Rosa DeLauro

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a great bunch of kids who are sitting in the gallery this morning with their parents and their advisers. These students are all members of the ``Kick Butts Connecticut'' campaign, which I started 2 years ago to help combat smoking in my home State. They are true heroes, acting as antismoking peer counselors for school children. Madam Speaker, I do not have time in 1 minute to talk about all their many accomplishments, but I would like to acknowledge them each by name: Rhiann Hinckley from Memorial Middle School in Middlefield; Emily Parmenter also from Memorial Middle School in Middlefield; Josh Zelem from Amity Junior High School in Bethany; Lindsey Norman from Amity Junior High School in Orange; and Chika Anekwe from Wooster Middle School in Stratford. Two additional students who made the trip down to Washington but have already returned to Connecticut: Dan Lerman from Amity Junior High in Bethany and Shannon Mason from Hamden Country Day School in Hamden, Connecticut. Madam Speaker, I salute these young people for their creative efforts, for their hard work, and for their dedication in the fight to reduce youth smoking. Every single day they are saving children's lives and we are all very grateful and we are all very proud.

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. I think that it is so important because not only can we not let folks get away with passing off these programs as a savior to working middle-class families, but when you go beneath the surface, you find out how seriously they are going to hurt working families. We should not let them get away with that. The fact is that Democrats are not for tax cuts. We have started that process over the last several years. It continues so that people can take advantage of a Tax Code and the tax credits to get their kids to school; to be able to afford the child care; that that small business that you speak so eloquently about has the opportunity for reducing health care costs; or for expanding their business and being able to get the tax relief on equipment that they might buy, and raising those percentages. There were a whole series of capital gains tax cuts that went into effect for small businesses who ought to be able to take advantage of that, and farmers. And those continue. The benefits continue as pieces of these things get phased in, because I would venture to say today that people are not seeing, immediately, the results of some of these things, so that it is ongoing. We need to be working at that, increasing those opportunities and those targeted tax cuts. That is where they ought to be going. Those are the folks we ought to be helping at this point. We ought to be helping seniors cope with fixed income, with a higher rate of illness, perhaps, so that these costs do not skyrocket for them. That is the way we bring some opportunity in folks' lives to be able to raise their standard of living, if you will. Those who are at the upper end of the scale have these opportunities. Nobody is denying that. They can also be more selective in which taxes they are paying. They have different kinds of shelters, different kinds of opportunities within the Tax Code. I will not even call them loopholes, they are opportunities in the Tax Code, to take advantage of in some way. Working middle-class families do not have those opportunities.

Ms. DeLAURO. I think it also, as our colleague from New Jersey pointed out, I mean it leaves you turning everybody, if you will, into a tax collector. You then have an enormous amount of room here for error, for fraud, for all kinds of things that are happening. It seems to me to be a multiplier effect here. And I think the point you made before, that Mr. Pallone made before, about folks are so skeptical about, you know, what taxes are going away before you begin to impose another 30 percent on whatever they are doing. And you know the public is smart. They are getting hammered, especially working families are getting hammered, and they have no guarantee over what is going to go away ultimately and what is going to be imposed on them. I think the point that you made is so--really about the wage earner, the government wage earner; what happens with the property tax, in addition to which what happens to your own wages. So you are going to get hammered several times over on tax issues when people are feeling choked today by taxes, working people are. I know in my State of Connecticut, I mean that is the cry that I hear about all the time, you know, that wherever they turn, there is another tax that they are paying.

Ms. DeLAURO. Middle school kids. And we found, all the studies have found that you add $1.50 a pack, it reduces the smoking. So, really, we are running at cross purposes here.

Ms. DeLAURO. I think what is important to mention there, it also maintains that home mortgage deduction, again, which is so critical to families today. As I say, that is part of the American dream. I just wanted to point out, because I know the gentlewoman from Michigan, if you will, she is a technology maven, you know, and is there all the time pushing as how we need to move families and so forth to take advantage of technologies, the way our kids are going to get ahead and so forth. I think it is interesting in terms of this sales tax here, in every family, kids are coming home today, ``Why can't I have a computer? I would like a computer. Why don't have one? You know, Mary has one. Jessica has one. Freddie has one. What about us?'' Well, hold up the chart. I think it is important to note that chart. Family computer, today's price is almost $2,000. It would add an additional 30 percent, another $600, bringing the cost of a family computer to almost $2,600, you know, for the most part, trying to put it out of the reach for working families. They are trying to respond to their kids to allow their kids to get ahead. It is wrong. This is not what we ought to do. Let us target our tax credits to working families, to small businesses, to small farmers. Let us take a look at that Tax Code. Let us make it simpler. Let us make it easier. These catchwords scrap the code. They are radical. They are dangerous. We are going to make it our mission here to continue to have these conversations so that the American public knows that they are being sold a pig in a poke. We are going to bring it to their attention so that they do not get fooled by this dangerous and extreme rhetoric. Mr. Speaker, I think we will be up on our feet again on this issue.

Ms. DeLAURO. I think your point, and please, you have got some wonderful data and personal experiences here, but the point you were making about we are in the midst here of trying to reduce smoking amongst youngsters, kids.

Ms. DeLAURO. These are stocks and bonds.

Ms. DeLAURO. Let me just ask my colleague from Michigan, with the Armey flat tax, what happens to unearned income?

Ms. DeLAURO. Natural grain. We have children's shoes. Kids grow out of shoes very, very quickly.

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from New Jersey and I also thank my other colleagues who were on the floor and those who are coming tonight to join in this special order to talk about the need to cut taxes for working middle-class families and to reveal the true cost, as my colleague from New Jersey pointed out, the true cost of a dangerous Republican proposal to impose a national sales tax on the American people. We have heard quite a bit lately from our Republican colleagues about tax reform. But behind the rhetoric and the calls to ``scrap the code,'' that mantra, if you will, repeated over and over again to scrap the code, behind the rhetoric of that phrase lie some very radical and some dangerous proposals that will actually raise taxes on working families and cut taxes for the wealthiest 1 percent of taxpayers. I think we all agree that that is not reform, that is not what we are about. Abolishing the Tax Code, replacing it with a sales tax is one of those kinds of easy-listening proposals that Republicans are famous for. If you will, it is the legislative equivalent of elevator music; we might find ourselves humming along. But when we snap out of it, we realize that we hate the song. We have all had this happen to us. The Republican national sales tax is a very bad idea. My Republican colleagues argue that a national sales tax would be simple and it would be fair. But take a closer look at it and we find that there is nothing simple or fair about it. A national sales tax is not simple. In fact, several renowned economists have declared a national sales tax as unworkable. Even the conservative Wall Street Journal has panned the proposal and highlighted concerns about administration and about enforcement. A national sales tax is not fair. The Brookings Institute says that of the GOP sales tax, ``The sales tax would raise burdens on low- and middle-income households and sharply cut taxes on the top 1 percent of taxpayers.'' That is not fair. The GOP national sales tax proposals call for replacing all individual and corporate taxes with a 23 percent sales tax. But there is a new analysis by Citizens for Tax Justice that shows that the actual rate would be at least 30 percent. That means the American people would pay 30 percent more for everything, 30 percent more for everything. They would pay a 30 percent tax every time they opened their wallet. Talk about being nickeled and dimed to death. What does that mean to the average middle-class family? Let us take a look. This week U.S. News and World Report did a cover story on the cost of raising a child in today's world. It is an astounding piece. According to U.S. News, for a child born in 1997, a middle-class family will spend $1.4 million to raise that child to age 18. This is the cover of U.S. News and World Report this week, ``The Real Cost of Raising Kids.'' Would my colleagues believe it is $1.4 million apiece? Put a 30 percent tax on top of that and we are looking at life for working families under a GOP national sales tax. Let us take a look at a few examples of what a 30 percent tax means in real life. This is a box of diapers. It costs $23 today. Add a 30 percent GOP tax of $6.90 and we have the GOP price of $29.90. Let us take a look at what it costs for a pair of children's shoes. They cost about $20. Add the GOP sales tax, which is about $6, and we are paying $26 for the same pair of shoes. Let us take a look at a box of cereal, and we all want to give our kids cereal. We want to make sure that they are healthy. The price is $2.99 today. The GOP tax of an additional 90 cents would bring the price of a box of Kellogg's Raisin Bran, Two Scoops of Raisin Bran here, up to $3.89. Let us take a look at a loaf of natural grain bread. Price $2.59. GOP tax, 78 cents. GOP price, $3.37. And what about baby food? Price 45 cents. GOP tax, 14 cents. GOP price, 59 cents. This gives my colleagues some idea of the reality of a national sales tax and a 30 percent increase in that tax. Of course, we all know that children's shoes get more and more expensive. We saw here. So if they take a look at what happens as they grow up and they have a child that is a teenager, his or her shoes could cost $120. Add a 30 percent sales tax, and they are looking at a $36 tax, bringing the cost to $156. It is no wonder that, according to U.S. News and World Report, the cost of clothing a middle-class kid to age 18 costs $22,063. My colleagues will see on this chart that the GOP sales tax would increase that cost significantly. I think it is important to take a look at this chart. This is the GOP 30 percent sales tax list for working families, the cost of raising a child. If my colleagues will bear with me, housing, today's cost is $97,549. The GOP 30 percent sales tax would add $29,000. We are looking at a price tag from the GOP of $126,000. Food, $54,795. Add to that the 30 percent sales tax of $16,400. We are talking about $71,000 to provide food for our kids. Transportation costs, $46,000. Add $13,000 from the GOP tax, bringing it up to $60,000 to provide transportation for their child. Clothing, $22,000; an additional $6,600, $28,600 in providing clothing for their child. Health care, $20,700; $6,200 additional from the GOP tax; 26,000, almost $27,000 to provide health care for their child. Day-care, $25,600; an additional $7,700; $33,300 to provide day-care for their child while they are working and trying to make ends meet and scrambling every month to pay the bills. Miscellaneous costs, whatever it costs to raise kids, and we know that they are not all set and pat, we never know what is going to come up, $33-, almost $34,000. An additional $10,000 is what we would have to pay because of the 30 percent sales tax that the Republicans are talking about, bringing the total up to $44,000. The cost of a college education, every family wants to be able to send their children to college if they can afford to do that. And if a child can get into a college today, it is $158,000 to send a child to college. You would have to add a 30 percent sales tax to that, another $47,000, making it $205,000 to get your kid to school. What are working families in our country to do today? It is incredible what they are talking about with this 30 percent sales tax. That is what the Republican sales tax would mean in real terms to real families in this country. Let me just take one other group, because there is one group that would be hit harder than others by the Republican sales tax, and that is the senior citizens in this country. Senior citizens would gain nothing, nothing from the elimination of income taxes since most are retired and many pay no income tax. But a 30 percent sales tax would hit seniors on a fixed income right between the eyes. That is where it hits these folks. One of the most burdensome expenses that is faced by senior citizens is the price of medication. All of us when we go to senior centers, when we go to senior housing, that is what we hear about, is what they are paying for medication and for their prescription drugs which many of them need to lead productive and healthy lives. We have taken a look at five of the most common medications used by seniors and looked at how the 30 percent Republican sales tax would impact those prices. Bear with me. These are monthly costs. For blood pressure medication, $110 now, the sales tax would add an additional $33, GOP price tag, $143 a month for blood pressure medication. Arthritis, it is now $75 a month for medication, add another $22.50, bringing that cost to almost $100 a month for senior citizens, again people on fixed incomes. Diabetes, $125 today, $37.50 through an additional 30 percent sales tax, bringing the total cost per month to $162.50. It is incredible what we would be doing to senior citizens in this country. Heart disease, $90, $27 additional in sales tax, $117 is the final cost to them per month for again seniors, elderly, people who are on fixed incomes. Our mothers, our fathers, paying this cost per month. An inhaler, $80 a month today, the tax would add another $24, bringing the cost per month to senior citizens to $104. This is really incredible and outrageous of what they would add to the cost of people who are frightened to death that these later years, instead of being the golden years, are the lead years, when they are most vulnerable and we are going to add these kinds of costs to medications that they need. We need to have a real debate about reforming our tax system. I believe everybody here believes that. We need to cut taxes for working middle class families. We are for cutting taxes for working middle class families. This proposal moves us in the wrong direction. In fact, the Brookings Institute study of the GOP sales tax found that taxes would rise for households in the bottom 90 percent of the income distribution while households in the top 1 percent would receive an average tax cut of over $75,000. Millionaires get tax breaks and working families and senior citizens will be paying more. That is not reform. That is just so blatantly unfair to working families today. Let me open the conversation to my colleagues. I am sorry I took so long, I truly am, but it is important to put this in context. We need to be doing this every single day and every single night in this body to make the people of this country understand what our Republican colleagues and the Republican majority are talking about with a national sales tax. A bit later we can talk about some of the things that the Democrats have done and would like to do to cut taxes for working families. Let me yield now to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Bonior), the whip of this House.

Ms. DeLAURO. Sure.

Ms. DeLAURO. I think it is worth pointing out what our colleague, Mr. Bonior, talked about in terms of the flat tax proposal and people who are dealing in stocks and bonds and unearned income, and they are not paying any taxes on that. So what you are saying is that those people who work in the workplace day in and day out, they are the folks who are getting socked with the additional taxes, in addition to which you are going to take away with the mortgage deduction and some of the other tax relief, if you will, that middle-class families have been counting on, relying on, surviving on. So you are really hitting them again twice. You know, they are picking up the slack for the folks who are holding the stocks and bonds, and then getting hammered again on things that they have counted on, that American dream and owning that home, and not being able to take the mortgage deduction.

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to the rule on this legislation. The rule blocks any amendment that might solve the problems created by the bill. The fact is that current law provides that employers may dismiss any worker, including an organizer, if that worker does not work. The Fawell bill specifically permits employers to refuse to hire workers who seek to organize the workplace. This legislation does not bring fairness to the workplace. It reverses the unanimous Supreme Court decision that stopped companies from firing or refusing to hire employees simply because they are union organizers. By reversing their decision, this bill undoes 100 years of progress. It returns the United States to a time when the government had not learned the meaning of basic employee rights and helped unscrupulous robber barons trample workers' rights. It returns the United States to a no-balance existence between employees and their employers. I have experienced what happens when this balance is not protected. My mother worked in a sweatshop in New Haven, Connecticut, during the early part of this century, slaving over a sewing machine for next to nothing. America must not return to this low point in our history. This bill will allow our firms to discriminate against hard-working men and women who are exercising their basic right to organize. American families are struggling. They scramble to make ends meet. This bill gives workers an untenable choice: Lose job opportunity or give up your basic right to organize for decent pay, safer workplaces and a secure retirement. Either way, it is American families who lose. Our Nation is stronger when everyone who wants to work is able to work. I urge my colleagues to reward work and vote against this rule.

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, it is Academy Award week, but the Republicans' campaign finance reform bill is not winning any Oscars this year. It is little wonder the Republican leadership pulled the bill from today's floor schedule, for the reviews are in and the critics have panned the GOP proposal. Every credible campaign finance organization has sharply criticized this bill. The League of Women Voters says, ``This bill would take a big step in the wrong direction.'' Common Cause's Anne McBride says, ``This bill is a hoax. No one should be fooled by this cynical effort.'' Public Citizen's Joan Claybrook urges Members to ``oppose the sham and repugnant House Oversight reform bill, a partisan bill that is the exact opposite of reform.'' Democrats believe that campaign finance reform is essential to renewing America's faith in our democracy. Let us fight for real reform. Let us pass McCain-Feingold II and stop this sham with the Republican leadership's proposal.

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to this conference report. At this critical time, we should not hold U.N. and IMF funding hostage to the hardliners who oppose family planning funding. Business' economic and financial experts have told us that this IMF funding is needed to contain the Asian financial crisis and to protect American jobs. Our economy is too important to play Russian roulette with. But that is what this conference report does when it adds Mexico City language. I remind my colleagues, under current law not one dollar of U.S. family planning funds can be used to perform or even counsel women to obtain abortions anywhere in the world. Women and children around the world depend on U.S. family planning funds to improve their health and to give them a real chance at a healthy life. If my colleagues vote for the Mexico City policy, they are voting to abandon these women and children. The President has said he will veto this legislation if this language is included. Do not waste any more time. Vote against this bill. Remove this language from the conference report. Let us protect American jobs and let us get on with the people's business.

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, I hope the Republican majority does not think that they can actually pass off their ``so-called'' campaign finance bill as genuine reform. The American people are much smarter. All they have to do is pick up the morning papers where newspaper editorial boards are calling their bluff. The New York Times titles their piece ``Campaign Finance Charades'' and says, ``Next, Gingrich has a plan to snooker Americans yearning for a cleanup of their corrupt election finance system.'' The Times calls this bill ``sham legislation dressed up to look like reform.'' The Times is not alone. The Washington Post editorial, titled ``Mocking Campaign Reform'' says, ``The leadership has put together a mock reform bill to create the impression of action, but none of the risk.'' We can go on and on and on. The League of Women Voters, Common Cause, every public group that has focused in on trying to clean up the campaign finance reform system agrees that the Republican proposal is a sham. Let us pass McCain-Feingold II.

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, minimum wage workers in America make less today than they did in 1968 when inflation is taken into account. That really is outrageous and it is time to raise the minimum wage. You cannot raise a family on $5.15 an hour these days, even when you are working full-time. A minimum wage family earns $10,700 a year. That is just not enough. Republican Members, it is worth noting, made more money in the days when they shut down the United States Government 2 years ago than a minimum wage worker made in full that entire year. Democrats have a proposal to increase the minimum wage from $5.15 per hour to $6.15 per hour by the turn of the century, 50 cents a year. This body needs to recognize the importance of millions of Americans who get up every single morning and who go to work in our factories, in our office buildings and in our restaurants. We need to raise the minimum wage. I urge the Republican leadership to schedule that kind of a vote today and help working middle class families in this country.

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, Americans nearing retiring age are one of the most uninsured populations because in fact they have less access to and they are at greater risk of losing employer-based health insurance. There are 30,000 such folks in my State of Connecticut alone. I might add that the group that is particularly at risk are women who are between 62 and 64 years old, lacking health insurance, nearing retirement, not at 65 yet, not eligible yet for Medicare. This is only going to get worse, Mr. Speaker, as baby boomers near retirement. Democrats do have a proposal to expand that access to health care to Americans between 55 and 64. It would provide the opportunity to buy into the Medicare program, to pay the premium, to pay a cost in order to get the access to that kind of coverage. It does not draw on the Medicare trust fund resources needed to provide care to those who are over 65. This Congress has a responsibility to address this growing problem. Let us have the Republican leadership follow the Democrats.

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, today in my home State of Connecticut there are over 30,000 people ages 55 to 64 who are uninsured; 1 in every 10 individuals in this age group. That is simply unacceptable. Democrats have a plan to help vulnerable uninsured Americans between the ages of 55 and 64 obtain health coverage under the Medicare program. The Democratic proposal would make it possible for those who are near retirement age not to be wiped out by an illness because they do not have health coverage. The program would expand Medicare coverage for people ages 62 to 64, and displaced workers over 55 whose employers renege on their promise of retiree health benefits. The program is self-financed and would not cost the Medicare Trust Fund one dime. Mr. Speaker, I urge my Republican colleagues to stop sending us home and start scheduling action on important issues like Medicare expansion. This proposal would be a significant and an important step toward ensuring that those who are near retirement age would not be without health coverage if they had a serious illness.

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, I would like to share with my colleagues a disturbing story from yesterday's Washington Post. Jacqueline Lee of Bethesda fell off a 40-foot cliff in the Shenandoah Mountains while hiking in the summer of 1996, was taken by helicopter to a Virginia hospital with fractures of her skull, arm and pelvis. Her HMO refused to pay the hospital, saying it failed to obtain ``preauthorization.'' This decision by Jacqueline's HMO defies common sense, yet we all know that she is not alone. More and more Americans are finding themselves up against a wall that keeps them from getting the health care services that they need. This is wrong. When you are suffering from an accident or illness, you need to focus and have all your energies involved in getting well. You should not have to battle with your insurance company for the coverage that you deserve. This body needs to act on common-sense managed care reform. I urge the Republican leadership of this House to stop blocking reform, schedule a vote on managed care reform today.

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, yesterday the President came to Connecticut and talked about the many challenges facing American parents as they try to raise happy and healthy children. On one hand there is an epidemic of teen smoking. Three thousand kids start smoking every day, a thousand of whom will die from tobacco-related illnesses. On the other hand, there is an appalling lack of affordable and quality child care for working parents in this country. Multi-State studies have proven that nearly half of the care in this country for very young children is of such poor quality that it threatens their health and their safety. Luckily, as the President said yesterday, we have a historic opportunity to act on both of these issues. By supporting tobacco legislation that stops this billion dollar special interest from killing our kids, we can make a difference. We can save our children. We can save their lives and provide them with quality, affordable, accessible child care. I urge my colleagues to support our children and stop supporting the special interests.

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, this body has no greater challenge than to make sure that all of America's children no matter how humble their background have access to a quality education. Education is the great equalizer in our Nation. It is what has allowed the daughter of a garment worker like myself to grow up to be a Member of the House of Representatives. My colleagues on the other side of the aisle want to dismantle public education, to siphon off precious funds into risky voucher proposals. Democrats have a plan to strengthen America's public schools by repairing and modernizing crumbling schools, putting 100,000 teachers in the classroom to promote stronger discipline and better learning, and to cut down on class size. America's public schools have made our Nation strong and put the American dream within reach for so many of our Nation's children. I urge my Republican colleagues not to abandon our children but to follow the Democrats' lead in working to rebuild America's public schools and to maintain strong public education in this Nation.

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, last week the Washington Post reported some grim news: The scores of Americans high school seniors ranked near the bottom in a rigorous new international exam in math and science. This is unacceptable. Our schools clearly need help, and this body needs to get moving. Democrats are eager to get to work to reduce our class sizes, to repair crumbling schools, to put computers in classrooms and to provide an atmosphere in which our children can learn. But my Republican colleagues, what they want to do is they want to throw out public education, to end public education as we know it. What they want to do is one more time make education the purview of the rich and of the wealthy. They also want to have tax cuts, tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans, one more time. Let us put our kids first, and not last. Education should be our top priority, public education, the great equalizer, which has allowed all of us to be able to live up to and work to our potential, no matter where we are on the socioeconomic scale. Let us get to work on education. Let us improve America's public schools.

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to Frank Strona, a devoted member of the New Haven Police Department, who retired Saturday, February 28, 1998. Providing for the protection and safety of our citizens from acts of violence is one of the fundamental duties of government. But government carries out this responsibility only through the work and dedication of people like Frank Strona. His extraordinary bravery and pride in carrying out his duties will serve as an example for police departments throughout Connecticut to strive towards. Mr. Strona served in the New Haven Police Department for over thirty- five years. He is cherished as a friend and mentor to many junior officers, and many members of the community, including myself. His career began as a rookie cop. In a short time he became a motorcycle policeman, graduating from cruiser patrolman. He spent almost twenty of his thirty-five years as Dog Warden and Manager of the Mounted Police Regiment of the New Haven Police Department--keeping the regiment strong. Second only to his loving family, Strona's distinguished career in public service has been the greatest source of pride in his life. This devotion and pride will be his lasting legacy. The members of the New Haven Police Department and the community of New Haven have all benefited from his unwavering commitment to the safety and security of our community. For this, we offer him our lasting gratitude and congratulations on his retirement.

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, the Speaker says this body will not vote on common-sense managed care reform until we have a ``vision discussion.'' I have a vision for the Speaker. Envision this: Janet Drouin, 32- year-old woman from Stafford Springs, Connecticut. Janet was diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent a mastectomy and lymph node dissection. She was kicked out of the hospital only 36 hours after the surgery, in incredible pain, and with drainage tubes protruding through her chest. Janet had two toddlers at the time. She was unable to take care of her children herself. She could not go to the bathroom by herself. She could not even get out of bed. The Speaker and the Republican leadership are clearly more worried about collecting the campaign checks from the health insurance industry than protecting the health and the well-being of people like Janet Drouin. I urge the Republican leadership, stop blocking commonsense managed care reform. Schedule a vote today.