Obama Cares

Floor Speech

Ms. WILSON of Florida. Mr. Speaker, this is my own little ``non-filibuster'' in the House of Representatives. I simply cannot stay quiet when a crowning achievement for the American people is under attack.

The term ``ObamaCare'' was coined by Republicans in 2010 to mock the Affordable Care Act. Well, this is one place where I agree with the Republicans. I believe that ObamaCare is the perfect name for the Affordable Care Act because the Affordable Care Act is proof that Obama cares. He cares aboutAmerica's families. He cares about mothers. He cares about fathers. He cares about young people. He cares about babies. He cares about seniors. He cares about the future of the American people. Yes, Obama cares.

We know that Obama cares because insurance companies can no longer deny 17 million children with preexisting conditions health coverage. We know that Obama cares because 105 million Americans with life-threatening diseases no longer have to live in fear of maxing out on their lifetime dollar limits on their insurance coverage. We know that Obama cares because more than 3 million young people up to age 26 can now have coverage because insurance companies can no longer remove them from their parents' plans.

Mr. Speaker, I do not want to say that the people in Congress who oppose ObamaCare do not care, but I need help in understanding this dilemma. Where do they live? Who do they represent? Who could oppose health care for their constituents?

The opponents of ObamaCare have not proposed a single serious alternative to provide health care coverage. Their constituents get sick, too. Have these Members of Congress ever been sick? Have they ever had a sick family member without insurance coverage? Have they ever been to a public emergency room? They should be afraid for their neighbors, their friends and family who may someday become jobless, uninsured, and sick. They will lose everything that they own.

Who do these people represent? Do they represent robots? Do they feel? Do they bleed? Do they have pain?

Members of Congress should be encouraging people to get coverage and expand access to health care. We can stop the crisis of uninsurance that is killing people, draining our tax dollars, and degrading our health system. Instead, too many legislators are spreading myths and half-truths about the only plausible plan that exists right now to end our health care crisis.

ObamaCare is not a government takeover. To the contrary, it is an improvement on our private, free market-oriented health care system. You will have choices. You will have access. If you are unemployed with no health care, you will likely get it. If you are employed with health care, you will likely experience no change in your present health care coverage. If you are on Medicare, do not be frightened. You will experience no changes in your Medicare coverage.

The Federal Government is simply making it easier and cheaper for people who have no insurance to get insured. The Federal Government will subsidize your health care bills according to your income status. ObamaCare is trying to ensure that no one's livelihood is destroyed by a serious illness.

When I was an elementary school principal, I worked to help a homeless family whose children were attending my school. The father was a professional man--an optician--whose lifetime was destroyed when he hit his lifetime cap for health care coverage because of serious medical conditions related to sickle cell anemia. They suffered. They lost everything--their home, their dignity, their health. The whole school joined in to help them through this crisis. This family was forced to work incredibly hard to survive. They would not have had to face such a hardship if the Affordable Care Act protections were in place.

We know that ObamaCare is about women because pregnancy can no longer be considered a preexisting condition. We know that ObamaCare is about young people because young people--the likeliest to be involved in auto crashes or motorcycle crashes or drug use--will be insured. They are not invincible, as they so often believe. As it stands now, someone has to pick up the tab when they make a mistake. They need to be insured.

Have you been to a public emergency room lately? It's a nightmare. People everywhere are suffering, waiting endlessly for their turn. So many of these patients are not insured and cannot pay. Not only do they suffer, but the taxpayers and public health system also suffer. The costs are passed on down the line. What a relief it would be for our public hospitals and for the taxpayers if we could ensure that every person in America that was eligible has health insurance.

This is about fiscal responsibility. People want to be insured. They want the peace of mind and stability. ObamaCare is about the economic future of this Nation because the Affordable Care Act ensures that Americans pay for all the health care services they use. Preventive care would save so much money and save so many lives.

Mr. Speaker, no one said that this would be easy. Progress is never easy. We went through this struggle with Social Security in 1935. Before Social Security, senior citizens suffered and died in poverty. Social Security provoked a tremendous backlash from conservatives. Members of Congress even fought to strip domestic workers and agricultural workers of their benefits in order to keep African Americans out of the system. We had to fight, but we ultimately succeeded in building a Social Security system that keeps tens of millions of Americans out of poverty. We have come a long way.

We went through this struggle with Medicare in 1965. Back then, Republicans, including then-California Governor Ronald Reagan, declared that Medicare was a ``Soviet-style health model'' and the end of freedom in America. But we ultimately succeeded in building a health care system for the elderly that prevents untold suffering and death.

ObamaCare is about 30 million lives. October 1, 2013. It's about marching forward in the proud tradition of Social Security and Medicare. It's about marching toward the goal of a society that truly cherishes human life.

Nobody said that it would be easy. We knew it would be difficult. We knew it would be hard. We've been here before. We fought hard--and we won. And we're on our way to another crowning achievement in the history of this Nation, simply because Barack Hussein Obama cares.

I yield back the balance of my time.

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