Obamacare

Floor Speech

Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I believe that Obama does, in fact, care, and that care is evidenced by the fact that we passed the most major piece of health legislation that we have done since the mid-1960s, since Medicare and Medicaid.

So it's amazing to me that I continue to hear colleagues in both the House and the Senate who are attempting to deny the existence of this legislation, legislation that was passed by both Houses of Congress, signed into law by the President of the United States of America, upheld by the Supreme Court, which says that it is indeed constitutional, and still there are colleagues trying to deny the existence of this law. That is amazing.

As a matter of fact, it's real. It's passed. It's been affirmed. And it's going to stay.

My county government, Cook County government, has already, with a waiver, signed up more than 100,000 people, just waiting to get enrolled into its county care program--100,000 people, none of whom will have to worry about preexisting conditions; 100,000 people in Cook County, none of whose children under 26 will have to worry about having health insurance coverage because they can have it on their parents' policies; 100,000 people, none of whom will have to worry about running out of benefits; 100,000 people in Cook County, one county, who will have their own primary care physician, who will be able to see a doctor and go to the clinic on a regular basis.

But that's nothing compared to the more than 30 million people in this country who, for the first time in their lives, will have health insurance coverage. I hear all of the discussions about the negative impact. Well, you ask a person in need of health care who has never been able to get it how much of a ``negative impact'' it's going to have on them.

I agree that the Senate has passed a continuing resolution which does not fund the government for the extended period of time that we'd like to see and need to see. But I can tell you, I would rather have that than to have people worrying and wondering whether they're going to be able to see a doctor when they need to see one or go to the hospital or take their child to a regular doctor rather than having to go to the emergency room.

So I would urge my colleagues, let's be in agreement with the Senate. And let's move right now, today--and if not today, tomorrow--to pass a continuing resolution that keeps our government funded.

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