walking out of the meeting, what does this mean for us going forward? he said i don't know. we are in uncharted territory. i don't know. we were sent here to govern and we failed. the republicans need to regroup, get back together, and may moving forward with tax reform, the president -- something he wanted to pass, he talked about it a lot on the campaign trail. members right now are going home and they are not very happy. >> the house leadership pulling the health care replacement bill today. molly hooper of "the hill" joining us to talk about it. thank you for being here. >> c-span's washington journal, live every day with policy issues that impact you. coming up on saturday morning, your reaction to house republicans pulling the health care replacement bill. join the conversation with your phone calls, emails, facebook comments, and tweets.

be sure to watch c-span's "washington journal." live at 7:00 eastern on saturday morning. >> sunday night on "q and a," a conversation with thomas soul, who recently retired from the column he wrote for 25 years. >> unlike today's left, i never felt i had to avoid being what people with different views thought. so during all of my years as a marxist, i read everything the political spectrum. there is a book on burke i first read when i was an undergraduate at harvard. i treasure that book. i can tell even then. i understood that there were reasons why people have different views. it is not just a question of being on the side against the forces of evil. i think the new administration

in washington has some very good people, better than most of -- than most recent administrations have had. the only question is if the in washington has some very good president will listen to them, and we will not know until more time has passed. >> sunday night at 8:00 eastern. >> now, we will show you some of the four hour floor debate on the republican health care replacement bill before paul ryan decided not to let it go to a vote. this is just under an hour. i rise today to speak in favor of the american health care act, a bill that repeals many of the worst aspects of obamacare. obamacare, and begins to repair the damage caused by the law by bringing

choice, competition, and patient-centered solutions back into our health care system. standing here today in the house debating this bill is a proud moment for me. i was working as a nurse in nashville in the 1990's when fresh off of the failure of hillary care the clinton administration pushed on a sing pailer pilot program in tennessee called tenncare. as the story goes, vice president gore and the democratic governor sketched out a program while sitting in a local bar. i saw firsthand the negative impact of government-run health care on patient care. i saw the costs rise and the quality of care fall. i saw the burdens being placed on doctors and patients and hospitals and care providers. i saw patients faced with fewer choices and more regulation. and i saw the devastating impact of -- ten car was having on our

state's budget, gobbling up as much state spending that other priorities like education and infrastructure were getting squeezed. i couldn't sit idly by while this was happening in my state so i decided to get involved in public service. and it is what inspired me to run for office at the very beginning. nd when -- the speaker pro tempore: the house will be in order. members please remove conversations from the floor. on both sides of the aisle. the gentlelady from tennessee. mrs. black: thank you, mr. speaker. and when in 2009 and 2010 i saw the same principles being debated and eventually implemented on the national level, i thought my experience in tennessee would be valuable to the national debate. i told the people in my district

that if elected to congress i would fight to repeal and replace obamacare. in 2011 i sponsored the first piece of legislation that repealed a part of obamacare. and today we take the largest step eighty in rescuing the -- yet in rescuing the american people from the damage being done by obamacare. we're united in our goal to repeal obamacare and replace it with patient-centered health care. right now obamacare is imploding. we were promised premiums that would decrease by $2,500. instead, average family premiums in the employer market have soared by $4,300. we were promised health care costs would go down. instead, deductibles have skyrocketed. we were promised we could keep our doctor and keep our health insurance plans. instead, millions of americans have lost their insurance and the doctors that they liked.

in short, the affordable care act was neither affordable nor did it provide the quality of care that the american people deserve. the american health care act is the first step in our efforts to deliver patient-centered health care reform. and this bill returns to the american people freedom and choice in their health care decisions. it gets government out of the relationship between patients and their doctor where it's never belonged and puts people back in charge of their own health care. and it brings the freedom market principle of competition to an industry that has long been dominated by government intervention. today we're faced with a stark choice. do we vote to continue the doing to obamacare is our country and our constituents, or do we vote to go down another path? a better way of doing health care in this contry.

-- country. while no legislation is perfect, this bill does accomplish some important reforms. it zeros out the mandates. it repeals taxes. it repeals the subsidies. it allows people to choose health insurance plans that are unique to their families instead of purchasing a one-size-fits-all plan that's mandated by some washington bureaucrat. and it modernizes medicaid, a once in a lifetime entitlement reform. ending medicaid's open-ended funding structure will play an important role in addressing the future budget deficits and our growing national debt. i applaud my colleagues who have stayed in this fight and continue to make this bill better. the members of the budget committee, which i chair, outline four principles they believe would improve the bill. those principles led to significant changes to allow

more state flexibility on medicaid and ensure that tax credits truly serve the people they are meant to serve. others fought to eliminate federal obamacare regulations that drive up the cost of health care for all americans and give those powers back to the states. at the same time, we also ensure that states have the resources to provide maternity and newborn care and treatment for mental health and substance abuse. i agree with these changes and i applaud my colleagues for the work to make sure that we truly reverse the damage of obamacare is doing to our health care system and our economy. obamacare's legacy is clear. more government, less choice, higher cost. our vision for health care in america is the opposite. more freedom, more choice, and lower costs. put simply, the american health care act is a good first step but it is only the -- but it is

only a first step. my good friend and our former colleague, dr. tom price, will use his position as secretary of health and human services, to address some of the regulatory burden of obamacare through administrative action. and we have voted already and will continue to vote on individual pieces of legislation to implement even more patient-centered free market reforms that we cannot address through reconciliation. in fact, we just passed two bills already this week. one would allow small businesses to join together to purchase insurance. and the other would increase competition by tearing down antitrust regulations. that bill received 416 votes. this shows that these bills are commonsense measures that include bipartisan support. the day is finally here. where we have an opportunity to fulfill that promise that we have made to the american people.

i for one cannot sit idly by and let this opportunity to go waste. campaigning is easy. compared to governing. but our constituents did not elect us to do what is easy. they elected us to do what is right. i urge my colleagues to join me in voting question on the american health care act to rescue the american people from obamacare. thank you, mr. speaker, i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman reserves the balance of her time. the gentleman from kentucky. mr. yarmuth: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. yarmuth: mr. speaker, after seven years of campaigning against the affordable care act, congressional republicans have finally produced what they cynically describe as a replacement plan. sadly, however, this bill will unravel all of the progress we made under the a.c.a., including expanding access to health insurance to 22 million americans and improving the quality of coverage care for tens of millions more.

it nearly doubles the amount of uninsured people in this country. guts medicaid by almost $900 billion. and weakens the medicare trust fund. that was bad enough. but the last-minute changes to this bill are astonishing and appalling. this legislation now allows insurers to end coverage for drugs, mental health, maternity, and newborn care, preventive care, emergency room visits, hospitalizations, outpatient care, rehab visits, lab services, and pediatric care. that's not tissue that's not progress, that's a health crisis for every american. my republican colleagues are aware of this. why else would they have drafted this bill and last-minute changes in secret? why else would complicated legislation affecting the lives of millions be sent to the floor just two weeks after it was introduced with no congressional hearings, not a single one, on a bill that affects the health

care of every single family? and why else rush it to the floor without an estimate of how much coverage and care will be lost by back room deal that ends consumer protections? i get it. i wouldn't want to, nor would i know how to, justify giving nearly $1 trillion in tax cuts to corporations and the wealthy, paid for by threatening the health and well being of millions and millions of american families. and who is getting these huge windfalls? companies like an -- amgen, profits of $3 billion, med tronic, annual profits of $3 billion and gillian sciences, $13 billion in profits in 2016 alone. when the c.b.o. released its report last year, showing the 24 million hardworking americans will be left without health care coverage by 2026 if we pass this bill, the premiums will rise 15% to 20% next year, people will pay thousands of dollars more in deductibles and out of pocket costs and that older american

will be priced out of the market by an age tax, i thought for sure it was dead on arrival. there was no way my republican colleagues would walk this plank. but here they are, and they are trying to take millions of american families with them. 14 million americans will lose health coverage next year if this bill is aproved. 21 million will lose coverage in the next three years alone, wiping out all the coverage gains from the a.c.a. in just three years. pretty much even else in the individual market, deductibles and other costs will be higher. for lower income individuals, out of pocket costs will be much higher. insurance companies will again be able to sell plans that offer much less financial protection. and we will return to the day when millions in this country will live in fear that they are always one serious illness or accident away from bankruptcy. this bill will result in the largest transfer of wealth from struggling families to the well off in our nation's history. giving $1 trillion in tax breaks

to millionaires, billionaires and corporations. it is robin hood in reverse, but this is far worse because access to life-saving care is being stolen. i don't say that casually. i have met people, constituents of mine, whose lives have been saved because of the affordable care act. this from one of my constituents -- my name is kevin schweitzer, i'm 62 years old a lifelong resident of louisville, kentucky. i worked hard, took risks, and built a successful small business that i sold at age 59. my wife and i were excited about our prospects as we headed into early retirement. as a retiree too young for medicare, i purchased health care on the open market. less than a year later i was diagnosed with lymphoma. i have undergone multiple scans and multiple psych olves chemo. i am winning the battle so far but i will be fighting it for the rest of my life. a cancer diagnosis not only

affects the body but the mental stress is hard to deal with. thanks to obamacare i've been able to rest easier knowing that my cancer won't bankrupt my family and i'll be able to provide for my wife after i'm gone. i also heard from sara, who was able to get health insurance through the a.c.a. on january 9, 2007, it saved her life. one of her kidneys shut down and almost went septic. if she didn't have coverage she would have waited or not gone to the hospital at all. the doctor told her if she arrived at the e.r. an hour later, she would have tchismede health of my constituents like kevin and sara is at stake in this debate. they and the hundreds of other constituents i've heard from who have serious and chronic health conditions will need high quality, affordable health coverage for the rest of their lives. thunder bill, they will get less coverage, it will cost more and eventually they will be priced out to have the market. leaving them nowhere to turn for the care they need.

that's not all. because of the last-minute changes to this bill, insurers will be able to sell stripped town coverage to weed out people with pre-existing conditions. they will be able to refuse, for example, to offer coverage for chemotherapy drugs an cancer treatments, insulin pump, hospital stays, and prescription drugs that treat chronic conditions across the board. basically if you have a serious health problem, the care you need may not be available to you at all. the american people were promised by president trump and republican congressional leadership that their existing coverage would be preserved and everybody would have insurance and it would be less expensive and much better. they understandably bloved they would be treated much better than this none of those promises are in this bill. in fact, the opposite of every one of those promises is what's in this bill. those are promises made to every family in our congressional district and this bill fails them at every turn. mr. speaker, i urge my colleagues to oppose this

legislation and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentlewoman from tennessee. mrs. black: thank you, mr. speaker. it is now my pleasure to yield two minutes to the gentleman from california, mr. mcclintock. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for two minutes. mr. mcclintock: i thank the gentleman for yielding. i remind my friend from kentucky that every promise made to the american people in support of obe macare was rapt rapidly broken an wednesday -- and we are now at this moment in time when we're watching the death throes of obamacare. more people are paying the steep tax penalty or claiming hardship exemptions than are biology ba -- our counties there is no choice left at all. soon we're warned some regions will have to pro-- no providers at all. premiums soared 25% last year and this year we're warned it could be 40% or more.

critics cite the c.b.o. estimate that 24 million americans will lose their coverage. it's important to understand their reasoning there. the c.b.o. believes that people won't buy health insurance unless we force them to buy health insurance. in fact, people won't buy health insurance that's not a good value for them. and clearly obamacare isn't. we replace it with a vigorous buyers' market where plans across the country will compete to offer consumers better services at lower prices, tailored to their own needs and wants. and we assure these plans are within their financial reach with $90 billion of additional support that the c.b.o. simply ignores. the ahca's biggest achievement is to replace coercion with choice. for every american. it ends the individual mandate that forces americans to buy products they don't want. it ends the employer mandate to

trap many low-income workers in part-time jobs. it begins to restore consumers' freedom of choice, the best guarantee of quality and value in any market. it allows americans to meet more of their health care needs with pretax dollars. it relieves the premium base of the enormous cost of pre-existing conditions by moving them to a block grant and risk pool. obamacare is collapse, people yums are skyrocket, providers are flee, this may well be our last offramp on this road to ruin. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expire. the gentleman from kentucky. mr. yarmuth: i remind my colleague that his vote for this bill will result in 38,200 people from his congressional district in california losing health care and coverage and i yield one and a half minutes to the gentlelady from california, the distinguished member of the budget committee, ms. lee. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized for one and a half minutes. ms. lee: thank you very much, i want to thank our ranking member for for your steadfast

leadership as the ranking member of the budget committee. i rise in on stoigs h.r. 1628 which is a bill to take away health care from 24 million americans. whether you believe it or not, shk a basic right. this shameful bill steals from those who can least afford it, including seniors, veterans, people living with h.i.v., children, the disabled, it would, yes, rip away health care from 24 million americans. it would reduce benefits, make families pay more for less an transfer $600 billion in tax cuts to the very wealthy. this is outrageous. access to women's health is denid by defunding planned parenthood, medicaid as we know it will end, health care costs for working class families and seniors will skyrocket and it limits maternity care. this is not a health bill. as a woman of faith i'm appalled and sad by -- saddened by the hypocrisy displayed in this bill by people -- by people who say

they are religious. i want to remind you in the scripture the back of mark, chapter 12, verse 31, we are reminded to love your neighbor as yourself. this bill shows disdain for the most vulnerable and would lead to death and destruction and disease of millions of americans. i hope republicans remember to love their neighbor as themselves today and vote no on this mean-spirited bill. let's despeet this harmful and morally bankrupt bill. this is a matter of life and death and the american people deserve better. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from tennessee. mrs. black: thank you, mr. speaker. it is my honor to yield two minutes to the gentleman from ohio, mr. johnson, a member of the budget committee. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. johnson: the american people spoke loudly and clearly last november. in fact they've been speaking loudly and clearly ever since this fatefully -- fatally flawed bill called obamacare was signed into law. and now we're hours away from

the vote that the american people have been waiting for years for. this vote can be distill -- distilled down to simply this, and each member of this body must ask himself this simple question, are they willing to allow obamacare to remain the law of the land, or are we going to begin to estore health care decisions to the american people and their doctors? those who choose to vote against the american health care act, regardless of how they attempt to justify it, will be voting to keep obamacare in place. this is an inescapable fact. a fact that will remain long after the smoke and spin of handwriting from political pundits following this vote has gone and disappeared. regardless of how the votes go. there is no such thing as perfect legislation. in a body of 435 men and women representing 435 different parts

of the nation, but there is consensus among the american people that this law should be repealed and replaced. and today the people's house will either acknowledge the will of the people, or we will defy it. with that, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from kentucky. mr. yarmuth: i remind my colleague that his vote for this bill will result in 40,500 people from his congressional district in ohio losing health coverage and care and i yield one and a half minutes to the gentleman from massachusetts, a distinguished member of the budget committee, mr. moulton. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one and a half minutes. mr. moulton: thank you, mr. speaker. i'd also like to remind my colleagues that the latest poll puts the woifl the american people at 17% in favor of this bill. i'd like to read a message -- message from my republican constituent. quote, the american health care act would strain the fiscal resources necessary to support the commonwealth's continued commitment to universal health coverage this constituent is the

republican governor of massachusetts. who knows that trumpcare kestroys our ability to ensure access to quality, affordable health care coverage. another republican in my state, governor mitt romney, worked with the democratic ledge vayture to create the nation's first system to provide affordable, comprehensive health care. romneycare wasn't perfect but republicans and democrats worked together to improve it. and they created a system with higher approval ratings than trumpcare or even obamacare. we can do this. health care should not be partisan. it should be about investing in our people, in our families, and in our future so that americans can live healthy, productive lives. but that's not what this republican trumpcare bill does. michael is a constituent from gloucester, the old fishing city. he was prescribed oxy con tin by his doctors and became addicted. but he was able to enter a treatment program through medicaid, the kind of program that will be cut by trumpcare. he is now back at work.

as an electrician. he says that the affordable care act saved his life. i'm a veteran, i get my health care at the v.a., but sometimes it takes me weeks to get an important. if -- an appointment. if this republican bill passes, it will throw eight million veterans off private health care forcing them into the v.a., creating even longer wait times. what we should be doing is coming up together -- the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. mr. moulton: -- the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from tennessee. mrs. black: it is my honor to yield two minutes to the gentleman, mr. lewis. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. lewis: i rise in support of the american health care act. i ask the other side just what is it you are trying to preserve by voting no? premiums rising double digits for years, for the last seven years? in my home state of minnesota, back-to-back increases of 50% to 67%? young healthy people being priced out of the insurance

market, eight million in 2014 choosing to pay the penalty instead of buying insurance? that's the genesis of the death spiral in the insurance markets. that's what this bill is trying to correct. deductibles cork pays, i have a deductible in my own individual policy, skyrocketing deductible. there are deductibles of $13,000. that's not health care, that's not even access. drug form lairs being tight tond save money so people are denied prescription drugs. a prescription drug tax. thousands of minnesotans losing their plans, 100,000 when a big insurer dropped out. a thousand counties with one insurer. that's what you're trying to preserve on the other side, people troting -- voting no on this bill? emergency state legislation trying to prop up minnsure in my state because it's failing and a trillion dollars in taxes and spending bankrupting the country. that's what the other side is trying to preserve and those voting no on this bill. we have a choice today. you can embrace the status quo and see the markets spiral out

of control completely or you can vote for change and do the right thing. i yield my time. . the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from kentucky. mr. yarmuth: i remind my colleague of the people in his district in minnesota losing health care and coverage. i yield one minute to the gentleman from new york, distinguished member of the budget committee, mr. jefferies. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new york is recognized for 1 1/2 minutes. mr. jefferies: the trump presidency has been carke characterized by chaos, cost and confusion and this republican health care detackbackle has been no different. the american people clearly understand that trumpcare will be an unmitigated disaster. under trumpcare working families will pay more and get less. under trumpcare premiums will increase. under trumpcare co-pays will increase. under trumpcare deductibles will increase. under trumpcare, out-of-pocket

expenses will increase. under trumpcare, 24 million hardworking americans will lose their health coverage. under trumpcare, individuals between the age of 50 and 64 will pay a regressive age tax. health care is a matter of life and death. that is why we take it so seriously. and trumpcare will lead to increased death, disease, and destitution, and that's why we oppose this horrible piece of legislation. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from tennessee. mrs. black: thank you, mr. speaker. it's now my honor to yield two minutes to the gentleman from texas, mr. arrington, who is a member of the budget committee. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas is recognized for two minutes. mr. arrington: thank you, madam chair. obamacare's disastrous effects over the last several years have broken the backs of middle and working class families and have had a disproportionately negative impact on rural

america. those are the folks that i represent in west texas. while the current bill before us is far from perfect -- let's be honest, there is no such thing as perfect legislation. it reverses course and takes us in the right direction. it repeals the mandates and restores freedom to individuals and markets. it repeals about $1 trillion of taxes. it reduces deaf spending by over $100 -- deaf spending by over -- deficit spending by over $100 billion. it rolls back regulations. gives maximum flexibility to states and begins to deferralize health care. for seven years now republicans have promised the american people if we're given control of the presidency and the house and the senate then we would repeal and replace obamacare. and now that we're given the opportunity to govern and keep our promises and to deliver results for the american people, we can't let perfect be the

enemy of good. the debate is now closing. we have two choices. we either pass a good but imperfect bill or leave obamacare in place. that's an unacceptable alternative. as leaders we have a moral obligation to do something. to not stand idly by while the people suffer under a system that is failing them. if we're going to restore the greatness of america and transfer power back to the people, we need more than policy solutions. even perfect policy solutions. we need the political will and the courage to lead. this is a rescue mission, mr. speaker. and it is-t isn't without risk. but i have faith in the president and his team. i have faith in our states and the free markets. and above all, above all, mr. speaker, i have faith in the american people. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from kentucky. mr. yarmuth: mr. speaker, i remind my colleague that his vote for this bill will result in 64,400 people from his

congressional district in texas losing health coverage and care. i yield two minutes to the gentleman from new york, a distinguished member of the budget committee anti-ways and means committee, mr. higgins. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new york is recognized for two minutes. mr. higgins: i thank the gentleman. mr. speaker, this never needed to be an ideological fist fight. democrats were always willing to take into account serious and constructive alternatives to the law that we have today to make it better. to make it affordable. more affordable for the american people. but this bill is a blatant take away from the american people of money and prospecial tex. if you're 50 to 64 years old, you get clobbered. if you're 64 years old, you make $26,000 a year, according to the republican-led congressional budget office, your premiums go from $1,700 a year to $14,000 a year.

fact, united health care is one of the largest private health insurers in america. fact, united health care will have $200 billion in revenues this year and they paid their chief executive officer $66 billion -- million in compensation in 2014. fact, united health care is under investigation today by the department of justice for stealing billions of dollars from the medicare program. fact, the republican health bill gives 67 in seven words united health their high-paid executives, and all their cronies, a massive tax cut to continue to screw the american people. mr. speaker, we can do much

better. we're prepared to do much better. but this is a financial assault on good hardworking americans that want to do one thing at the end of the day after paying too much money for health care throughout the year. and that is when they need their health care, it's available to them and their family. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from tennessee. mrs. black: it is my honor to yield two minutes to the gentleman from new york, the distinguished member of the budget committee, mr. faso. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from nork is recognized for two minutes. mr. faso: thank you, madam chairman. mr. speaker, i wanted to point out to my colleagues that a fundamental change is being made with the new health law we have before us. and that is we're for the first time equalizing the treatment of people who do not have employer-provided health care. those of us who have employer provided health care, 170 million americans, that is not a taxable event for them. it is not a taxable event where

they have to pay tax at the end of the year on the value of that employer provided health care. and yet if you're the person who does not have employer provided health care, if you're the husband and wife with two kids making $45,000 or $50,000 and your employer does not provide health care, you receive absolutely no tax subsidy through the tax code. this bill through the advance refundable tax credits will for the first time give someone the choice to buy health care and give them the opportunity and the means to buy health care that they previously have not had. it is not a marketedly important distinction, frankly, from the affordable care act where you only could buy the health care through an exchange approved policy. this policy under this legislation today will allow someone the flexibility and the freedom to buy a policy of their choosing not one dictated by washington. that is a fundamental important

distinction between the status quo and what this legislation would offer. mr. speaker, my colleagues, i urge support for the bill. it is not perfect as we all know. but it is something that is long overdue. i would also point out that the numbers that my colleague from kentucky uses are based upon fantasy. those numbers are simply incorrect. and the people of our state and our country will have health care under the provisions of this bill. and we will work hard to ensure they do. thank you, mr. speaker. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from kentucky. mr. yarmuth: i remind my colleague that his vote for this bill will result in 65,800 people from his congressional district in new york losing health coverage and care. i yield two minutes to the gentlelady from washington, a distinguished member of the budget committee and the ways and means committee, ms.delbeney. -- ms.delbene. the chair: the gentlelady from washington is recognized for two minutes. ms.delbene: if republicans craft a legislation that lived up to the promise of insurance for

everybody, they would have broad bipartisan support. but that's not what they did. this bill threatens massive disruption and chaos not only to our health care system but to middle class families. families who sit at their kitchen table trying to figure out how to pay their mortgage, buy groceries, and also get health coverage for their kids. this republican bill does nothing to help them. in their rush to check a political box, republicans have crafted legislation that does nothing but hurt working americans. and in the last 24 hours, it's gone from bad to worse. make no mistake, the changes made in the 11th hour to appease the most extreme members of congress have put lifesaving care even further out of reach. some may use alternative facts, but this is reality. and the reality is that their bill robs $75 billion from

medicare, forces older americans to pay five times more than others, and shifts $312 billion in out-of-pocket costs on to middle class families. but this is about more than numbers. it's about people. like rachel from kirkland, washington, who suffered a heart attack and blood clot at the age of 35. she now depends on frequent tests, medications, and doctors visits to stay healthy. thankfully it's all covered by her insurance. rachel told me, quote, i'm horrified by the talking point that equates repealing the affordable care act with getting freedom back. for me, the loss of the a.c.a. gives me nothing but the freedom to die sooner and worry more. end quote. i'm not quote voting against this bill because it's a republican bill. i'm voting no for families like rachel's. health care doesn't need to be a partisan issue. and i stand ready and willing to

work on commonsense solutions that expand coverage and reduce costs. i was sent here to make my constituents' life better. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from tennessee. the gentlelady's time has expired. mrs. black: i now yield two minutes to the gentleman from florida, mr. gaetz, a distinguished member of our budget committee. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from florida is recognized for two minutes. mr. gaetz: thank you, mr. speaker. and i rise to repeal the disaster that is obamacare. obamacare functions as a wet blanket over the american economy. stopping businesses from growing. and impairing the rights of individuals to make their own decisions about health care. mr. speaker, i specifically implore my conservative colleagues to vote for this bill and give us a chance to get out from under this disastrous law. this legislation represents a trillion dollars in tax cuts. $1.15 trillion in spending cuts. $150 billion in deficit reduction. defunding planned parenthood.

how long have we been fighting to defund plant parenthood? close the illegal alien loophole that allows people to enroll in obamacare only to check their status in this country subsequently. we install work requirements. i don't think people that are able to work but choose not to should expect us to go borrow money from china to pay for their health care. installing those work requirements is fundamental to bold conservative reform. block grants for states so that finally they can be liberated from the oppressive hand of the federal government and blocking states from additional medicaid expansion. we have been engaging in these conservative fights for years. and finally today we have the chance to put a win on the board. so i am joining our president, our speaker. many conservatives in this congress in voting for the american health care act. when we win, when we do this, not only do we enhance our

economy, not only do we free up opportunities for broader prosperity in america, but we allow people to be in charge of health care. and we move from a government-centered system to a patient-centered system that. was the promise we made in the election -- that was the promise we made in the elections and that's what i intend to keep by voting for this bill. i yield back to the gentlelady from tennessee. mr. yarmuth: i remind my colleague that his vote for this bill will result in 56,000 people from his congressional district in florida losing health coverage and care. i yield 1 1/2 minutes -- 1:45 to the gentlelady from florida, distinguished member of the budget committee. ms. wasserman schultz. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from florida is recognized for 105 seconds. ms. wasserman schultz: thank you, mr. speaker. i stand in opposition to the republican pay more for less care act which the americans will suffer from higher health care doeses, less coverage, a crushing age tax, and ransacking of the medicare trust fund which ur seniors depend on for

long-term care. americans ages 50-64 have to pay more than five time highser. under trumpcare, an individual will pay $1,25000 more in their premiums n addition, trummle care will take away health care from 24 million hardworking americans and will force families to pay higher premiums and deductibilities. in fact, for families enrolled in the a.c.a. marketplace, premiums are expected to increase by 15% to 20%. also funnish millions of people who experience lapse in coverage by forcing thome pay a 30% higher premium each month in order to receive care. tell that to ue zahn from sun rise, florida, two daughters heading to college, lost her husband to lung cancer, and lost the insurance coverage she had. thankfully she was able to obtain coverage from the a.c.a. from $192 a month with subsidies rather than a 30% republican

sick tax. and yet this bill apparently isn't harmful enough for the far right extremists in the republican party who republican leadership has tried to appease by cutting the a.c.a.'s essential benefits. like mental health, maternity, and emergency services. mr. speaker, this bill is like taking a sledge hamtory a clock moving a little slow rather than working on precision, fine-tuning instead. it is an immoral piece of legislation as a breast cancer survivor i urge every member to stand with my sister survivors all across the country who number in the millions to make sure that you don't devastate our health and make sure that we don't have our lifes threaten. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from tennessee. mrs. black: it is my privilege to yield two minutes to the gentleman from indiana, mr. rokita. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. rokita: i'm proud of the budget committee. we did great work last week and

everyone was heard. six motions on the republican side, six motions on the democratic side, the debate was civil. tones weren't raised. theatrics, by and large, weren't employed, and we made the bill better. that was the process the week before that when the committees of jurisdiction had this legislation. and it's my hope that a as we pass this bill off the floor of the house, and it is a bill being passed off the floor of the house, not into law right now, as it goes to the senate, that the bill will continue to be improved, and that is the legislative process. i'm very proud of the members and staff of the budget committee for being a major part of that process, starting that process. we did good work. you don't have to pass this bill to find out what's in it. as we had to with obamacare. this process will continue. i'm very pleased also that we have medicaid block grants or lump sum payments to the states that are available now to cover

at least our able bodied children and adults. it's a huge step forward in letting states have the flexibility they need to decide who really needs this assistance, how they should get it, and what they should get in terms of health care. this is a good -- this is good legislation. this is what we were sent to do and we're keeping our promises to the american people by passing this legislation. i urge all my colleagues to vote yes. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from kentucky. mr. yarmuth: i remind the gentleman that a vote for this bill will result in 12,937 people in his district losing health care. i yield to the gentleman from pennsylvania, mr. doyle. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one and a half minutes. mr. doyle: thank you. mr. speaker, i rise today in opposition of trumpcare. the republican plan to cut medicare and medicaid, increase

health care costs, and take health care away from tens of millions of americans. all while providing the largest transfer of wealth from working families to our nation's richest. all of this in the name of choice and freedom. mr. boyle: but we all know that under this bill, that's just code for survival of the fittest. economic darwin i'm. -- darwinism. let me bring this a little closer to home for me. thanks to trumpcare, 36,700 of my constituents covered by the a.c.a.'s medicaid expansion now stand to lose life-saving coverage. here's one of them. constituent maura mcgrath a 17-year-old with down syndrome. her parents, joe and rita, know firsthand why medicaid is so important. medicaid has been critical to

keeping their daughter alive and saving their families from bankruptcy. even though joe and rita both work the cost of maura's care is too expensive to afford on their own, not to mention rita is a breast cancer survivor and joe suffers from parkinson's disease. medicaid provides the mcgraths the peace of mind, knowing maura will receive the care she needs and they aren't alone to fend for themselves, given the tough hand they've been dealt. mr. speaker, for maura and everyone in my district, say no to trumpcare. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from tennessee. mrs. black: thank you, mr. speaker. it is my honor to yield two minutes to the gentleman from louisiana, mr. higgins. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for two minutes. mr. higgins: i rise unscripted in passionate support of freedom. heard many statements with words like fact and details of themy knew shah of these plans. i'll share with you a fact.

200 years ago, my ancestral forefather was born a young, poor irishman, born into indentured servitude. he heard a whisper of a land born across the sea, a land where a man could own his own property. a land where a man could keep the toil of his labor. so he garnered his courage and he saved his money and he booked assage upon a cargo vessel converted to carry human beings. according to the letter nearthed by my sainted mother, his sleeping berth measured two by two by five. what could have driven my ancestral forefather and yours, mr. speaker, indeed, all of

america, what drove our ancestral forefathers to come to this land? freedom. freedom drove us. and it's freedom for which i stand. the affordable care act, known as obamacare is 8,000 pages, 8,000 pages of regulation and taxation. there's not a man nor woman amongst us from sea to shining sea that believes this body can roduce 8,000 pages of freedom. the american health care act is 124 pages of reasonable legislation. based upon the best input of free market principles. a vote against the american health care act is a vote against freedom. it's a vote against 124 pages of reasonable legislation. it's a vote for 8,000 pages of

obamacare. i urge my colleagues to vote yes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from kentucky. mr. yarmuth: i remind my colleague his vote nor bill will result in 151,000 people in his district losing health coverage and care. i yield one minute to the vice ranking member of the committee of budget, ms. jy pall. -- jayapal. the speaker pro tempore: i -- the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized. ms. jayapal: this is th reckless republican plan is a betrayal of the american people. how is this a betrayal? ka lousely stripping people of their health care, that's a betrayal. making seniors pay $14,000 more, that's a betrayal. gutting essential benefits like maternity care, essential drug coverage, and fundamentally destroying protections for

americans with pre-existing conditions that is a betrayal, and slash -- slashing medicaid by $880 billion and stripping the safety net for our seniors and our kids and people with disabilities, that's a betrayal. the burden of all of this, mr. chairman, will fall on the states who will have to come up with billions of dollars. mr. speaker, this bill is not about freedom or choice. this bill is a travesty and the american people will pay the price. this is not a health care bill. the only people who benefit are millionaires and billionaires and insurance companies who will get a trillion dollars in tax benefits while working americans pay more and get nothing. mr. chairman, this bill is pure greed and real people will suffer and die from it. vote

>> your reaction to republicans pulling the health care republican bill. join the conversation with facebook comments and tweets. watch washington journal coming up at 7 a.m. this morning. >> today, book tv is live from the 23rd annual virginia festival of the book in charlottesville beginning at 10 a.m. eastern. it begins with a panel discussion on the english authors.with that is followed by a panel on nuclear war. at 2 p.m., it is an uncivil protest with howard meems and robert pratt.

that will be followed by a panel discussion at 4 p.m. on the media with mark fisher and michael kradish. sezno ands, frank april ryan. watch the 23rd annual virginia festival of the book live today at 10 a.m. eastern on c-span 2's book tv. >> conceding that there were not enough votes for passage, house speaker paul ryan pulled the republican health care replacement bill minutes before a vote was supposed to take place. we will have reaction in a few minutes. first, i look at the -- a look at the floor debate before the bill was withdrawn. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for two minutes. mr. conaway: mr. speaker, we're

faced with an unenviable choice of the facts that there are infinite demand for health care. there is no top on the amount of health care cost necessary to provide all the health care we want for all the people in this country. and we have limited resources with which to do that. the real question is, is obamacare to take up that task by asking government to make those hard choices? or do we as individuals and families and care givers make those harder choices for ourselves? i believe the bill we'll get to vote on today moves us toward that direction. this isn't about health care per se. it's about how do you pay for it. insurance is not a magic bullet anywhere across the spectrum. it's simply a scheme in which we risk manage together, put a certain amount of money in a bucket assuming not all of us will suffer the risks we want to cover and if we do, we've got to put more money in. if we don't, the system works. this is about having to confront that choice that there's way too much cost for the amount of resources available in any of these circumstances. and it's hard. many of my constituents ask, why

did republicans spend six years railing against obamacare and not have the fix? this is exhibit a. this is hard stuff. even among republicans, we've got more than 218 and can't agree among ourselves what ought to go forward. but i know this. we're down to the final choice. do we keep obamacare and the failure confronting us and will continue to be there or do we take a chance on moving forward something -- moving toward something different? giving states back the opportunity to decide for their indigent population how should they take care of them? i don't think anybody in washington, d.c. can come up with a plan that fixes that for all 50 states. i trust my colleagues in austin to make that happen far better than anybody in d.c. this bill moves this in the right direction. s that hard choice but for me it's relativity -- relatively straight forward. keep obamacare with a no vote, move toward a brighter future for health care in this country and the way we pay for it, who

pays for it and how we get that done by a yes vote. i encourage my colleagues to vote yes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady reserves. the gentleman from virginia is recognized. >> i remind my colleague that his vote -- mr. scott: i remind my colleague that a vote for this bill will make things worse by 686,000 people in his district losing health care coverage and care. i yield one minute to the gentlelady from florida, mrs. wilson. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized for one minute. mrs. wilson: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, i would like to begin by asking my republican colleagues one simple question. don't you have don't you have constituents who get sick and need an insurance? everyone gets sick, rich and poor, black and white, women, and havingn, insurance helps us give us peace of mind. it helps us make sure medical needs are not exacerbated by a

financial crisis. if the affordable care act is repealed, your constituents and millions of people will be kicked off their insurance, and that is a shame. they will suffer and their families will suffer. i have health insurance and so does everyone in congress. we even have a clinic and doctors at our disposal in this capital. doesn't every american deserve the same treatment as members of congress? instead of moving backwards, republicans should partner with democrats to amend and strengthen the existing law. by working together, we can create a plan that works for all americans, not just members of congress. vote no. [applause] further consideration of hr 1628 is postponed.

according to cause 12 a of rule one, the chair to close -- declares the house in recess. [booing] following his decision, paul ryan told reporters that obamacare is the law of the land for the foreseeable future. this is 10 minutes. -- said that obamacare was the law of the land for the perceivable future. this is 10 minutes. >> he will explain what went that was atomething the central core of the ,epublican campaign