids aged 15 and 13. in ve a master's degree education and work extremely hard to provide a stable, the kids.e life for invested , i have time and money into my own health care because the kids to be healthy. i lost my right eye a few years r.o.p.complications from too much oxygen at birth. severely t eye is impaired with potential for complications that would need . mediate specialized care i have different specialist ctors for different issues related to each eye. additionally, i am a kiddy cancer survivor, r.c.c., which so requires a specialist

follow-up. for those reasons and others, effort t time and getting drivers to take me to specialists to develop the the trust and history physicians. they are the best doctors in their respective fields and my them is important with this type of care. don't have the p.p.o. option now for my health care in 2016 a.c.a. the the h.m.o.'s and e.p.o.'s being being accepted by my doctors. among these are many others in my own. s like my eye sight should never be in important than anything politics. and while i know that there are people in the same boat, today i write this letter because the about my kids their mom and by

me keeping the ability to see grow up -- about -- this acted on. in the past i have paid a lot, share of insurance fees, but at least i could choose my own doctor. crisis, which i've had, i went straight to the my or who knew me and history and they could resolve it without a referral and delay after delay. for some but rk not for those who don't want one. asking for a handout. i'm asking for a reasonable p.p.o. for basic which i have paid in the past and i am asking to have the pay right now. i'm not writing just to vent. asking for a solution.

this kind of train wreck of options or lack thereof. if president obama thinks this working, he's more blind than me. andrea, we have a plan hope it you out. called a better way. t's kind of tagged but how about this, allowing personal -- coverage across state lines, expand the opportunity for pooling, make coverage reform, and care pre-existing condition protections. a better way, that's what the american people deserve. we keep fighting for andrea and like her. thank you, my friend. i yield back. mr. walker: thank you, representative olson. ppreciate your time this evening. who better to close out our than a gentleman, a doctor, who has employed and has f people

worked with thousands of patients. u may have heard the false narrative that, yes, that we've contributed in breaking the democrats' the perspective, and you guys need to fix it, but you don't have a plan. narrative. se and here to tell you why is dr. phil roe from tennessee. roe, five minutes. mr. roe: thank you, mr. chairman. of the here in the well house tonight remembering eight years ago when i stood here and only one other than pete olson who was here that spoke tonight. my medical ft practice of 31 years. i've been a physician, hard to believe, 46 years. ran for congress because i wanted to be involved in the health care debate. i realize thalt american people needed health care reform. one of the most disappointing things i've had since i've been in the u.s. congress was when i showed up here i naivey thought cared -- naively thought that people cared what i thought. turned out i was wrong about that. physicians in the

doctors caucus on the republican side, in 2009. not one of us was asked one thing about that health care bill. republican amendment to that bill would have made it ruled in order. so it was passed on one party party d now the democrat owns it. unfortunately patients own it i came here to do, was to try to help people. of my life 31 years in the small town of johnson city, tennessee, practicing to do a goodtrying job for patients that i saw very single day. e had the -- you've heard it many times before, if you like your doctor, you can keep it, we're going to reduce your premiums by $2,500. the president also said, i will go over this bill line by line with anyone who wants to. e asked to do that on multiple occasions. and i'm still waiting for my ell phone to ring. we've heard over and over and

the republicans have no ideas. two congresses ago we were write a d and asked to republican alternative to the affordable care act. and we did just that. you out there tonight, those of you watching, this is the bill right here. bill. 4-page you can read in an hour or so. what -- or less than that. i've read the entire affordable care act. i felt like i should. and see what it was in it. i actually read it ahead of time. in d health care reform tennessee in the 1990's called tenn-care. i wrote the epitaph on this bill with marsha blackburn in 2010. if anyone's interested in reading that. did we do with this bill? we, with the affordable care the federal government said, you will purchase 10 essential health benefits or is no good.ce you have to get rid of it. this 10 essential health

benefits cost, in many cases, a lot of money. do? what did we we passed a tax, a mandate, a ine, a penalty, whatever judge roberts decided he wanted to decide that it was or define it, here we are but passing a mandate for people to purchase something they can't afford. astonishing, that you tax people for something they cannot buy. repeal our bill did was the affordable care act, it then health y expanded savings accounts. there are a indian tribes out the indian health insurances. they can't have h.s.a. there are retired veterans who have h.s.a.'s and retired people who can't have it. we've expanded that. my practice for my patients and i used one myself. we ed high-risk pools and expanded the risk of benefits to help offset pre-existing conditions. i think in two paragraphs i could have done 2/3 of what the