mr. bilirakis. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from florida is recognized for two minute. mr. bilirakis: thank you, mr. speaker. thank you, mr. chairman. the s.g.r. cuts would reduce doctors compensation for treating compare patients by 24%. seniors and physicians cannot afford that and congress cannot let it happen in five days. the legislation before us would patch the s.g.r. for a year. i support this legislation. of course reluctantly. two weeks ago the house passed a permanent repeal and replacement of the s.g.r. that was fully paid for. the fix provided doctors who treat medicare patients with certainty. that's what they need. and incentivized and rewarded doctors to keep seniors healthy. the senate needs to negotiate, mr. speaker. if they don't like the house pay for, come up with one. let's come together and get this done. a patch isn't the best solution, we can replace the s.g.r. but the senate has to work with us. again, let's get this done, let's work together and get it done thank you very much, i yield back, mr. chairman. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yiel

mr. bilirakis, for five minutes. mr. bilirakis: i rise today to celebrate the 191st anniversary of greek independence. citizens of greece have always been a proud people in body, mind, and spirit. from paraclose, the greek statesman and general, the first citizen of athens, to play torks who laid -- to plate kwlow who laid a groundwork in philosophy so vast that the entirety of european philosophical tradition is simply said to be a food note to his -- footnote to his work. the first head of state of an independent greece, greeks have been exceptional, mr. speaker. . i'm almost sure that thomas jefferson cast an eye across the atlantic when he uttered these words in 1821 when greece declared their independence and i quote, the flames kindled on the fourth of july, 1776 have not spread over much of the globe to be extinguished by the feeble engines of dess petism. on the contrary, they will consume these engines and all who work them. it is no coincidence that the feats of the enunesiation, a commemoration of the conceptio

mr. bilirakis. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from florida is recognized for two minute. mr. bilirakis: thank you, mr. speaker. thank you, mr. chairman. the s.g.r. cuts would reduce doctors compensation for treating compare patients by 24%. seniors and physicians cannot afford that and congress cannot let it happen in five days. the legislation before us would patch the s.g.r. for a year. i support this legislation. of course reluctantly. two weeks ago the house passed a permanent repeal and replacement of the s.g.r. that was fully paid for. the fix provided doctors who treat medicare patients with certainty. that's what they need. and incentivized and rewarded doctors to keep seniors healthy. the senate needs to negotiate, mr. speaker. if they don't like the house pay for, come up with one. let's come together and get this done. a patch isn't the best solution, we can replace the s.g.r. but the senate has to work with us. again, let's get this done, let's work together and get it done thank you very much, i yield back, mr. chairman. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yiel

mr. bilirakis: thank you very much. i rise today, mr. speaker, in support of religious liberty. the affordable care act, better known as obamacare, forces businesses to provide services like the morning after pill as part of their health insurance. for business owners who believe that life begins at conception, this aspect of the a.c.a. violates the religious -- their religious principles. the first amendment is sacred to americans. at the time of its creation, the first amendment was completely unique. god, not government, gave inalienable rights to women and men, including freedom to practice a religion without interference. no individual should be forced to violate their religious beliefs. opponents will say this is restricting access to health care. i disagree. this is about ensuring the integrity of religious freedom for all americans, regardless of religion. that is a founding american principle. i yield back, mr. speaker. thank you. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. . the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recog

mr. bilirakis: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, i rise today in support of health care choices for our seniors. nearly 30% of all seniors, 15 million americans, choose medicare advantage. individuals have testified before the energy and commerce committee that medicare advantage provides better results than traditional medicare by embracing free market principles. medicare advantage focuses on preventive care, before obamacare competition in medicare advantage kept costs for beneficiaries low. and choices for plans abundant. with obamacare, choices will be reduced and costs for seniors unfortunately will increase. obamacare cuts medicare by $700 billion. medicare advantage has been successful for its enrollees. these cuts will reduce the access seniors have to medicare advantage. this is unacceptable as far as i'm concerned. medicare advantage should be touted. instead seniors are facing on an average of 13% rate cut in 2014 compared to 2013. we should not be penalizing seniors and reducing their access to health care to p

mr. bilirakis from florida. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. bilirakis: i rise today in support of this legislation sponsored by congressman grimm. it will provide relief for homeowners struggling to keep their homes. it will ensure that participants in the program are treated fairly and eliminate an untenable burden during these tough economic times. some say it will benefit the rich. middle-class retirees and those on fixed incomes are those suffering from rate increases of $10,000 or more. they are the ones who risk losing their homes. if congress fails to pass this bill, we will risk destroying all the reforms made to the national flood insurance program. we cannot let the perfect be the enemy of the good. i urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support this commonsense legislation, a solution that helps people immediately and addresses the long-term issue. thank you, mr. speaker. and i also want to thank representative waters for her leadership on this bill. and of course, mr. cassidy and representative capito. the speaker pro te

mr. bilirakis, valuable member of the health subcommittee.he speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from florida is recognized for one minute. mr. bilirakis: thank you, mr. speaker. i rise today in support of repealing the s.g.r. formula. the s.g.r. cuts will reduce doctors' compensation for treating medicare patients by 24%. h.r. 4015 repeals and replaces s.g.r. with a merit-based incentive payment system. mips, that pays doctors based on quality not volume. paying doctors based on quality incentivizes physicians to be as efficient and effective as possible in keeping their patients healthy. mips is fully paid for by delay of obamacare's individual mandate. a tax on americans to force them to purchase more expensive health care that doesn't meet their needs. this bill will provide doctors who treat medicare patients with certainty incentivize and reward doctors to keep seniors healthy with better care and provide individuals relief under obamacare. support our seniors, our doctors, and fairness for individuals under obamacare. i urge my colleagu