House Proceeding 07-14-09 on Jul 14th, 2009 :: 1:13:45 to 1:19:45
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1:13:41 to 1:14:01( Edit History Discussion )

John Sarbanes: and with that i'd like to yield to my good friend and cleague from maryland, mr. sarbanes. mr. sarbanes: thank you. i want to thank my colleague from kentucky for organizing this very important discussion today and we've got some terrific members who have been very engaged in this health ca topic for a long time and i say a long time because even though

1:13:45 to 1:19:45( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: John Sarbanes

1:14:02 to 1:14:22( Edit History Discussion )

John Sarbanes: these are folks that came to this chamber in january of 2007, all of them are people who have been working on this issue for many, many years. and so this is going to be an important discussion tonight. i think a stimulating one and one that will be enlightening to all of those folks who are very concerned about where we are

1:14:23 to 1:14:43( Edit History Discussion )

John Sarbanes: today was an incredible day because today was introduced in this chamber, the health reform act, that i think is going to form the basis of moving us forward in a very meaningful and significant way in this country. this is a long time coming, this day.

1:14:44 to 1:15:06( Edit History Discussion )

John Sarbanes: we ran on this issue in 2006, not because we made it up out of thin air but because everywhere we went we heard from constituents and members of the public who were saying this was their number one issue. we ran on it again in 2008 because that was the number one issue that people brought to our attention and the stories like

1:15:07 to 1:15:27( Edit History Discussion )

John Sarbanes: the one that john jar muth just told -- yarmuth just told. there's legions of that story that we've heard. this was the number one issue in 2006 and 2008. there are some other the -- on the other side and there are even some in the public who are

1:15:28 to 1:15:48( Edit History Discussion )

John Sarbanes: saying we're moving too fast on this, slow down, we need to take more time to deliberate. and it's a fair point but only to a point because the people that we were elected by and the people that we hear every weekend when we go home to our

1:15:49 to 1:16:09( Edit History Discussion )

John Sarbanes: districts have been clamoring for this kind of reform for decades. and they really can't wait to change the situation that they're in right now. so this is a great day because we're finally at this moment, after decades of struggle, after the past few years where the call for this kind of change has

1:16:10 to 1:16:30( Edit History Discussion )

John Sarbanes: reached a fever pitch, we're finally at the point where we are putting legislation on the table that's going to make a difference. and i want to yield soon to my colleagues that are here, but let me just mention a couple things, dispense with some myths. you know, before we began this exchange, i heard a few folks

1:16:31 to 1:16:53( Edit History Discussion )

John Sarbanes: who are critical of the proposal saying we don't need a government takeover. well this bill couldn't be further from a government takeover. what this is doing, in a very american way, is offering more choices out there. too many americans feel that they have been shackled by a private health insurance industry that was more

1:16:54 to 1:17:14( Edit History Discussion )

John Sarbanes: interested in seizing profits for themselves than really proding high quality and accessible care to most americans. and folks are fed up with that. so we're not talking about a government takeover, we're talking about trying to get out from under the takeover that the private health insurance industry has had for so many years.

1:17:15 to 1:17:36( Edit History Discussion )

John Sarbanes: that's what this is about. second thing, this bill invests in primary care and preventive care. it does the kinds of commonsense things that the american people have been calling for with respect to their health care coverage for so many years. let's treat people on the front end and keep them from getting sick in the first place rather

1:17:37 to 1:18:01( Edit History Discussion )

John Sarbanes: than waiting for them to get sick on the back end. that makes common sense. and the other thing is, investing in our health workforce. if we're going to presume as we should to co country and provide them with health care coverage, we got to make sure that there are enough care givers to deliver that care to them. and let me close with this

1:18:02 to 1:18:26( Edit History Discussion )

John Sarbanes: observation, which to me is what -- this is what i think most americans are thinking to themselves, they're thinking, if america could have accomplished all the things that we've managed to accomplish over the last few decades, even as we were care -- carrying this broken health care system around

1:18:27 to 1:18:49( Edit History Discussion )

John Sarbanes: on our backs, imagine what we can accomplish as a society, as individuals, if we can fix this health care system. imagine if your mother who goes to work and leaves a child at home whose got a fever of 100 degrees, but you don't have to

1:18:50 to 1:19:12( Edit History Discussion )

John Sarbanes: worry because you know that your family has decent health care coverage, imagine how much more productive you're going to be at work that day, imagine if you're a small business that wants to do the right thing for your employees but could never afford to do it before but now you can, imagine if you're a large business that's trying it to compete with competitors

1:19:13 to 1:19:33( Edit History Discussion )

John Sarbanes: overseas that have more of a shared obligation, public and private sector, to help them with the cost of health care. imagine how much more productive and competitive you can be. so given that america's been as successful as we've been all these years even with this monkey we've been carrying around on our back, just think, just think, just manage the

1:19:34 to 1:19:45( Edit History Discussion )

John Sarbanes: heights we're going -- imagine the heights we're going to reach as a nation and as individuals if we can fix this health care system and that's what this bill is all about.