Jim McDermott

Mr. McDERMOTT

Mr. McDERMOTT. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pascrell).

Mr. McDERMOTT. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Blumenauer) to close our arguments.

Mr. McDERMOTT. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. McDERMOTT

Mr. McDERMOTT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the 40th anniversary of Humanities Washington and the 15th anniversary of its Bedtime Stories literary gala in Seattle. Since its founding in 1973, Humanities Washington has served the state with humanities programming, sparking conversation and critical thinking using story as a catalyst, nurturing thoughtful and engaged communities across Washington State. As Washington State's flagship non-profit for the humanities, it plays a critical role in addressing an immediate and growing crisis concerning community identity and understanding, respect for other perspectives, and the ability of communities to work together to shape a better future. Humanities Washington's work in cultural education--ranging from Speakers Bureau to Traveling Exhibits to Family Reading--promotes awareness of the history of local communities and its residents, provides opportunities for people to gather and learn more about their unique past and shared present, and nurtures relationships that enable us to move forward towards a more prosperous future. The humanities--including history, literature, philosophy, ethics, law, and other fields of inquiry--encourage us to investigate, speak, listen, read, reflect, question, think, grow, and act. Using the disciplines of the humanities, Humanities Washington provides programs and experiences of lasting value, creating insight, understanding, wisdom, and a deeper appreciation for a variety of perspectives and all that we share as Washingtonians and Americans. This year also marks the 15th anniversary of one of Humanities Washington's signature events: Bedtime Stories. Bedtime Stories is an annual literary celebration featuring critically acclaimed Northwest writers unveiling new short stories created specifically for dinner galas in Spokane and Seattle. National Book Award Winner Charles Johnson has called it ``the region's premier literary event.'' Johnson is one of the founders of the gala, and will receive the 2013 Humanities Washington Award at Bedtime Stories in Seattle on October 4. Mr. Speaker, I would like to convey my congratulations to Humanities Washington for 40 years of excellent, necessary work sharing the humanities with Washingtonians. I salute Humanities Washington as it works to ensure that the humanities are key to civic life for generations to come.

Mr. McDERMOTT

Mr. McDERMOTT. Mr. Speaker, taxes are a civic duty essential to governance, yet very little information about how that tax money is spent is ever sent back to the American people. The awareness gap results in significant misinformation and disengagement. For example, a 2005 Washington Post/Kaiser Foundation poll found that by a margin of two to one, Americans believe that the federal government spent more on foreign aid than on either Social Security or Medicare. For that reason, I am introducing the Taxpayer Receipt Act of 2013 to help clarify misconceptions. The Taxpayer Receipt Act requires the Treasury Secretary to provide each taxpayer with an annual itemized ``receipt'' explaining how his or her tax liability was spent and include: tables reflecting the taxpayer's income tax liability, the amount of the liability spent on each category, and the actual federal outlays for each category; a table containing the 10 costliest tax expenditures; and, an annual budget review using CBO budget projections. For an example of what a Taxpayer Receipt would look like, go to: http://mcdermott.house.gov/images/pdtitaxpayerreceiptmockupv3.pdf Nina Olson, the Taxpayer Advocate who is an independent advocate for taxpayers within the IRS, supports this reform and the Washington Post and the New York Times have both featured articles that support the taxpayer receipt. In 2010, Third Way released an idea brief explaining the benefits of such a taxpayer receipt. You can find the entire Third Way idea brief here: http://content.thirdway.org/publications/335/ Third_Way_Idea_Brief_-_A_Taxpayer_Receipt.pdf. Providing a receipt to taxpayers would be inexpensive and simple to implement and similar to the existing Social Security Administration statement provided each year. Most importantly, this information provides the clarity and transparency that the American people want and deserve.

Mr. McDERMOTT

Mr. McDERMOTT. Mr. Speaker, I would remind my distinguished colleague from Georgia of a story in the Bible about a king who was very famous and one day noticed on the wall some writing. He had someone come in and interpret for him, and the writing said: ``Your days are numbered upon the Earth.'' Your days are numbered on this issue. You have 59 more days. I'm sure you can bring up a bill every single day to try and repeal it. The Speaker has announced there will be two more, but it will not work. This is going to be the law on 1 October, and it's going to go into effect. The Supreme Court has spoken. The Speaker has actually said, ``It's the law of the land.'' Yet we see this hopeless strategy--it's worse than hopeless. It's weak and it's mean. What you're saying is you want to take away from people what they already have, guaranteed issue, coverage for their kids to age 26, and lifetime limits will be gone. All of that you want to take away. Have a great break, because you're going to go back to your districts and explain for 38 days why you will not provide health care coverage for the people of America. I hear there's a mythical bill with 141 signatures. The Republicans have been running the Ways and Means Committee for 16 out of the last 18 years, and we have never had a bill put in front of us for a vote. It's never been through the Rules Committee. It's never been out to the floor. You have no plan. You have a piece of paper that you wave around, but you won't go out and defend it. The President came and put a bill out here, and we passed it, and we're defending it, and it's going to go into effect and provide what all Americans want: security if they get sick; they want to know they'll be covered; they want to know they won't be bankrupted. Vote ``no'' again today, and we'll be back after the break for a few more ``no'' votes.

Mr. McDERMOTT. Mr. Speaker, as I listened to Mr. Waxman, it's clear he was talking about obsession. And you might ask, Well, why is this happening here and what's going on? This has happened before. This is the worst nightmare for the Republican Party. In 1964, the American Medical Association was flat out against the institution of Medicare. When I was in medical school, the president said, Boys, there isn't going to be any medicine in this country. We're having that socialized medicine come in. It's a terrible thing. And you know what happened? They made the people so afraid that when they went out to enroll people in Medicare, people said, Well, I don't want any of that government medicine in my house. Look at Medicare today. Nobody on that side would dare take out Medicare because the American people found out that what they were told in the advertising campaign leading up to it was not true. And that's what you are getting here today--untruths. Vote ``no'' on this.

Mr. McDERMOTT

Mr. McDERMOTT. Mr. Speaker, I am standing here asking: What's the rush? The Iranian President is being sworn in in 4 days. For the first time in years, there is a moderate who's been elected as head of Iran, who promises us progress on the issues that are of most concern to us. I'm not a blind optimist, and I have no illusions about the nature of Iran's Government. I understand that one election won't ensure us peace, but it could mean change, and we need to see what it looks like. Experts and former military officers, including the Commander in Chief of Central Command, warn that more sanctions right now will ``undercut the new President and his pledged plan of moderation.'' It gives ammunition to the hardliners who will operate against him. So the timing of this bill could not be worse from a foreign policy perspective. In addition, Members have not had a chance to fully review the bill, which is significantly different than when it was marked up coming out of the Foreign Affairs Committee. The marked-up version became public only a few days ago, and I know that many Members who cosponsored the original bill are not aware of the changes made in it. For these reasons, we sent a letter to our leadership asking, along with 15 other Members, urging them to delay consideration until after September. We could come back after our vacation and deal with this if it's really needed. It doesn't have to happen now, except because we're going out on Friday. Passing this legislation would support the hardliners' claims that we have no intention of negotiating; we hit the President before he even sits down in the chair. It's a dangerous sign to send and it limits our ability to find a diplomatic solution on nuclear arms in Iran. There is no public support in this country for another war. We've seen this movie before. We put sanctions on Iraq. I was here when they put them on. I saw us squeeze them for 10 years. The World Health Organization said 500,000 Iraqi kids died because we cut off medicine and food and other essentials to the Iraq community. Did it end in a change? No. We went to war with them. And if you think that this is going to squeeze and bring us to war, and you think that what happened in Iraq is going to happen here, remember we're 11 years in Iraq. And we do not have a stable democracy today. We have a government that's about to collapse. What we think we can do by squeezing people--and you're squeezing Iranian children today. Iranians cannot buy medicine on the world market and pay because we have cut off all of the banking connections everywhere so that there's no way for them to slip money through the banking system to pay for medicine for kids. We should delay this vote. Vote ``no.''

Mr. McDERMOTT

Mr. McDERMOTT. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, now we get to the real bill. If the Republicans can't repeal the Affordable Care Act, they're going to try and rot it from the inside. For the last few days, my Republican colleagues have been spinning this vote as a great populist effort to help the middle class. They explain that, even with these repeals, we can keep all the things we like, covering our kids till age 26, prescription drug help, banning the denial of coverage for those with preexisting conditions. And legally, they aren't wrong. They're not lying. They're just confusing the people. These laws will still be in place; but realistically, in the real world in which we live, it will be hard to cover your kids and subsidize drugs if the insurance industry no longer exists in this country. Without the healthy consumers the mandate guarantees, only the sickest and the costliest will be left, and prices will skyrocket. We have a letter from the Congressional Budget Office that says that if we delay this, you can expect that the prices of insurance will go up and fewer people will be covered. The reason you don't see any fur flying is because the insurance industry knows this isn't going anywhere. This is just a lot of political theater. In Washington, we tried this. In 1993, the Democrats put in universal coverage and guaranteed issue. Everybody had a mandate, and you were going to get it. The insurance companies couldn't do otherwise. Two years later, the Republicans repealed the guaranteed mandate, leaving the insurance industry covering the sickest in the State of Washington. Within 3 years, there were no individual policies sold in the State of Washington. We have run this game once in Washington State, and you are coming out here today and running it again. It's been tried in other States. You cannot have universal coverage without a mandate. You cannot have insurance reform that guarantees everybody insurance. Now, this isn't prophecy on my part. This has happened. A lot of what you hear about around here is that people are talking, well, gee, we got these terrible insurance rates going up. They're not going up in Washington in our exchange. They're not going up in Oregon in the exchange. They're not going up in California in the exchange. Today, New York reports they're not going up in New York. Anybody who stands out here and says insurance rates are out of sight simply is misleading the people. We ought to vote ``no'' on this bill. I reserve the balance of my time. U.S. Congress, Congressional Budget Office, Washington, DC, July 16, 2013. Hon. Dave Camp, Chairman, Committee on Ways and Means, House of Representatives, Washington, DC. Dear Mr. Chairman: CBO and the staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) have begun a review of H.R. 2668, the Fairness for American Families Act, but we have not yet completed a cost estimate for the bill. On a preliminary basis, however, we expect that enacting H.R. 2668 would have the effect of reducing the deficit in 2014 and over the 2014- 2023 period. That initial conclusion is based on our prior work on proposals to repeal the individual mandate established in the Affordable Care Act. The legislation would delay for one year the requirement that nearly every resident of the United States have health insurance coverage by January 1, 2014. The bill also would shift by one year the schedule of penalties for people who do not comply with the mandate. CBO and JCT expect that, during the period of delayed phase-in of the penalty for failing to comply with the mandate, health insurance premiums for individually purchased coverage would be higher under H.R. 2668 than they are projected to be under current law. In addition, the number of people with health insurance coverage would be reduced relative to current law. I hope you find this preliminary information useful; if you wish further details, we will be pleased to provide them. Sincerely, Douglas W. Elmendorf. Enclosure.

Mr. McDERMOTT. Mr. Speaker, I will insert for the Record the report on the Ninth Indiana District and the people who will benefit from that bill when it goes into effect on the first of October. Benefits of the Health Care Reform Law in the 9th Congressional District of Indiana Committees on Energy and Commerce, Ways and Means, and Education and the Workforce, Democratic Staff Report, July 2013 The landmark Affordable Care Act (ACA) began delivering important new benefits and protections to tens of millions of American families almost immediately after it was signed into law by President Obama. But the largest benefits of the law will become available to consumers on October 1, 2013, when health insurance marketplaces open in all 50 states. These marketplaces will offer individuals, families, and small businesses an efficient, transparent, one-stop shop to compare health insurance policies, receive financial assistance, and sign up for high-quality, affordable, and secure insurance coverage. This fact sheet summarizes new data on the significant benefits of the health care reform law in Rep. Young's district. It also provides the first picture of the impacts of the law in districts redrawn or newly created following the 2010 Census. As a result of the law: 8,300 young adults in the district now have health insurance through their parents' plan. More than 9,300 seniors in the district received prescription drug discounts worth $13.7 million, an average discount of $680 per person in 2011, $720 in 2012, and $700 thus far in 2013. 110,000 seniors in the district are now eligible for Medicare preventive services without paying any co-pays, coinsurance, or deductible. 213,000 individuals in the district--including 45,000 children and 86,000 women--now have health insurance that covers preventive services without any co-pays, coinsurance, or deductible. 135,000 individuals in the district are saving money due to ACA provisions that prevent insurance companies from spending more than 20% of their premiums on profits and administrative overhead. Because of these protections, over 33,800 consumers in the district received approximately $4.4 million in insurance company rebates in 2012 and 2011--an average rebate of $157 per family in 2012 and $99 per family in 2011. Up to 40,000 children in the district with preexisting health conditions can no longer be denied coverage by health insurers. 255,000 individuals in the district now have insurance that cannot place lifetime limits on their coverage and will not face annual limits on coverage starting in 2014. Up to 91,000 individuals in the district who lack health insurance will have access to quality, affordable coverage without fear of discrimination or higher rates because of a preexisting health condition. In addition, the 35,000 individuals who currently purchase private health insurance on the individual or small group market will have access to more secure, higher quality coverage and many will be eligible for financial assistance. I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Butterfield).

Mr. McDERMOTT. Mr. Speaker, I submit for the Record the report on the Third Congressional District of Minnesota and the people who will benefit from this act. Benefits of the Health Care Reform Law in the 3rd Congressional District of Minnesota Committees on Energy and Commerce, Ways and Means, and Education and the Workforce, Democratic Staff Report, July 2013 The landmark Affordable Care Act (ACA) began delivering important new benefits and protections to tens of millions of American families almost immediately after it was signed into law by President Obama. But the largest benefits of the law will become available to consumers on October 1, 2013, when health insurance marketplaces open in all 50 states. These marketplaces will offer individuals, families, and small businesses an efficient, transparent, one-stop-shop to compare health insurance policies, receive financial assistance, and sign up for high-quality, affordable, and secure insurance coverage. This fact sheet summarizes new data on the significant benefits of the health care reform law in Rep. Paulsen's district. It also provides the first picture of the impacts of the law in districts redrawn or newly created following the 2010 Census. As a result of the law: 3,300 young adults in the district now have health insurance through their parents' plan. More than 8,800 seniors in the district received prescription drug discounts worth $12.2 million, an average discount of $620 per person in 2011, $680 in 2012, and $1,070 thus far in 2013. 108,000 seniors in the district are now eligible for Medicare preventive services without paying any co-pays, coinsurance, or deductible. 220,000 individuals in the district--including 54,000 children and 87,000 women--now have health insurance that covers preventive services without any co-pays, coinsurance, or deductible. 150,000 individuals in the district are saving money due to ACA provisions that prevent insurance companies from spending more than 20% of their premiums on profits and administrative overhead. Because of these protections, over 16,600 consumers in the district received approximately $1.4 million in insurance company rebates in 2012 and 2011--an average rebate of $303 per family in 2012 and $160 per family in 2011. Up to 40,000 children in the district with preexisting health conditions can no longer be denied coverage by health insurers. 282,000 individuals in the district now have insurance that cannot place lifetime limits on their coverage and will not face annual limits on coverage starting in 2014. 53,000 individuals in the district who lack health insurance will have access to quality, affordable coverage without fear of discrimination or higher rates because of a preexisting health condition. In addition, the 42,000 individuals who currently purchase private health insurance on the individual or small group market will have access to more secure, higher quality coverage and many will be eligible for financial assistance. I now yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Dingell). He's been here for a number of years, always fighting for health care, and he is living proof that the price of liberty is eternal vigilance. He's here today fighting for health care, just like he did the first day he got here. (Mr. DINGELL asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. McDERMOTT. Mr. Speaker, according to a report on the First Congressional District of Tennessee, 5,800 young adults have insurance on their parents' plan, 13,000 seniors receive prescription drug benefit reductions, and 168,000 seniors are now eligible for preventive care that's free. And on and on it goes. Benefits of the Health Care Reform Law in the 1st Congressional District of Tennessee committees on energy and commerce, ways and means, and education and the workforce, democratic staff report, july 2013 The landmark Affordable Care Act (ACA) began delivering important new benefits and protections to tens of millions of American families almost immediately after it was signed into law by President Obama. But the largest benefits of the law will become available to consumers on October 1, 2013, when health insurance marketplaces open in all 50 states. These marketplaces will offer individuals, families, and small businesses an efficient, transparent one-stop shop to compare health insurance policies, receive financial assistance, and sign up for high-quality, affordable, and secure insurance coverage. This fact sheet summarizes new data on the significant benefits of the health care reform law in Rep. Roe's district. It also provides the first picture of the impacts of the law in districts redrawn or newly created following the 2010 Census. As a result of the law: 5,800 young adults in the district now have health insurance through their parents' plan. More than 13,100 seniors in the district received prescription drug discounts worth $16.9 million, an average discount of $580 per person in 2011, $630 in 2012, and $680 thus far in 2013. 168,000 seniors in the district are now eligible for Medicare preventive services without paying any co-pays, coinsurance, or deductible. 177,000 individuals in the district--including 34,000 children and 75,000 women--now have health insurance that covers preventive services without any co-pays, coinsurance, or deductible. 168,000 individuals in the district are saving money due to ACA provisions that prevent insurance companies from spending more than 20% of their premiums on profits and administrative overhead. Because of these protections, over 26,000 consumers in the district received approximately $3.7 million in insurance company rebates in 2012 and 2011--an average rebate of $69 per family in 2012 and $201 per family in 2011. Up to 36,000 children in the district with preexisting health conditions can no longer be denied coverage by health insurers. 190,000 individuals in the district now have insurance that cannot place lifetime limits on their coverage and will not face annual limits on coverage starting in 2014. Up to 103,000 individuals in the district who lack health insurance will have access to quality, affordable coverage without fear of discrimination or higher rates because of a preexisting health condition. In addition, the 28,000 individuals who currently purchase private health insurance on the individual or small group market will have access to more secure, higher quality coverage and many will be eligible for financial assistance. I yield 1 minute to the leader of the Democratic Party, the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Pelosi).

Mr. McDERMOTT. Mr. Speaker, I would like to insert letters from consumer groups opposing the bill--Easter Seals, American Diabetes Association, American Heart Association, and others. I also would like to enter into the Record the report on the Fifth Congressional District of Virginia and those who will benefit from the Affordable Care Act. Benefits of the Health Care Reform Law in the 5th Congressional District of Virginia committees on energy and commerce, ways and means, and education and the workforce, democratic staff Report, july 2013 The landmark Affordable Care Act (ACA) began delivering important new benefits and protections to tens of millions of American families almost immediately after it was signed into law by President Obama. But the largest benefits of the law will become available to consumers on October 1, 2013, when health insurance marketplaces open in all 50 states. These marketplaces will offer individuals, families, and small businesses an efficient, transparent one-stop shop to compare health insurance policies, receive financial assistance, and sign up for high-quality, affordable, and secure insurance coverage. This fact sheet summarizes new data on the significant benefits of the health care reform law in Rep. Hurt's district. It also provides the first picture of the impacts of the law in districts redrawn or newly created following the 2010 Census. As a result of the law: 5,900 young adults in the district now have health insurance through their parents' plan. More than 11,400 seniors in the district received prescription drug discounts worth $15.6 million, an average discount of $590 per person in 2011, $720 in 2012, and $800 thus far in 2013. 165,000 seniors in the district are now eligible for Medicare preventive services without paying any co-pays, coinsurance, or deductible. 201,000 individuals in the district--including 37,000 children and 87,000 women--now have health insurance that covers preventive services without any co-pays, coinsurance, or deductible. 188,000 individuals in the district are saving money due to ACA provisions that prevent insurance companies from spending more than 20% of their premiums on profits and administrative overhead. Because of these protections, over 57,300 consumers in the district received approximately $4.6 million in insurance company rebates in 2011 and 2012--an average rebate of $115 per family in 2011 and $88 per family in 2012. Up to 37,000 children in the district with preexisting health conditions can no longer be denied coverage by health insurers. 235,000 individuals in the district now have insurance that cannot place lifetime limits on their coverage and will not face annual limits on coverage starting in 2014. Up to 91,000 individuals in the district who lack health insurance will have access to quality, affordable coverage without fear of discrimination or higher rates because of a preexisting health condition. In addition, the 51,000 individuals who currently purchase private health insurance on the individual or small group market will have access to more secure, higher quality coverage and many will be eligible for financial assistance.

Mr. McDERMOTT. I now yield 5 minutes to the minority whip, the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer).

Mr. McDERMOTT. I yield the gentleman an additional 30 seconds.

Mr. McDERMOTT. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 30 seconds to report on the Seventh Congressional District of Virginia, where the promises have been kept: 4,500 young adults have health insurance on their parents' plan; 10,000 seniors have received help with their drug costs; 112,000 seniors are now eligible for preventive care at no cost; 288,000 people in the Seventh District now have insurance that does not have lifetime limits. The promises have been kept in the Seventh District. Benefits of the Health Care Reform Law in the 7th Congressional District of Virginia committees on energy and commerce, ways and means, and education and the workforce, democratic staff report, july 2013 The landmark Affordable Care Act (ACA) began delivering important new benefits and protections to tens of millions of American families almost immediately after it was signed into law by President Obama. But the largest benefits of the law will become available to consumers on October 1, 2013, when health insurance marketplaces open in all 50 states. These marketplaces will offer individuals, families, and small businesses an efficient, transparent one-stop shop to compare health insurance policies, receive financial assistance, and sign up for high-quality, affordable, and secure insurance coverage. This fact sheet summarizes new data on the significant benefits of the health care reform law in Rep. Cantor's district. It also provides the first picture of the impacts of the law in districts redrawn or newly created following the 2010 Census. As a result of the law: 4,500 young adults in the district now have health insurance through their parents' plan. More than 10,000 seniors in the district received prescription drug discounts worth $13.6 million, an average discount of $580 per person in 2011, $730 in 2012, and $800 thus far in 2013. 112,000 seniors in the district are now eligible for Medicare preventive services without paying any co-pays, coinsurance, or deductible. 236,000 individuals in the district--including 56,000 children and 95,000 women--now have health insurance that covers preventive services without any co-pays, coinsurance, or deductible. 222,000 individuals in the district are saving money due to ACA provisions that prevent insurance companies from spending more than 20% of their premiums on profits and administrative overhead. Because of these protections, over 67,300 consumers in the district received approximately $5.4 million in insurance company rebates in 2011 and 2012--an average rebate of $115 per family in 2011 and $88 per family in 2012. Up to 43,000 children in the district with preexisting health conditions can no longer be denied coverage by health insurers. 288,000 individuals in the district now have insurance that cannot place lifetime limits on their coverage and will not face annual limits on coverage starting in 2014. Up to 74,000 individuals in the district who lack health insurance will have access to quality, affordable coverage without fear of discrimination or higher rates because of a preexisting health condition. In addition, the 42,000 individuals who currently purchase private health insurance on the individual or small group market will have access to more secure, higher quality coverage and many will be eligible for financial assistance. Mr. Speaker, I now yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Becerra).

Mr. McDERMOTT. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 30 seconds so that I can inform the body of the effect on the Fifth Congressional District of the State of Washington: 7,000 adults, young adults, are on their parents' plan; 5,600 seniors have had benefits around their drug costs; 89,000 who have lacked health insurance now have it. All of this is because of the Affordable Care Act. Benefits of the Health Care Reform Law in the 5th Congressional District of Washington Committees on Energy and Commerce, Ways and Means, and Education and the Workforce, Democratic Staff Report, July 2013 The landmark Affordable Care Act (ACA) began delivering important new benefits and protections to tens of millions of American families almost immediately after it was signed into law by President Obama. But the largest benefits of the law will become available to consumers on October 1, 2013, when health insurance marketplaces open in all 50 states. These marketplaces will offer individuals, families, and small businesses an efficient, transparent one-stop shop to compare health insurance policies, receive financial assistance, and sign up for high-quality, affordable, and secure insurance coverage. This fact sheet summarizes new data on the significant benefits of the health care reform law in Rep. McMorris Rodgers's district. It also provides the first picture of the impacts of the law in districts redrawn or newly created following the 2010 Census. As a result of the law: 7,900 young adults in the district now have health insurance through their parents' plan. More than 5,600 seniors in the district received prescription drug discounts worth $7.5 million, an average discount of $620 per person in 2011, $660 in 2012, and $1,070 thus far in 2013. 113,000 seniors in the district are now eligible for Medicare preventive services without paying any co-pays, coinsurance, or deductible. 180,000 individuals in the district--including 36,000 children and 75,000 women--now have health insurance that covers preventive services without any co-pays, coinsurance, or deductible. 167,000 individuals in the district are saving money due to ACA provisions that prevent insurance companies from spending more than 20% of their premiums on profits and administrative overhead. Because of these protections, over 700 consumers in the district received approximately $100,000 in insurance company rebates in 2012 and 2011--an average rebate of $512 per family in 2012 and $185 per family in 2011. Up to 36,000 children in the district with preexisting health conditions can no longer be denied coverage by health insurers. 203,000 individuals in the district now have insurance that cannot place lifetime limits on their coverage and will not face annual limits on coverage starting in 2014. 89,000 individuals in the district who lack health insurance will have access to quality, affordable coverage without fear of discrimination or higher rates because of a preexisting health condition. In addition, the 45,000 individuals who currently purchase private health insurance on the individual or small group market will have access to more secure, higher quality coverage and many will be eligible for financial assistance. Mr. Speaker, I now yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Gene Green).

Mr. McDERMOTT. Mr. Speaker, I would like to enter into the Record a report on the effects of the Affordable Care Act on the Tenth District of Michigan. Benefits of the Health Care Reform Law in the 10th Congressional District of Michigan Committees on Energy and Commerce, Ways and Means, and Education and the Workforce, Democratic Staff Report, July 2013 The landmark Affordable Care Act (ACA) began delivering important new benefits and protections to tens of millions of American families almost immediately after it was signed into law by President Obama. But the largest benefits of the law will become available to consumers on October 1, 2013, when health insurance marketplaces open in all 50 states. These marketplaces will offer individuals, families, and small businesses an efficient, transparent, one-stop shop to compare health insurance policies, receive financial assistance, and sign up for high-quality, affordable, and secure insurance coverage. This fact sheet summarizes new data on the significant benefits of the health care reform law in Rep. Miller's district. It also provides the first picture of the impacts of the law in districts redrawn or newly created following the 2010 Census. As a result of the law: 4,900 young adults in the district now have health insurance through their parents' plan. More than 8,900 seniors in the district received prescription drug discounts worth $11.8 million, an average discount of $610 per person in 2011, $780 in 2012, and $630 thus far in 2013. 130,000 seniors in the district are now eligible for Medicare preventive services without paying any co-pays, coinsurance, or deductible. 210,000 individuals in the district--including 47,000 children and 86,000 women--now have health insurance that covers preventive services without any co-pays, coinsurance, or deductible. 177,000 individuals in the district are saving money due to ACA provisions that prevent insurance companies from spending more than 20% of their premiums on profits and administrative overhead. Because of these protections, over 17,100 consumers in the district received approximately $2.5 million in insurance company rebates in 2012 and 2011--an average rebate of $138 per family in 2012 and $214 per family in 2011. Up to 41,000 children in the district with preexisting health conditions can no longer be denied coverage by health insurers. 243,000 individuals in the district now have insurance that cannot place lifetime limits on their overage and will not face annual limits on coverage starting in 2014. Up to 73,000 individuals in the district who lack health insurance will have access to quality, affordable coverage without fear of discrimination or higher rates because of a preexisting health condition: In addition, the 39,000 individuals who currently purchase private health insurance on the individual or small group market will have access to more secure, higher quality coverage and many will be eligible for financial assistance.

Mr. McDERMOTT. Mr. Speaker, I now yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Illinois (Ms. Schakowsky).

Mr. McDERMOTT. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman who helped write this bill 4 years ago and is here today to defend it, the gentleman from California (Mr. Miller). (Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. McDERMOTT. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. McDERMOTT

Mr. McDERMOTT. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Rangel). (Mr. RANGEL asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. McDERMOTT. Madam Speaker, I yield myself 2 minutes. We are back in the theater of the absurd. What we are hearing right now is the sound of Republican heart rates going up: ``ObamaCare is coming.'' These last benefits are going to happen, like it or not. And worse, they are going to work. We are seeing the time-honored political tactic of confusion. The sleight of hand. Direct people's attention over here so they won't see what you are doing over there. Shout about delaying the employer mandate and confuse the people when the more corrosive bill comes next, the tool that makes reform possible: the individual mandate. Maybe they're so scared because it's already working. Washington, Oregon, and California are already reporting lower rates in 2014. Today, New York premiums were cut by 50 percent. Sick children are getting covered. Consumers are getting reimbursements from their insurers. There is no evidence of the sticker shock you will hear about. The promise we made Americans is being fulfilled and Republicans see a giant election map slowly losing red blocks. This bill isn't about employers. It's a frenetic expression of their anxiety over the President's signature legislation working. I thought 38 times trying to repeal it would be enough, but apparently not. We have got to try one more time. You haven't learned it isn't going to work. Do you know why there's no fuss in this town about these bills? Because the insurance industry knows it's all nonsense. They know it won't work without an individual mandate, and you will not get it repealed. We ought to just get on with it and vote ``no'' on this bill. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. McDERMOTT. Madam Speaker, I submit for the Record two records which show that hundreds of thousands of constituents in the First District of Wisconsin and the Eighth District of Texas would benefit from the Affordable Care Act. Benefits of the Health Care Reform Law in the 1st Congressional District of Wisconsin Committees on Energy and Commerce, Ways and Means, and Education and the Workforce Democratic Staff Report, July 2013 The landmark Affordable Care Act (ACA) began delivering important new benefits and protections to tens of millions of American families almost immediately after it was signed into law by President Obama. But the largest benefits of the law will become available to consumers on October 1, 2013, when health insurance marketplaces open in all 50 states. These marketplaces will offer individuals, families, and small businesses an efficient, transparent one-stop shop to compare health insurance policies, receive financial assistance, and sign up for high-quality, affordable, and secure insurance coverage. This fact sheet summarizes new data on the significant benefits of the health care reform law in Rep. Ryan's district. It also provides the first picture of the impacts of the law in districts redrawn or newly created following the 2010 Census. As a result of the law: 4,500 young adults in the district now have health insurance through their parents' plan. More than 9,800 seniors in the district received prescription drug discounts worth $14 million, an average discount of $650 per person in 2011, $730 in 2012, and $780 thus far in 2013. 123,000 seniors in the district are now eligible for Medicare preventive services without paying any co-pays, coinsurance, or deductible. 213,000 individuals in the district--including 50,000 children and 84,000 women--now have health insurance that covers preventive services without any co-pays, coinsurance, or deductible. 165,000 individuals in the district are saving money due to ACA provisions that prevent insurance companies from spending more than 20% of their premiums on profits and administrative overhead. Because of these protections, over 36,300 consumers in the district received approximately $1.8 million in insurance company rebates in 2012 and 2011. Up to 42,000 children in the district with preexisting health conditions can no longer be denied coverage by health insurers. 259,000 individuals in the district now have insurance that cannot place lifetime limits on their coverage and will not face annual limits on coverage starting in 2014. Up to 61,000 individuals in the district who lack health insurance will have access to quality, affordable coverage without fear of discrimination or higher rates because of a preexisting health condition. In addition, the 34,000 individuals who currently purchase private health insurance on the individual or small group market will have access to more secure, higher quality coverage and many will be eligible for financial assistance.

Mr. McDERMOTT. Madam Speaker, I yield back to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Levin).