Recognizing Washington State University's Roar Program

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Ms. McBRIDE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor my friend and pastor, the Reverend Dr. Gregory Knox Jones, and to congratulate him on his retirement after 22 years leading Westminster Presbyterian Church in Wilmington, Delaware.

I have had the pleasure of seeing Reverend Jones' ministry up close, as a lifelong member of Westminster where I have been witness to a community shaped by his dynamic leadership, incisive mind, eloquent sermons, and his big heart.

Since joining Westminster in 2004, Reverend Jones has led with compassion, putting his faith into action time and time again. He has tirelessly centered peace and justice in his ministry both here in the United States and around the world from Central America to the Middle East.

Throughout his ministry, he has followed the example of Christ by welcoming the stranger and building bridges with those too often cast into the shadows of society. At a time of deepening divisions, he has fostered interfaith relationships and partnerships across Delaware's Christian, Jewish, and Muslim communities.

His tireless devotion to his neighbors is matched only by his faithful counsel of our Westminster community, supporting congregants and their families through love and loss--a privilege he has delivered with exceptional care and grace. My own family and I are eternally grateful for his guidance and support through the challenges we have faced in our own lives.

While he has served as pastor to a First Lady and a U.S. Senator, Reverend Jones has been there personally and professionally for all of God's children, no matter who they are, where they come from, how they look, or whom they love. As Westminster enters its 140th year, Reverend Jones' impact is deep, and his example is profound.

I thank Reverend Jones and Camila for their remarkable stewardship of Westminster, and I wish them all the best in their next chapter.

I congratulate Greg on a well-deserved retirement. Affordable Care Act

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Ms. McBRIDE. Mr. Speaker, this week marks 16 years since the Affordable Care Act became the law of the land. And for millions of Americans, including tens of thousands of Delawareans, the ACA has meant the difference between getting care and going without.

The ACA had an ambitious but necessary goal: ensuring more Americans have access to the healthcare they need to live and thrive in our country.

Because of the ACA, more than 50 million Americans have gained health coverage. People with preexisting conditions have been protected from losing their insurance, and Medicaid expansion has helped families get the care they need.

When people have access to care, lives are saved, families are more stable, and communities are stronger.

But since its passage, the one through line of every Republican Congress has been their concerted and coordinated effort to sabotage the ACA and strip people of their healthcare.

Since this current Congress convened last January, the ACA tax credits have expired, and the majority passed the single largest cut to Medicaid in American history. They eviscerated the American healthcare system, gutting coverage and financial support that makes it possible for families to get care. They raided the healthcare of the American people to fund this President's mass deportation machine and to give massive tax breaks to his billionaire donors.

The consequence is a tax on working people, a tax on our most vulnerable neighbors.

When you force working families to pay more out of pocket for basic healthcare, that is a tax. It is a tax on getting sick and a tax on staying alive.

Families across the country have already started losing coverage, and millions more are facing skyrocketing premiums that are unsustainable.

Government should be working to make life easier for the people we serve, not making healthcare harder for them to afford.

The right to lifesaving care is a foundational right, one that makes all other rights possible. Americans will never truly be free until every single one of us can get the healthcare that we need.

So, on this anniversary, we shouldn't just celebrate the ideals of the ACA of 16 years ago, but we should also recommit ourselves to ensuring that the promise of quality, affordable healthcare becomes a reality for today's family.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source