ms. edwards: i thank the gentleman for yielding. each time mr. hall has spoken he reminds me of something else. i have to tell you, i, too, left my appendix in spain in a clinic but i didn't get a bill. now that is not what we're doing here. but we are doing something really important for the american people. i believe that the strongest health care reform we can pass out of this congress also embraces a robust public plan option that gives people choice, that's competitive in the marketplace, that -- a bill that makes certain that we cover -- we don't have exclusions for pre-existing conditions like domestic violence or any other pre-existing, so-called pre-existing condition. so i think that in order to meet the test for real eform -- for real reform, we have to have a system in which patients choods their doctors, doctors and patients choose their care and insurers and government bureaucrats alike stay out of those decisions. so i say to the american public, we're ready to cast a vote for real reform and so, let's bring on the choice, let's br

ms. donna edwards, again for five minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from maryland is recognized for five minutes. ms. edwards: thank you, madam speaker. thank you, mr. lynch and mr. chaffetz. i'm really excited to be here today to rise in support of my resolution, house resolution 534, supporting the goals and ideals of national children and families day. on a note i would just say to mr. chaffetz, part of what moved me in introducing this resolution with my colleague from michigan, candice miller, was the relationship i've had with my own family and parents and grandparents and extended family recognizing the very special role that families play in the lives of children in growing them and nurturing them. and especially in sometimes a very troublesome world. i'd like to thank chairman towns for the leadership and the government oversight and reform committee for his support of this resolution. i'd also like to thank all the co-sponsors of the resolution from both sides of the aisle, all of us who recognize the

ms. edwards: to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. ms. edwards: we are on the -- we'll signal to all america that we are no longer a nation that tolerates 46 million uninsured and many millions of workers, people who work every day underinsured and facing luge out-of-pocket costs. now, today i want to emphasize the importance of including a robust public health insurance option with an establishment of provider network in the final health care reform bill. it will allow the public plan to give americans a real choice among insurance plans and from doctors, from the start, from the beginning. a public provider network will place a public plan on a level playing field with private plans, establishing real compe figures, real reform and lowering cost for americans. look, we have one chance to do health care reform, and it's today. and we have to ensure that we establish the strongest infrastructure to give success for the american people and to give them coverage and care and lower costs. further, the congressional budget office says that a r

ms. edwards: i thank the the gentleman from minnesota. we have been talking about health care reform and out in america, when they watch congress, they might think this is about blue dogs, liberals and conservatives and republicans and democrats, but health care reform is actually about people. and it's about, for example, a young woman in my congressional district, who wrote to me that she was 13 years old when her father developed cancer. and they were struggling without insurance. and she said no one should be 13 years old and wondering if the insurance company would pay for her father's treatment so that he could see his daughter's next birthday. your support and determination to improve this system means the world to so many of us. on behalf of my family and the american cancer society, thank you. it's about ariella and about the millions of people across the country who don't have health care, it's about millions more who are underinsured and it's about millions who are insured and are paying skyrocketing costs just discussed by our

ms. edwards: thank you to my colleagues, because i think there is probably no more important issue to talk about than health care and not for us, but for the american people. i thought about it for a bit and before i came into the congress, i started out in 2000 working at a small nonprofit and they paid my health care and the cost was $12,000 per employee. when i was elected to congress and came in 2008, the cost for me and my son, same network was about $20,000. and that's true for people across the country, that premiums have skyrocketed about 114% over a decade. and i think that if you think about people's wages, whether they work for a small or large employer or self-employed, there are few among us whose salaries have skyrocketed to 114% in the same time frame. and that's what we are talking about with health care. i know that we often speak a lot about those who are uninsured. and clearly the moral imperative for us to insure the 47 million to 50 million people who don't have any health care coverage at all is really important. but tonight, i want to spend some time actually talking

ms. edwards: i rise in strong opposition to this amendment. it would prohibit funding for a project that will have a tremendously pozzive economic impact not only to the -- to montgomery county but the constituent of maryland. this is expected to house 20 to 25 new business this is a will create an estimated 460 green jobs in our state. this project is unique and innovative and timely. this is a transformational time for american entrepreneurs, creators and innovators and we have the opportunity not to do the work as government, but to fa sit tail -- facilitate it, get out of the way of smart green business entrepreneurs. this is not the type of project that should be cut. instead, it should be used as a model for local areas around the nation. it's an example of how local communities can spark economic growth within a region, not with the help of giant outside corporations but with small local businesses most closely connected to the people and their communities. now aside from providing economic growth this green business incubator and other

ms. edwards: i thank the gentleman for yielding. i don't know all the processes of the -- mr. edwards: i thank the gentleman for yielding. i don't know all the processes but mr. buyer has clearly been a real leader on this -- on this effort. so i salute you for your leadership on it and commend you for it. there is no intention of any partisan politics being involved in this. i'm glad, as you are, at the end of the day because of your work and mr. filner's work and mr. langevin's work that these great americans will be honored. i salute the gentleman for that. mr. buyer: i reclaim my time. i applaud mr. filner for his legislation. he worked with me to create that legislation. mr. filner, i want to work with you. and it's a choice. you chose not to but in the end through mystery and magic we got our bipartisanship. so i'll continue to extend my harm of the magic dust. i yield back and ask for everyone to support this mystical and magical amendment. the chair: all time on the amendment has expired. the question is on the amendment offered by the gentleman from california. those i

ms. edwards: mr. speaker, today it's time for health care reform.there are some out there who like to claim that we don't need to do reform now because the private marketplace will take care of everything. the private marketplace hasn't taken care of anything except to increase deductibles, increase premiums, increase co-pays and cost the american people. let me tell you what that means in my home state in maryland. in 2001, if you were paying the average of $600 a month for your health care, today you're paying an average of $1,000 a month for your health care. i don't know about anybody else but in my household, an extra $400 a month is real money, it's grocery ares, an electric bill, it's day care. this is an important cost to the american people. it's time for us to enact a uniquely american plan, doesn't embrace the insurance industry or close down the insurance industry but says you have to compete with a public plan that relies on medicare rate that ensures we have real competition and that there's real change for the american people. it's ti

edwards. i'd also like to thank the chairwoman of the rules committee, ms. slaughter, for not only making this amendment in order but also the words of support that have been expressed on behalf of the armed services committee but also the rules committee. and i thank both these gentlemen for accepting my amendment, and i yield back the balance of my time. the chair: the gentleman yields back. anyone seek time in opposition? the question is on the amendment offered by the gentleman from texas. as many as are in favor will signify by saying aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. and the amendment is agreed to. it is now in order to consider amendment number 5 printed in part a of house report 111-233. for what purpose does the gentleman from massachusetts rise? mr. tierney: i have an amendment at the desk. the chair: the clerk will designate the amendment. the clerk: part a, amendment number 5 printed in house report 111-233 offered by mr. tierney of massachusetts. the chair: pursuant to house resolution 685, the gentleman from

ms. edwards: permission to address the house for one minute. i rise today because we really are on the verge of finalizing groundbreaking health care legislation which will benefit generations to come and 250 million of us who have health care, but who are tired of skyrocketing premiums and deductibles. did your salary go up 114% this last decade? it shouldn't didn't, but that's what happened with premiums and deductibles. this is about real reform, knots for insurance companies and bean coupters, but for the american people. i want to emphasize the importance of including a robust public plan option, relying on the medicare provider network in the final reform bill. providing americans with a real choice in doctors and insurance plans puts americans back in charge of their health care, not insurance companies, but real people and patients. i would say that for those who believe in the free market, why are you afraid of a public plan and something that competes? i think it's time for us to do health care reform and lower costs and make it affor

ms. edwards: i rise today because for six decades we debated about how to fix health care reform. now it's time to stop the debates, denials and deceit. we have a uniquely american solution that includes a robust plan that will lower costs, increase coverage and provide quality care. for the american people, let's repeat that again. lower costs, increased coverage, provides quality care. this is really just about what the insurance companies want to fight. everybody watching, the daily news, the evening news, know this is a to be view true. the insurance companies will pull no stops to try to defeat health care reform. we're not going to let them. premiums for americans have doubled in nine years, three times faster than wages. an american family pays three times extra in premiums. each day 14,000 people lose health care and 60% of small business owners, their workers and families have no health care. that's 28 million americans. so we can create a plan here that eliminates co-pays, eliminates the high cost of deductibles for preventive care, caps out of pocket expenses and ends t

ms. bordallo: mr. speaker, h.r. 1376 introduced by our colleague, chet edwards, will establish a new national monument to protect the burial site near waco, texas, of several herds of mammoths that appear to have died in one or more floods some 68,000 years ago. the 107th congress authorized a study of the site and h.r. 1376 implements the results of that study. specifically, the bill provides that the 109-acre site be managed under a cooperative agreement among the national park service, baylor university, and the city of waco. . the representative has been a tireless effort on the preservation of this invaluable historic site. he is fob commended for his tireless efforts. i ask my colleagues to support the passage of this measure and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman reserves the balance of her time. the gentleman from washington. mr. hastings: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. hastings: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, h.r. 1376 would designate a natio

ms. pingree for the opportunity to speak on this rule and i want to thank my friend chet edwards and my - edwards and zach wamp for their leadership and hard work in crafting this bill and their unfailing support of american service members and veterans. with wars in iraq and afghanistan ongoing and in increase -- and an increasingly high volume of men and women service members returning home, funding their needs remains a top priority. as much now as ever, congress needs to be making critical investments in construction projects, which support service members' safety and quality of life at home and on the battlefield. we must also make good on our promise to service members returning home from the war to provide them with the best health care possible and we need to aid them by fully funding the department of veterans' affairs. the bill increases funding for the veterans health administration by $4.4 million over last year, improving access to medical services for veterans for key programs, including mental health issues, homeless veterans and improves access to health care for veterans