Pennie Enrollment

Floor Speech

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Ms. DEAN of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, on January 1, Republicans in Congress allowed the Affordable Care Act credits to expire.

Instead of celebrating a new year, millions of Americans confronted healthcare premiums skyrocketing overnight. Many had to make an impossible choice. Just look at my home State of Pennsylvania, where 85,000 people who receive their health insurance through Pennie, our health insurance marketplace, were forced to drop coverage.

That is one in five Pennsylvanians, and it is not surprising who is bearing the brunt of this crisis: older Pennsylvanians and rural communities, some of the most vulnerable among us; 85,000 people who can't access preventative screenings for cancer or visit a pediatrician when their child is sick; and people who may or will delay lifesaving care because they simply cannot afford it.

These tax credits save lives. That is why the House voted last month to extend them for 3 years. It was overwhelmingly supported. It was bipartisan. It is humane.

My message to my Senate colleagues is this: Bring this bill to the floor today. We cannot waste another moment.

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