A. Ferguson

Mr. FERGUSON

Mr. FERGUSON. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Dr. Marshall for his strong remarks and pointing out and highlighting several important things. You know, one of the biggest things that we are fighting for as part of repealing ObamaCare is that we are fighting for our personal freedom. Right now, Americans have the ``choice'' of purchasing a government-mandated, one-size-fits-all product or paying a government- mandated penalty. In almost a third of all U.S. counties, and many in my home State of Georgia, consumers don't even have the choice between insurances to purchase. This is not a choice. With the passage of the American Health Care Act, no longer will the Federal Government mandate that Americans purchase a product that they don't want, because we believe that individuals should have the freedom to make their own choices. We understand the unique dignity of every human being. This dignity calls for self-determination and personal freedom, and we are fighting for that freedom. It is important. I want to thank all of my colleagues who have joined me tonight to share with our constituents more about what we are fighting for. First off, our legislation promotes personal freedom by eliminating the individual and employer mandates. Purchasing decisions should be left up to the consumer, not the Federal Government. Under our plan, no American is mandated to purchase a product that he or she does not want and cannot afford. As I have shared, I have personal experience with how important the conversation between the patient and their doctor is. By almost doubling the cap on how much individuals can contribute to their personal health savings accounts each year and expanding where those dollars can be used, our plan puts patients back at the center of the conversation with their doctor, and they remove all of the government bureaucrats from the middle of that conversation. Health care is personal. It should belong to the patient and their healthcare provider--and no one else. That is where the most important decisions are made. We are also working to strengthen our safety net to ensure that our vulnerable populations have continued access to health care. Our plan returns power to the States with the biggest entitlement reform in a generation. Our legislation also protects Americans with preexisting conditions, ensuring that no one is unable to purchase insurance because of an illness. ObamaCare is a complex tangle of regulations and Federal overreach. With every day that passes, Americans and businesses feel the growing weight of a healthcare system that is failing. But it is also irresponsible to return to a broken healthcare system that brought us ObamaCare. Tomorrow, we will take the next step in the open legislative process as my colleagues and I on the Budget Committee do our part to send the American Health Care Act to the floor of the House for a vote. I am excited to take this step, but I want to be clear that this is only one part of repeal and reform. We are doing all that we can, and we are going to continue to push for conservative solutions with this bill. But it is not the final vote that we will take. There are many steps to go. While it will take time and patience, I made a promise to repeal the Affordable Care Act and improve our healthcare system for all Americans. I am committed to this difficult road of building this healthcare system that puts patients first. The American people deserve the hard work and political will it will take to do this the right way. Mr. Speaker, I am honored to have been joined by my colleagues tonight and glad to hear their comments, and I know that you have been as well. I want to point out that my colleagues have done an outstanding job tonight, and I believe that they have made some very, very salient points, and articulated reasons why we must step forward and do all that we can to reform our American healthcare system. We have to control the cost. We have to do the things necessary to put patients back in control. And, Mr. Speaker, I have confidence that this body, along with our President and our colleagues in the Senate, can do that. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. FERGUSON

Mr. FERGUSON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the American Health Care Act. For 25 years, I practiced dentistry in Georgia's Third District, and I saw firsthand a healthcare system in need of reform to reduce costs and increase access to care. After ObamaCare was signed into law, these problems only got worse. I saw my patients, friends, and neighbors forced away from their doctors that they trusted. Instead of decreasing costs, patients saw their premiums skyrocket, their deductibles skyrocket, and their access to care limited. As a healthcare provider, I want to do what is best for my patients. I committed to them that I would come to Congress to repeal ObamaCare and undo the damage that it has done to our healthcare system. The legislation we are currently considering in the House, the American Health Care Act, is just the first step toward keeping that promise. By passing this legislation, we begin to move the ball down the field and gain yardage rather than continuing to lose ground. This is not our only play. It is the first step in beginning to drive down costs and increasing access to care for patients. This legislation will keep our promise to repeal ObamaCare and eliminate the government mandates that force people to purchase a product that they don't want. It will allow patients the freedom to make their own healthcare decisions and drive down their costs.

Mr. FERGUSON

Mr. FERGUSON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.J. Res. 57. Voting in support of this resolution ensures that the Federal Government will stay out of our children's classrooms and give the power back to the local authorities to make good, solid education decisions. Throughout my congressional campaign, the people of the Third District of Georgia of all backgrounds and income continued to express their frustration that the Federal Government continued to get involved in policies that should be the domain of local and State governments. I have spoken with education leaders in the Third District of Georgia, in places like Troup County and Fayette County, and they were very pleased with the bipartisan effort of the Every Student Succeeds Act passed last Congress. They told me that they felt hopeful with the new flexibility written into the law granting the power to the States and the local leaders to decide what accountability measures work best for their students. However, as time went on, they expressed great concern as the Department of Education began writing this new accountability regulation. The accountability measures that will work for my home State of Georgia and my home district won't always work best for students elsewhere. Trying to educate students in the Third District of Georgia the exact same way you do students in Detroit, Michigan, or Spokane, Washington, or Prescott, Arizona, just simply will not work. Every child deserves access to quality education, but imposing a nationwide standard will only hamper this goal with burdensome regulations, and we have seen that failed policy under the No Child Left Behind Act. This resolution pulls back the Federal overreach, ensuring that the decisions will remain at the local level, and that is why I support H.J. Res. 57 today.

Mr. FERGUSON

Mr. FERGUSON. Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of the fiscal year 2017 budget resolution. The need for this process can best be explained by a story I have been telling my colleagues. A little over 6 years ago, I lived in a pretty decent house. One day I heard a knock on the door, and before I knew it, my colleagues on the other side of the aisle had let a goat loose in my house. Now, for 6 years that goat has been messing in and destroying my house. I want to renovate my house, but before I can, I have to get the goat out of the house before it does any more damage. It makes no sense to start fixing up my house until I can get the goat out. Voting for the fiscal year `17 budget resolution gets this goat out of my house. Mr. Chairman, make no mistake: we must renovate our house; we must undo the Affordable Care Act. We can no longer as a nation hold on to policies that rob us of our freedom of choice, that destroy family finances, that rob people of their jobs, and leave the most vulnerable with substandard care. Now is the time for a 21st century healthcare system that puts patients and doctors first and sends government regulators and rulemakers to the back row. No more 32 percent increase in Georgia premiums; no more having your doctor pulled away from you; and no more government mandates. This is not a return to the pre-ObamaCare status quo, but is a new approach to putting consumers in the driver's seat. The first step in this process is to gut ObamaCare with this resolution, and I am honored to support it.

Mr. FERGUSON

Mr. FERGUSON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to deliver my first remarks on the House floor. Before I became mayor of West Point, I watched my hometown almost fall completely apart. I saw what happened when bad Washington policies almost destroyed my hometown by creating the environment for manufacturing jobs to go overseas. I watched Federal programs that were failing to meet the needs of my friends and neighbors try to take the place of good jobs. The Federal programs weren't fixing the underlying programs in my hometown. They were simply catching people in the cycle of poverty, and we surely didn't want a handout. We wanted jobs. I was faced with a choice of whether or not to move my dental practice and my family away from my hometown to a more profitable community or get involved and be part of the solution. I chose to get involved and work to better the lives of my neighbors and my hometown. Instead of being satisfied with one-size-fits-all government programs that simply perpetuated the existing problems, we worked to bring manufacturing jobs back to West Point, Georgia, by making targeted investments in economic development and infrastructure. We attracted a Kia Motors manufacturing plant, and the automotive industry brought with it suppliers and other related businesses that produced over 15,000 jobs in just a few years. The city of West Point and the surrounding area today is revitalized not because of Federal Government programs or regulations, but because we worked at the local level to find solutions to meet the needs of our area. I ran for Congress so that I could apply these lessons at the Federal level. We need policies that make America the most competitive place in the world to do business instead of creating policies that incentivize companies to take their jobs overseas. We need policies that help get people out of poverty instead of trapping them in a multigenerational cycle of property. I know firsthand that more government programs do not make communities, schools, or individuals great. In fact, I have lived through and governed out of the dependence created by bad D.C. policy and government programs that continue to trap people in poverty. What we have collectively done to those in poverty with these policies is morally wrong. There is a better way, and we will do right by our fellow Americans. I am excited to work with my colleagues to craft and enact these policies that will improve the lives of our citizens.