Donna Edwards

Ms. EDWARDS of Maryland

Ms. EDWARDS of Maryland. Mr. Speaker, it's been 126 days since the Republican leadership promised a health care bill and today, 126, still no bill. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to set the record straight. The American people overwhelmingly support a robust public health option. And despite months and months of insurance companies, lobbyists and even political leaders spreading the myth that the American people don't support a public health insurance option, we have clear evidence to the contrary. A poll released by The Washington Post and ABC News earlier this week confirmed that 57 percent of Americans support a public health insurance option. The American people realize that the current system is broken, the status quo is unacceptable and the time for real health care reform is now. But instead of supporting reform, the party of ``no'' 126 days later, and insurance profit-mongers continue to work to kill reform and defend a system that discriminates against people with chronic illnesses, a history of domestic violence and continues to see premiums and deductibles skyrocket, forcing 14,000 Americans each day to lose their health care coverage. Mr. Speaker, the American people have spoken and it's time for all Members of Congress, Republicans and Democrats, to listen. They want real health care reform, a robust public option to expend coverage, create real competition and bring down costs.

Ms. EDWARDS of Maryland

Ms. EDWARDS of Maryland. $7.54 million lobbying against health care reform in 2008. That's before we even had a bill. Now we've gotten our bill here in 2009 with our new President, who really is serious about reforming the health care system. We find that in the first two quarters of 2009--that's this year--America's Health Insurance Plans, according to their lobbying reports, which are available to the public at lobbyingdisclosure@house.gov, and anybody can go and look this up, America's Health Insurance Plans actually spent for the first quarter of 2009 $2,030,000. That's in the first quarter. That's from January to March. Then in the second quarter, from April 1 to June 30, they actually spent another $1.87 million. That's the total for just the first 2 quarters of this year. This is while people were having their health insurance revoked and while 14,000 people a day were losing their health insurance. While all across this country people are losing jobs, America's Health Insurance Plans decide that it would be a great idea to spend almost $4 million in the first two quarters of this year lobbying against health care reform. That just proves that the industry is so much more interested in its profits and in protecting its profits than it is in health care or in reform. Now, I decided that I would keep looking at those lobbying disclosure reports and I would advise people all across this country to go to lobbyingdisclosure@house.gov. They need to look it up for themselves because we're not making this up. It's right there, filed by their own general counsel. I looked. I said, Well, how many lobbyists does it take in one quarter to spend $1.8 million? How many lobbyists does it take to spend $2 million? How many lobbyists does it take to spend $7 million just in 2008? I'm going to just tell you: They spent that money. Gary Bacher, he was lobbying for them; Carmella Bocchino; Elizabeth Brooks; Jill Dowell; Paul Eiding; Baron Foster; Lindy Hinman; Karen Ignatti, the woman whom we've seen all across the television screens of the country, talking about how health insurance was going to send premiums and deductibles and copayments skyrocketing; and Alethea Jackson. That's one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine lobbyists spending millions of dollars across Capitol Hill--at the House and the Senate-- and over at the White House. They're lobbying against health care reform. So those are the numbers right there, apart from what all of the other industries have spent, which includes the pharmaceutical industry and others in the health insurance industry, to try to defeat reform. Do you know what really surprises me in all of this? For all of their advertising and their lobbying, they have beaten and beaten and beaten the public health insurance option. Guess what? A majority of the American public actually knows that competition is good for the system. They know that it's important to have a public plan to provide accountability, and they know that we need transparency and that we have to lower costs. So the public is actually not fooled. You would think, if there were some good marketing people over with the health insurance plans that they actually wouldn't be spending so much money, because they haven't managed to convince a majority of the American public that a public health insurance option is against their interests. So I'm actually grateful for the American public for being so smart, for seeing through the health insurance industry, and now for the industry itself, for actually exposing what they're trying to do to America. I know people are calling your office, the Congressman from Minnesota, and I know they're calling my office, and they're saying, You know what? I just got a letter in the mail saying my health insurance premium is going up 10 percent. My health insurance premium is going up 12 percent. They haven't even used their health insurance this year, and their insurance premiums are going up. So we see what the industry is doing. We know that we are inching our way to reform and that we are going to get there and that we will have a bill for the President of the United States to sign into law and that we are closer than we've ever been before. So the insurance industry, true to form, is living out their promise in that bogus report that they released. They're living out their promise by already starting to jack up insurance rates just to beat the clock--to beat the bell--to reform, but they're not going to get away with it. So I would say to those--what did I count, 9 or 10 lobbyists?

Ms. EDWARDS of Maryland. Those nine lobbyists already this year have spent about $4 million lobbying against reform and $7 million in 2008 lobbying against reform. I'll tell you what. If you add that up, by the time they finish this year, I'm guessing that they probably will spend something in the neighborhood--over the course of the last 2 years-- about $15 million lobbying against health care reform. I would dare say that the American public could take that $15 million and divide up what it would cost to provide a reasonable premium, say, under Medicare or a public health insurance option, and we would be insuring just dozens and dozens and dozens of families across America for what this industry has spent to fight reform. So we're not going to be fooled, and we're not going to be deterred, and we know, as the public knows, that a robust public health insurance option will be the best option to provide competition, to provide accountability and to make sure that we lower costs for all Americans. So the insurance industry, just before Halloween, has been completely unmasked. They've revealed themselves, and we want to say to them, You know what? We're on to you. We know what you're about, and we're not going to believe any more of your bogus reports, and we're going to trust the fact that you wouldn't spend this money lobbying against something if you didn't want to defeat it. So we're going to bring that health care reform package to the House of Representatives through the Senate, on to the President and then deliver it to the American people. With that, I would yield.

Ms. EDWARDS of Maryland. I thank the gentleman for yielding. It's a pretty simple explanation. The American people are smart. They know it takes competition to bring down cost. They haven't been able to trust their health insurers. Even though they may like their health insurers and may want to keep their insurance, they know that they actually can't trust them to keep down premium costs and deductibles and co-pays. So, like most issues, the American public is way ahead of even Congress, and they are definitely ahead of the health insurance industry. I go back to these lobbying reports because one of the things that I noticed, if the gentleman would indulge me for just a minute, is that the health insurance industry knows that they've had to cover all facets in order to debunk the need for reform, and so they didn't just stop at lobbying the United States House of Representatives. They lobbied the United States Senate. They lobbied the executive office of the President. They lobbied the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid, Health and Human Services, the Department of Labor, the Department of the Treasury, the Federal Trade Commission, the Office of Personnel Management, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, and even the Internal Revenue Service. They are leaving no stone unturned in order to defeat health care reform. So the American people are very smart, and they have said three things: We want quality care. We want competition. We want to lower costs. They know that, in order to achieve those things, there must be a public option component as part of the array of choices. It's like a marketplace, the array of choices that are available to them. So they want to be able to stack up each one of these plans, private plan X, Y, and Z, and the public option and see which one works for their family and then make that choice. And I think that the American public should actually have that choice. I actually believe in real choice even in health care. And the problem with the system that we have now is that in most States, there is no competition; one or two insurers have a monopoly or duopoly on all of the health care coverage in that State. And what does that mean? What does that mean for our small businesses? It means, if you're a small business, you can't compete at all. You have no leverage whatsoever. You have no bargaining power, and you are at the mercy of the health insurance industry. And it means that they can charge you whatever they want for you to be able to provide health care for your employees. And the poor small businesses, they're sitting out there saying, I want to provide health insurance for my employees, but I can't afford it any more. It's too expensive for me. I can't take it when my insurance costs are going up 10 percent one year, 15 percent the next year, sometimes as much as 20 percent in one year just to cover their employees. So if people really believe in the free market--and I do--if you really believe in the free market, then let it be free and let there be competition. And the way to do that in health care and get quality, affordable, accessible health care for all Americans is to make sure the public has the ability to choose from an array of the private insurers and the public plan. It's like going to a marketplace, stacking up everything you want to choose, and making a selection. By the way, if the gentleman would yield just a minute more, people are ready to make that choice, and now they're counting on us in the United States Congress to come down to the hard decisionmaking and to make the choices that we know are right for the American people. And so what I say is, with the kind of support that you demonstrate among doctors, as much as 73 percent of doctors, two-thirds of doctors saying they want at least a public plan and private options; with 62 to 65 percent of the public saying we want the choice of a public plan and private options; with people all across this country, our small businesses, saying, You know what? We need that in order to be able to provide affordable care for our employees because it's the right thing to do and it's what we want to do, so we want to take the burden off of our businesses. We want to ensure that we have greater competition, competitiveness in the global economy. And the way to do that is to make sure that we reform our health care plan. Now, I know that the health insurance industry is going to go kicking and screaming to reform. And you know what I say to that, Madam Speaker? I say let them. Let them kick, let them scream, and we're going to go to health care reform anyway.

Ms. EDWARDS of Maryland. Thank you for yielding. And as the gentleman from Minnesota points out, this isn't about what any individual Member wants or not. It's about what the American people want, and it's about what the right thing is for so many of our communities: people who have health insurance now but who are afraid of losing it or afraid of the costs to their families, and, of course, the millions of people out across America who don't have health insurance. And this isn't also about fighting the good fight--there are a lot of good fights out there--but we have been able to unify our Progressive Caucus standing up for health care reform that's going to work for all of us, ensuring that we get rid of the practice of excluding people for preexisting conditions; that we get rid of the practice of insurance companies, once you've taken advantage of your insurance, then cutting you off; that we invest in preventative care, because we know that early investment in preventative care really saves dollars in the long run, whether or not we can attach a number to that. We also are fighting for a public option because it's important that with the health insurance reforms that we also have choice for patients, a choice for our doctors. And so we are on the right track here. And I have to say that because of the leadership of the Progressive Caucus also working with our leadership in the United States Congress--and my hat's off to our Speaker because our Speaker has been out there in the front, at the forefront actually fighting with us for a strong, robust public health insurance option, and I am glad we're where we are today. We know that there is still work to be done. We're counting on the American people actually to stand up, you know, to call their Representatives, to call their Senators, to make sure to put out the plea across this country for health insurance reform that the President of the United States can sign into law that will actually make a difference in people's lives, not just because it feels good, but because it will make a difference in people's lives and the long-term health and competitiveness of this country. So I am a proud Progressive. I'm not afraid to say that at all. What I do know is that it's important to stand up to the people and not on the side of the lobbyist and the naysayers who want to do anything to stand in the way of reform. And we cannot let that happen. This is too great an opportunity for us to fail at this point. So I am actually counting on success. And if we were on a football field--and I love football, so I will talk about it. So if we were on the football field, we're inside the 10.

Ms. EDWARDS of Maryland. We are in the red zone. We are approaching the goal line, and now it's time to make the tough decisions and take the ball across the line. And I am ready to do that with our leadership in the Progressive Caucus. I am ready to do that with our leadership here in Congress and give the American people--not an individual Member of Congress, not a health insurance company, not an individual hospital or a doctor, but to give the American people the kind of reform that will lower their costs, provide competition, and give them quality care. And so I think that we're right there. We're ready to go with this, and it's time for us to do justice for the American people and actually to deliver on a promise that all of us made to them in 2008 to deliver health care reform. So I am going to go out and talk about health care reform some more, and we can spend some time. And I want the American people to actually spend some time doing a little research themselves. Don't just trust us here in Congress. Go find the information for yourself. Go to lobbying disclosure at house.gov so that you can see for yourself what the health insurance industry is spending to defeat reform. And then when you hear their lobbyists, you will know to set that aside and stay on the side of patients, on consumers, doctors, and all of us who want true health care reform.

Ms. EDWARDS of Maryland. Well, I thank the gentlelady from California. And to the gentleman from Minnesota, thank you so much for your leadership. It is really important. We are almost there. I describe this--if we were playing a football game, you know, we would call it ``crunch time.'' We're in crunch time right now when it comes to health care reform for the American people. I don't know what struck others this week, but what struck me was the release of a so-called ``independent report'' from the American Health Insurance Plans lobby. It struck me because in that report was so much misinformation. And it was done by PricewaterhouseCoopers. Now, they thought that they were just evaluating a little bit of the plan and giving some data. They didn't realize that it would be completely misconstrued by the health insurance plans in order to prove a point that's not really a point. And so I wanted to call attention to that. I think another thing that struck me this week, as we unmask the health insurance industry, as we see them for who they are, they're interested in profits, that's their motive. It's not health care; it's not reform. It's profit. And I decided that I would take a little peruse around the Internet and I looked up the lobbying disclosure reports for America's Health Insurance Plans, the same group that released that bogus report. Here is what I found: For all of 2008, this group that has so-called been very interested in health care reform spent $7.54 million lobbying against health care reform, and that was just for 2008. Then we turn just to the first--

Ms. EDWARDS of Maryland

Ms. EDWARDS of Maryland. Mr. Speaker, I rise today just weeks before Halloween to unmask the health insurance industry. At long last they've revealed themselves to the American people as profit-mongers and protectors of CEO salaries. For months, the industry engaged in a game of pretense. They danced with the President, the Congress and the American people, pretending that they care about reform. Now we see the industry and their lobbyists for what they are: a little shop of horrors. They're so opposed to reform that they're making up their own data, manipulating the results, and writing a so-called independent report to threaten the American people with increased premiums. Mr. Speaker, this industry is not interested in health care or reform. For them it's profits, profits, and more profits at the expense of millions of Americans. Enough. We have one message for the insurance industry, its lobbyists and millionaire CEOs: with or without you, we will achieve quality, affordable, and accessible health care for all Americans, with choice. What they've done is proved the need for a robust public health insurance option for real competition, affordability and accountability for the industry. Let me close by thanking the health insurance industry for delivering this gift that proves that they can't be trusted. It's time for the industry to turn in their costumes. Happy Halloween. We're on to you.

Ms. EDWARDS of Maryland

Ms. EDWARDS of Maryland. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. It is perhaps appropriate that in this month we are all tasked to reform this Nation's health care system for the millions of women who each year are screened and diagnosed with breast cancer and other breast disease. And yet there is also a glaring disparity in the diagnosis and treatment of breast disease. According to the Office of Minority Health, African American women are 34 percent more likely to die from breast cancer than white women. African American women are also 10 percent less likely to be diagnosed with breast cancer. This disparity in screening diagnosis and treatment leads to not only more expensive care in the long run, but far too often death. A report released by the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies estimates that the combined costs of such health inequalities and premature deaths in the United States total $1.24 trillion. We must eliminate disparities and discriminatory insurance practices impacting minorities and women not only because it's cost effective but because it's the right thing to do. It's time to provide quality, affordable, and accessible health care with a public plan that allows choice, care, and competition.

Ms. EDWARDS of Maryland

Ms. EDWARDS of Maryland. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman. I would like to thank also my dear friend and colleague Chairman John Conyers for bringing this important resolution to the floor. House Resolution 757, a National Day of Remembrance for Homicide Victims, recognizes the loss and the courage of homicide victims across this country, not just in 1 year but for the many years in which families, community members, take the time to rebuild their lives. I'd also like to thank my colleague Ted Poe of Texas for taking the lead with me in making this resolution truly bipartisan in nature because, as we know, the question of homicide is not one that is partisan. This resolution is about honoring those lives that have been lost to homicide. I particularly want to focus on the women and children who have lost their lives to intimate partner homicide in our country. In my State of Maryland, at least 48 women and children lost their lives to intimate partner homicide in the period from July 2007 to July 2008. Nationally, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that three women per day are murdered by their current or former partner, boyfriend, or spouse. Statistically, the most dangerous time for a victim of domestic violence is when she attempts to leave a violent relationship. From working firsthand with victims of domestic violence in shelters, in service programs, and as cofounder and executive director of the National Network to End Domestic Violence, I know the statistic is true, and it's more than a statistic. It's reality for so many women and children. So when people ask why doesn't she just leave, those of us who have done this work for a long time know exactly why, and it's because of the risk of death, not an imagined fear but a true risk. Intimate partner violence is the second leading cause of traumatic death for pregnant women. The impact of witnessing domestic violence, especially the homicide of a parent, is devastating for children. It is my hope that this resolution will begin a dialogue about intimate partner violence and progress to discussing and devising solutions to address this epidemic. Intimate partner violence is something that impacts all our communities, and I know there have been several cases of such violence where I live, and I am sure that's the case for every congressional district across this Nation. This year, in my congressional district, a woman was shot, tragically, to death outside of her church in Silver Spring as she was going inside to worship on Sunday and other worshippers were gathered for the service. In March 2003, Ernestine Bunn-Dyson, age 32, was shot to death in my hometown of Oxon Hill by her estranged husband less than 24 hours after he promised in court to leave her alone. Her sister is working hard to bring more attention to this epidemic so more people don't have to suffer and more sisters don't have to be victims. It's so easy for people to think that intimate partner homicide is something that happens to someone else, someone who looks different, someone who has a different educational background, or someone who just fell in with the wrong person. But a victim of domestic violence and intimate partner violence and homicide can be anyone's sister, mother, aunt, friend, coworker, and of course, the other thousands of victims of homicide. Our own Lieutenant Governor in Maryland, Anthony Brown, lost his cousin, Cathy Brown, to intimate partner violence just this past last summer. His cousin was shot and killed in her home by her abuser. Lieutenant Governor Brown has worked in Maryland along with Governor Martin O'Malley to make sure that our State laws were changed to prevent this kind of violent homicide. So many survivors and their families in this country have turned their tragedy and pain to healing and advocacy. Our own Lieutenant Governor is an example of such tireless and selfless advocacy. I ask all of us to take the time today to reach out to someone who may be in a violent situation and lend your support and friendship. It could save their lives. I also ask that we take this day to remember all victims of homicide, all victims of intimate partner homicide, and we must do what we can to stop this pattern at a young age. If other forms of abusive violence are included, from being threatened or emotionally abused, our young children suffer as well. We must be more aggressive in addressing the problem of violence so that it doesn't turn to homicide. I'd like to thank all of our cosponsors, and I'd like to say that, Mr. Speaker, it's time for us to recognize the tragic cost of homicide to all of our families, and for this Congress and this Nation to turn our attention to their support. I'd like to recognize the many organizations who have supported this resolution, including the National Network to End Domestic Violence, the Maryland Network Against Domestic Violence, the National Partnership for Women and Families, Legal Momentum, the Family Violence Prevention Fund, and our own local Anti-Violence Organization.

Ms. EDWARDS of Maryland

Ms. EDWARDS of Maryland. Mr. Speaker, health care reform is an imperative. We must get it done now. People want to know and deserve to know what's in it for them. If you are a senior, it means continued quality medical care and lower prescription drugs. If you are a small business, it means you can afford health care for your family, for yourself, for your employees, and you will get help doing it. If you have a preexisting condition, diabetes, a heart condition, multiple sclerosis, even acne, you won't be excluded from getting quality affordable health care. If you are a young person no longer on your parents' insurance, it means you can choose insurance you can afford. If, like millions of Americans, most Americans, you already have insurance, you like it, you keep it and you won't see skyrocketing premiums, deductibles and copays. For all Americans, it means lower cost, quality care, affordable care and choice. You can take your insurance with you when you change jobs. You won't go broke because of limits on yearly health care expenses. It means no copayments for routine preventive care like colonoscopies and mammograms. You choose your doctor, you choose to change, you choose to stay the same. Choose a public plan, choose a private plan. It's time for Congress to get this done.

Ms. EDWARDS of Maryland

Ms. EDWARDS of Maryland. Madam Speaker, I rise today to urge my colleagues to continue our hard work in enacting real health care reform and to not bow to the powerful insurance lobby, to the loud voices of opposition, or to the claims of the misinformed. While we're aware of the work in the other body, that is not the work of this House. We know what our choices are; and as President Obama has said, it's time to make them. If we do nothing, health care costs for employers will rise 166 percent over the next decade. A recent Kaiser Family Foundation survey showed that an estimated 8 percent of employers will drop their coverage altogether if the current trend continues. We need real reform with a robust public option based on the existing Medicare provider network and payment system, not illusory proposals meant to appease those who have no real intention of changing the status quo or in voting for reform. Let's hold to our goals of lower cost, competition, and accountability.

Ms. EDWARDS of Maryland

Ms. EDWARDS of Maryland. Mr. Speaker, throughout the August recess, like my colleagues, I met with thousands of my constituents in Maryland's Fourth Congressional District. I heard the stories of so many who go to work every day but who also go without health insurance or with inadequate insurance to meet their family's needs. I heard from seniors whose out-of-pocket costs are soaring, families with insurance but who have been broken and bankrupt because of a tragic illness, parents concerned about their newly adult children who are no longer eligible for health benefits, and small businesses that want to provide health insurance but can't because of the staggering costs. It's time for us to stop talking and to start acting to provide quality, affordable, and accessible health care for all. We can't allow the loudest voices backed by corporate special interests, health insurance companies, and drug companies to stand in the way of meaningful reform. And we can't just tinker around the edges of reform either without bringing down costs and providing accountability. I join my colleagues in Congress in support of a robust public health insurance option that relies on Medicare providers as an essential mechanism to encourage real competition, lower costs for all Americans and keep insurance and drug companies honest.

Ms. EDWARDS of Maryland

Ms. EDWARDS of Maryland. Mr. Speaker, today, it is time for health care reform. Now, there are some out there who like to claim that we don't need reform now because the private marketplace will take care of everything. Well, the private marketplace hasn't taken care of anything except to increase deductibles, to increase premiums, and to increase copays that cost the American people. Let me tell you what that means in my home State of Maryland. In 2001, if you were paying on the average of $600 a month for your health care, today, you're paying an average of $1,000 a month for your health care. Well, I don't know about anybody else, but in my household, an extra $400 a month is real money. It's groceries. It's an electric bill. It's daycare. I mean, this is an important cost to the American people. It is time for us to enact a uniquely American plan that doesn't embrace the insurance industry, that doesn't close down the insurance industry, but that says to the insurers: you have to compete in the marketplace with a public plan that relies on Medicare rates, that ensures that we will have real competition, and that is real change for the American people. It is time for us to educate the American people and to get this done for the public so that we can be competitive.

Ms. EDWARDS of Maryland

Ms. EDWARDS of Maryland. I thank the gentleman from Minnesota for yielding. We have been here talking about health care reform, and sometimes out in America when they watch Congress, they might think that this is about Blue Dogs and Progressives and liberals and conservatives and Republicans and Democrats, but health care reform is actually about people. It's about, for example, a young woman in my congressional district from Hyattsville, Maryland, Ariella, who writes to me that she was 13 years old when her father developed cancer and they were struggling without insurance. And she said no one should be 13 years old and wondering if the insurance company would pay for her father's treatment so that he could see his daughter's next birthday. ``Your support and determination to improve this system means the world to so many of us. On behalf of my family and the American Cancer Society, thank you.'' It's about Ariella, and it's about the millions of people across the country who don't have health care. It's about millions more who are underinsured, and it's about millions who are insured and are paying skyrocketing costs just discussed by our colleague from Washington, skyrocketing costs of premiums and deductibles and copays that are rising three times the rate of wages. A good friend of mine from New Hampshire, one of our colleagues, put together this chart, and it shows what the alternatives are. And we can either really work for reform together or not. Some people know that if you don't have any money and you don't have any insurance, you get sick and it's a disaster. If you have a preexisting condition and you don't have health insurance, you get sick and it's a disaster. If you're laid off and you don't have insurance, you get sick and it's a disaster. If your employer drops your coverage, you don't have any insurance, you get sick, it's a disaster. And so, really, the Republican plan for health care reform is just don't get sick. Well, that's not an option for most Americans. I know that we have a process here, and I think Americans across the country, Mr. Speaker, are really trying to understand that process, but that's kind of internal. It's not about Ariella who doesn't have health insurance. I know that probably so many of our offices here in the Congress have received letters just as I have from people throughout my congressional district who are begging us to reform this health care system. They are begging us for their 77-year-old mother who has a gap in her health insurance. They're begging us for their cousin who has breast cancer, who's not getting paid to work, is too sick to go to work, but can't afford even to stay home and to get treatment. They're begging us for their children who have preexisting conditions and can't get insured at all. The American public is begging us to do something about health care reform. We can't just have a plan that says just please don't get sick. I tried that plan. This Member of Congress tried that plan. Seventeen years ago I didn't have health insurance, and I just crossed my fingers every night not to get sick. I ended up getting sick. I was sick in the produce section of the grocery store. I passed out. I was rushed to the hospital emergency room. And I ended up with thousands of dollars in health care costs. It took me years and years to pay it off. I almost lost my home as a result of that. No American should have to make that kind of decision. And you know what it would have been? It would have been a couple of hundred dollars to go visit the doctor and get some antibiotics, and instead it was thousands of dollars, a financial disaster, and almost losing my home in the process. That's what Americans are suffering from right now, and that's why we have to fix this system. Now, I know, Mr. Ellison and Mr. Speaker, we have a process, but that process has to involve, I believe, a public health insurance option that says no matter if you get sick, if you don't have insurance now, you're going to be covered, and we are going to bring down the cost for everyone. That's what Americans want. And it doesn't matter whether you're a middle-income family, a working family, a poor family. You shouldn't have to make a life decision about whether you and your children and your family get health care because you can't afford it. So I'm excited about the prospect for reform. But I know that there are some bad guys in this fight and the bad guys are out there. I want to share with you who some of those bad guys are because the challenge for us is helping the American people understand that in this country there are people who share interests who don't want to reform the system. The big winners in this broken health care system, let's look at who they are: The CEO of United Health Group, Stephen Hemsley, his annual financial report, United Health made $81.2 billion. Their net income, $2.9 billion. His salary, $3.2 million. Mr. Speaker, this is what's at stake. The CEO of WellPoint, Angela Braly, $61.3 billion they made. Their income, $2.5 billion. I mean, Americans can't even count these zeros because we don't understand them. What was her salary? It was $9.8 million. I mean, this is outrageous. This is the money that that's at stake. The CEO of CIGNA, Ed Hanway, the annual revenue, $19.1 billion, $292 million in net income. His salary, $12.2 million. Let's call out these names because I think it's important for Americans to put the names on the faces of those who are reaping billions of dollars of profit, netting millions of dollars in salary, and then taking the American public to the bank without health care reform. The CEO, Ronald Williams, of Aetna, $30.9 billion in revenue for Aetna; $2.8 billion in net income; and his salary, $24.3 million. This is outrageous. There's a lot at stake. I understand why these folks are fighting health care reform. I understand, because they stand a lot to lose. And our job here in the United States Congress is to make sure that it's the American public that wins, that it's the taxpayer that wins, that it's the patient that wins, that it's the doctor who has a relationship with their patient, and not these insurance companies standing between you and your health care, between you and your doctor.

Ms. EDWARDS of Maryland. Well, I think that what would happen is that the public option would be so competitive. Keep in mind that the CEO of the public option, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, doesn't make $9.8 million a year. It is a basic government salary, I don't know, about $175,000 or $185,000 a year to run all of Medicare. Our CEO is a government employee who doesn't make a ton of money, who is not reaping millions and millions of dollars in compensation. This is only compensation. Maybe next time I will bring the bonus chart. That would require a lot more zeros. But I think really there is so much overhead in the private insurance, and it is really sending costs up. All we want is a public option, and what the American people want is a public option, because something like 70-some percent of the American public actually support a public option, and what they want is something that competes with the private insurers. After all, Mr. Ellison, I am not really sure what the private insurers are afraid of, because if they believe in the free marketplace, put the public option in there, let it compete in the free marketplace, and I will tell you what, the competition will be on and costs will be down.

Ms. EDWARDS of Maryland. I have thought about this a lot, as many of us have, and I know that our leadership, the Democratic leadership in this Congress, is moving toward reform at a pace and for a reason that we know is really important. We also know that our President wants real reform. So I think the importance of the discussion that we are having this evening is about how we define reform, particularly how we define a public option and why it is needed. I think Congressman Davis said it, that the system won't really work without a public option. We won't be able to bring down costs without a public option. We want people to have choice, the choice of their doctor, choice of their providers. We want people to have the choice to look at the various plans stacked up against each other and say, I want this one over that one. We can do that with a robust public option, one that is tied to the Medicare network. Today is the 44th anniversary of the enactment of Medicare, and it is instructive that we are here on this day, because there are those who like to say government can't do anything, government doesn't know how to do health care. Well, government sure knew how to do Medicare, and for 44 years people in this country have had the benefit of Medicare, have had the benefit of a Medicare provider network. That is the kind of network we want for a public option, one that has doctors. We need more doctors, and this legislation that we are looking at will provide more doctors and more nurses. It will ensure that people can get primary care and preventive care. It will ensure that people aren't excluded because of preexisting conditions, and we know that is a problem. So there are a lot of good things that we have to celebrate about where we are today. But we also have to be vigilant, as Congressman Davis said. We have to be vigilant to ensure that we have a robust public option tied to the Medicare provider network and that relies on a payment structure that is stable so that we can inject real competition into the system. Not competition upward for premiums and deductibles and copays, but competition downward, so that we can lower costs, provide quality care, and have a choice of doctors. I have been thinking, Congressman Ellison and Mr. Speaker, I have been thinking that there are a lot of enemies to reform and there is a lot at stake out there. There is money flowing all over the system. Not just the CEO salaries and the bonuses and the profits. That is bad enough. So the insurance companies have a lot to lose. And, do you know what? We found out that that is why they have decided that they are going to put skin in this game, and the skin that they put in the game to oppose reform is in the form of their money. All you have to do is follow the money to know why the enemies of reform are galvanizing. We have to be strong and courageous in our fight against them and for the American people for health care reform. If you follow the money, let's look at CEO compensation, $85.4 million. Lobbying expenditures, what they have been spending to fight reform, $62.5 million. PhRMA alone in the pharmaceutical industry has spent $233.7 million. And look at their profits, $8.4 billion. This is a lot of money that is at stake. So if you follow that money and then follow it right to campaign contributions, they have been throwing campaign contributions all over the map; $28 million, or $220 million for the 10-year period from 1998 to 2008. And do you know why? Because they don't want reform. That is why it is up to those of us in the Congress who are looking out for regular people, looking out for people throughout our congressional districts who really are struggling to pay their premiums and their deductibles and who are struggling to pay their copays that are going up. I look at my own district. We have a lot of people actually who have health insurance, and the reason is because they have it through their employers. But even their employers are really struggling now. It is getting in the way of our competitiveness. It is getting in the way, because people know that they can't afford, anymore, these premiums. The premiums are going up three times the rate of our wages. But do you know what? The wages of those CEOs have been going up. Some of their wages have gone up 26 percent in just this last year. But have any of us seen our wages go up like that? The American public hasn't, and it means that those deductibles and those premiums and those copays are no longer affordable.

Ms. EDWARDS of Maryland

Ms. EDWARDS of Maryland. Mr. Speaker, it is time to speak a little truth to power, to the powerful special interests and to the insurance companies that are willing to deep-six health care reform for millions of Americans by spreading misinformation and by scaring people. All the while, these big insurance companies raise deductibles, premiums, and copays. They drop people with preexisting conditions. They limit coverage, and they reap billions in excessive salaries, profits, and bonuses. Look at the facts: United Health earned $2.9 billion last year. WellPoint reported profits of $2.5 billion. For CEO pay, United Health Group's Stephen Hemsley made $3.2 million. WellPoint's Angela Braly made $9.8 million. It doesn't stop there. Former United Health Group's CEO, Bill McGuire, left his job in 2006 and still took home $1.1 billion. That's a lot of zeros. Who are we kidding, Mr. Speaker? This is all about money--campaign contributions, CEO salaries, millions in advertising to kill reform, and billions in profits. That's what's at stake here. It's time to stop this nonsense and enact real reform that includes a public insurance option based on Medicare rates and with a network of providers to lower costs and to provide quality care.

Ms. EDWARDS of Maryland

Ms. EDWARDS of Maryland. Mr. Speaker, I rise today because, for six decades, we have debated about how to fix health care reform, and now it is time to stop the debates, the denials and the deceit. We have a uniquely American solution that includes a robust public plan that will lower costs, increase coverage and provide quality care. And for the American people, let's repeat that again: lower costs, increased coverage and provide quality care. This is really just about what the insurance companies want to fight. Everybody watching the daily news, the evening news, knows that to be true, and the insurance companies will pull no stops to try to defeat health care reform, but we are not going to let them. Premiums for Americans have doubled in 9 years, three times faster than wages. An American family pays an extra $1,100 a year in premiums. It is time for that to stop. Each day, 14,000 people lose health care, and today 60 percent of small business owners, their workers and families have no health care. That is 28 million Americans. So we can create a plan here that eliminates copays, eliminates the high cost of deductibles for preventive care, caps out-of-pocket expenses and ends the discrimination against preexisting conditions.

Ms. EDWARDS of Maryland

Ms. EDWARDS of Maryland. I thank my colleagues because I think there is probably no more important issue to talk about than health care, and not for us but for the American people. I thought about it for a bit, and before I came into the Congress, I started out the year 2000 working at a small nonprofit, and they paid all my health care, and the cost was about $12,000 per employee. Well, by the time I had been elected to Congress and came in in 2008, the cost for me and my son, you know, same network, was about $20,000. And that's true for people across the country, that premiums have skyrocketed about 114 percent over a decade. And I think that if you think of those wages, whether they worked for small or large employers or they're self-employed, there are few among us whose salaries have skyrocketed to 114 percent in the same time frame. And that's what we're talking about with health care. And so I know that we often speak a lot about those who are uninsured; and, clearly, the moral imperative for us to insure the 47 million to 50 million people who don't have any health care coverage at all is really important. But tonight I want to spend some time actually talking about the 250 million people or so who have health care coverage and sometimes it's inadequate. Sometimes it doesn't meet the need when the time comes, and then other times the premiums and deductibles are going up, the copayments are going up, out-of-pocket costs are going up, and what began as an affordable plan has become really unaffordable for so many Americans. And it's a system anymore that's unsustainable. We think often about what it means to be sick as an individual, what it means to have a family member who's sick. Well, there's something that is really sick, and it's our health care system. It's really sick. It's on its last leg, and our job in the United States Congress is really, I think, to do some truth-telling about this system and to let the American people know that we really do have a plan that is going to lower costs, that is going to make health care really affordable for ordinary Americans, that is going to ensure that if you have coverage and you like it you can keep, it and if you want to have other choices you can have those, too, and that the government is not going to be out there choosing your doctor. You get to choose your doctor. You will have a system in which, you know, if you have an illness like my father had kidney disease, well, he wouldn't be able to be turned down by an insurance company because he had a preexisting condition. There are some insurance companies that turn women down who have experienced domestic violence because they define domestic violence as a preexisting condition. This is unacceptable, and so I think for the American people we are creating a plan that is indeed fiscally responsible. It is the moral imperative to do what's right by the American people, and we know that the kind of investment in prevention in community health and ensuring that we take care of primary practice, we will in fact achieve the kind of goals that we set out for the American people and invest in that competitiveness that we talk about all the time for the 21st century. And so I'm excited to be with my colleagues this evening because we have a task ahead of us, and it's a difficult one, and putting it off is not going to make it less difficult. And the enemy, those people who don't want reform at all, will try to say anything or do anything to kill reform, and we can't that let happen for the American people. With that, I'd yield to my colleague from Connecticut.

Ms. EDWARDS of Maryland. Thank you. Before we close out, I do want to say before we get out of this that we've been about clearing up the mythology about what is and is not in our health care bill, and one of those myths really has to do with our seniors. So, Mr. Speaker, I want to say to all of our seniors across this country that we're protecting you, that we are going to make sure that we phase in completely by filling in that doughnut hole that has left you covering the brunt of your costs for prescription drugs. We're going to eliminate co-payments and deductibles for preventative services under Medicare, and we're going to limit cautionary requirements in Medicare Advantage plans to the amounts that are charged for the same services in traditional Medicare coverage. This is really important for our seniors. We're going to improve low-income subsidy programs in Medicare by increasing asset limits for programs that help Medicare beneficiaries pay premiums and cost-sharings. So let's be really clear with the American people and especially with our seniors. Don't let them scare you out of supporting this plan for our seniors. This is a good plan for our seniors. It is a good plan for middle-income families. It is a good plan for working families. It is a good plan for people who have insurance, and it surely is a good plan for all of those who don't. With that, I'll yield back.

Ms. EDWARDS of Maryland. I thank the gentleman from Ohio. You raise an interesting point and it really has to do with what small employers need, small businesses. I know I have them in my congressional district out in Maryland. When I talk to the barber shop owners and the small IT firms and the engineering firms, they want to be able to provide health care for their employees. But you're right. They're being squeezed. The irony of it is that because they're so small, they have no capacity to negotiate with these big insurers. So their rates, if they do choose to provide health care, those premiums actually really, really go up in comparison to even premiums for the larger employers. So we've created a system here where there are disincentives even for the smaller employers to provide health care for their employees, despite the fact that they want to. Now what is it that we do in this plan to go at lowering some of those costs? Well, I think one of those things that's really important to me, and I know important to so many people in my congressional district and in my State, is providing a robust public plan that really is going to drive competition. I'm often amazed because the same people who argue for the free market, when it comes to talking about a robust public plan option that competes in the marketplace on a level playing field with a doctor network, those same folks actually don't want competition. So I say, bring on the competition. Bring on the competition with a robust public plan that relies on a recognized provider network and that makes sure that reimbursement rates really reflect care delivery so we can bring in more patients and then competes on a level playing field. I think that, in fact, will bring down costs for all of us who are insured--our premiums, our deductibles, our copays, all of those out-of-pocket costs that really burden average families. And for our small businesses, we give them some options. Folks talk all the time about choice. I want to talk about the choice that people don't have right now under the current system. You know, if you have an employer that just has a set plan, whether it's good or not, you don't have a choice. You may be in a plan where your doctor is not part of that network. You don't have a choice. So there are a lot of things that you don't get to choose about. And guess what, we now are actually opening up a system that provides average consumers with far greater choices than they have under the current system. So I think it's actually an exciting time for the American people. I think that when it's all said and done, the naysayers will be out there trying to beat this plan down; but I know that there's not a single person in my congressional district who doesn't have a horror story to tell about their insurer, about their neighbor, about a family member, about the potential loss of a home or a bankruptcy because this system is so broken. In the future, whether it is 5 years down the line or 10 years down the line, we'll have a story to tell about healthier people because we've invested in prevention. We'll have a story to tell that's about small businesses who can provide the insurance and the coverage that they want for their employees. And we'll have a story to tell about the American people who aren't enduring the ever-skyrocketing costs of health care. With that, I yield to my good friend from New York (Mr. Tonko).

Ms. EDWARDS of Maryland

Ms. EDWARDS of Maryland. This resolution is designed to reinforce the value of this investment of familial time with an annual commemoration. In conclusion, I urge you to support House Resolution 534. This resolution honors families of all compositions that are based in a foundation of love and care and in relationships that foster environments in which children can grow, learn, thrive, and mature. National Children and Families Day recognizes dynamic families and their role in successfully raising our country's future.

Ms. EDWARDS of Maryland. Thank you, Mr. Lynch and Mr. Chaffetz. I'm really excited to be here today to rise in support of my resolution, House Resolution 534, Supporting the Goals and Ideals of National Children and Families Day. On a note, I would just say to Mr. Chaffetz, part of what moved me in introducing this resolution with my colleague from Michigan, Candice Miller, was the relationship that I have had with my own family and parents and grandparents and extended family, recognizing the very special role that families play in the lives of children and growing them and nurturing them, and especially in sometimes a very troublesome world. I'd like to thank Chairman Towns for the leadership in the Government Oversight and Reform Committee and for his support of this resolution. I'd also like to thank all the cosponsors of the resolution from both sides of the aisle--all of us who recognize the value of families and the importance to our children. Particularly, the gentlewoman from Michigan (Mrs. Miller) herself soon to be a new grandmother, who understands the role that she has played in her own children's lives and soon to be in a grandchild's life. House Resolution 534 brings together a really diverse group of Members to recognize and celebrate the role that families play in the development of our greatest natural resource and the future of our Nation--our children. National Children and Families Day is an opportunity to recognize the importance of families in raising children. Families, however they're defined, improve the quality of life and social development of children. It's within the family unit that a child first learns how to interact with others and how to cope with challenges. Children's early development depends largely on their parents, extended family, and other caregivers. As such, children thrive when they're raised in an environment of close, dependable relationships that provide love, nurturing, security, and encouragement. All areas of a child's development--cognitive, social, and physical development--are interconnected. Physically, families play critical roles in the care of their children, meeting nutritional needs and keeping them out of harm. Socially and psychologically it's important to consider how we create an environment that will foster socially well-adjusted children--one who's in good mental health. Cognitive development is linked intimately to psychological welfare, and this forms the foundation upon which future progress is constructed. These are the things that happen within families. National Children and Families Day is also a day to celebrate families. It's a special day to highlight the importance of spending time engaging in family activities that support the development of healthy and well-adjusted children. Families that spend time together help cultivate familial bonds that lay the foundation for a child's later development, well into adulthood. It teaches them how to become good parents themselves. We have worked with the National Children's Museum, which I'm excited to say will be located in Maryland's Fourth Congressional District that I represent, just outside of Washington, D.C., and the Association of Children's Museums to encourage special events and activities that will highlight the value of spending time together and to celebrate this annual event. The local children's museums provided my son and me easy access to venues where we could spend time together learning to care about and improve the world. As a single mother, the museums provided us with excellent exhibits and activities that assisted us in strengthening our relationship. While the composition of families has changed over times, families remain the foundation of our national child-rearing structure and are critical to raising strong and resilient children. Today, families range widely from single-parent families, to extended families, to even extended families that care for children of our deployed servicemen and women--some of those families where both parents in fact are deployed and the extended family becomes the nurturing grounds for those children. We have experiences all across this country in which family compositions are nurturing and enriching environments for their children. We see families and their children every day here in the Nation's capitol visiting these historic sites in Washington and surrounding counties. In this context, allow me to share with my colleagues a ``Top Ten'' places for families and children in the Washington region. You can find that on Web sites across this country, including the National Children's Museum. This resolution will serve to remind us how valuable family activities are in the lives of children. The joy of participating in family activities, however small or large, will remain with a person for his or her entire life.

Ms. EDWARDS of Maryland

Ms. EDWARDS of Maryland. Mr. Speaker, I rise today because we really are on the verge of finalizing groundbreaking health care reform legislation that will benefit healthier generations to come and the 250 million of us who have health care but who are tired of skyrocketing premiums and deductibles. Did your salary go up 114 percent this last decade? It sure didn't, but that's what happened with premiums and deductibles. This is about real reform, not for insurance companies and their bean counters, but for the American people. I want to emphasize today the importance of including a robust public plan option, relying on the Medicare provider network in the final reform bill. Providing Americans with a real choice in doctors and insurance plans puts Americans back in charge of their health care, not insurance companies, but real people and patients. I would say that for those who believe in the free market, why are you afraid of a public plan? Why are you afraid of something that competes? Mr. Speaker, I think it's time for us to do health care reform to lower costs, to make it affordable, and to benefit those of us who have health care to lower our deductibles and our premiums.