Steve King

Mr. KING of Iowa

Mr. KING of Iowa. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Gingrey) for yielding, and it is a privilege for me to be here this evening to address this subject matter with my physician colleagues, of which we have many in the Congress. Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 5, the HEALTH Act. The rising cost of health care has become an unrelenting problem. As I have said before, it has become easier to sue a doctor than see one. When access to health care is jeopardized, patients suffer. Doctors are leaving practice, and emergency rooms are closing their doors because of the astronomical increase in malpractice insurance premiums. Health care costs are rising faster than they have in a decade, largely because the medical liability system is broken. Americans spend more per person in the cost of litigation than any other country in the world. Unrestrained escalation in jury awards is the primary cause of the emerging medical liability crisis. The median medical liability award jumped from $700,000 in 1999 to $1 million in the year 2000. That is a 43 percent increase. Today the average award is $3.5 million. Members can do the math on what that does to medical liability premiums. As a member of the Committee on the Judiciary, I have had an opportunity to mark up this legislation, which will grant better access to health care by fixing some of the broken medical liability systems that are driving doctors out of business. H.R. 5 is an effective bipartisan bill. It allows for unlimited economic damages such as medical expenses and loss of earnings. But it establishes a reasonable limit on noneconomic damages, commonly referred to as ``pain and suffering.'' It also factors in degree of fault, eliminating the incentive to look for the deep pockets that makes one party unfairly responsible for another's negligence. It is modeled after California's liability reform law passed in the early 1970s, which stabilized the State's medical liability insurance market and increased patient access to care and saves more than $1 billion a year in liability premiums. The MICRA Act was passed nearly 30 years ago; and in all that time Congress has sat back and watched its success, while at the same time watching the health care crisis grow across the Nation. Last year the House passed legislation identical to H.R. 5, but the Senate refused to act. With 18 States facing severe patient access crises, and my own State of Iowa showing problem signs, it is time that we take some action. In Iowa's case, we do not have room to spare. We sit last in Medicare reimbursement rates, and we are 50th out of the 50 States. It is a long ways up to 49. Our margin is very, very slim. Additionally, though, we have been able to improve the quality of our care, but access is a critical issue. Many of our health care services have gone out of State because of our low Medicare reimbursement rate; and with the additional cost of premium and the distance between people, it is critical that we pass H.R. 5. This measure will help our struggling rural hospitals increase availability of medical services and lower health care costs. We need to do more to lift the burden of rampant, frivolous litigation off the backs of the American people; and this is a good start. My daughter-in-law, Heather, is in medical school now and plans to build a future in the profession that many of my colleagues have chosen. The decision for her is can she withstand the rising cost of malpractice premiums. Last weekend, I caught a ride on a plane back to Iowa. I happened to sit across the aisle from an OB-GYN with her baby on her lap. And in the 3 years she has practiced in this region, her premiums have gone from $10,000 to $60,000 per year. We hear higher numbers, but I do not know if I have heard a higher percentage increase, and that is with no claims against her practice. Madam Speaker, I will vote for this bill with great faith that it will be a significant first step for this Congress to address the impending health care crisis.

Mr. KING of Iowa

Mr. KING of Iowa. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for yielding me this time, and I rise in support of H.J. Res. 27, commending and expressing the gratitude of a grateful Nation to all members of the United States Armed Forces, and particularly the members from the State of Iowa, which has a long history of combat in every single major battle that has taken place since 1846, when Iowa became a State. Mr. Speaker, Iowa has 16 National Guard bases simply in just the Fifth District of Iowa, and many of those men and women are off now, away from their jobs and family, making their sacrifices and meeting their commitment as they volunteer alongside our full-time members of the Armed Services. Iowans have suffered greatly over the years in defending our freedom and our liberty. In particular, the small but mighty town of Red Oak, Iowa, which suffered the highest number of fatalities in combat in World War II on a per capita basis of any community in the United States of America. They were called together one night as a community to receive the announcement as a community that they had lost 20 members of that small community in one single battle in World War II. That is the level of commitment that Iowa has had from all of its people in supporting our military, and we have strongly supported the members of our Armed Forces. Also, during the Civil War, our percentage of losses as a percentage of the population overall were higher than any other State in the Union. Mr. Speaker, I wish to point out to the members of this Nation also that our President made a statement the other day in which he said there is only one person that orders our Armed forces into battle, and that is the one who hugs the widows and widowers of those who do not come back home. We also understand that is the same person who hugs the widows and widowers of those lost in the attacks on the World Trade Center, on the Pentagon, and from the crash in Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, while only one person orders them into battle, we all pray for their safety and their safe return. Our Armed forces are a vanguard for freedom, and the sacrifices they give give hope to all people. There is no training and no equipment too good for our Armed Forces, and I stand here in great appreciation to Iowans and Americans who are defending our freedom and our liberty.

Mr. KING of Iowa

Mr. KING of Iowa. Mr. Speaker on rollcall No. 4, my voting card did not function properly. Had it worked properly, I would have voted ``yea.'' Stated against: