Phil Roe

Mr. ROE of Tennessee

Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 4983, the Strengthening Transparency in Higher Education Act. With the cost of a college education increasing, and outstanding student loan debt now at a staggering $1.2 trillion, it is more important than ever for students and their families to have the necessary information to make informed decisions about their educational pursuits. This legislation empowers students and their families by improving the dissemination of key information about colleges and universities through a consumer-tested college dashboard. This bill coordinates and streamlines information from multiple Federal agencies to assist students in comparing schools to determine which will best suit their unique needs. The only college completion rates currently available to students and their families are for the traditional, first-time, full-time student. At East Tennessee State University in my hometown, only about 60 percent of the students fit this description, leaving a significant portion of students not represented by the data. Completion rates for other groups of students, such as veterans and Pell Grant recipients, are included in the college dashboard to ensure that this information is representative of all students. Surprisingly, despite spending approximately $32 billion each year to provide Pell Grants to over 9 million students, we have little information about the educational outcomes for these students. By taking a more thorough look at the results this program is producing, we can improve the likelihood of student success. In addition to providing students and parents with better information, this bill will give us new tools to help strengthen the Pell Grants program, while ensuring it is a good investment for taxpayers. To ensure that resource is utilized, students will be provided links to the college dashboard for each prospective school they look at, thus providing this important information to them at the pinnacle of their college search. I thank the chairwoman and the ranking member on this bipartisan legislation, and I encourage its support.

Mr. ROE of Tennessee

Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of the conference report for H.R. 803, the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act. Today, 9.5 million Americans are out of work, despite 4.6 million job openings. As our economy changes, so too will the jobs available, and we will have seen more and more less-skilled workers and jobs being replaced by skills-intensive jobs. We have to make sure our workforce can keep up, or we will lose these jobs to countries that prioritize the development of these skills. H.R. 803 works to close the skills gap that prevents our workers from securing a job in a number of ways. The bill makes the job training system easier to use, and at one point, there were 40 different jobs training programs in the Federal Government whose missions often overlapped and left jobseekers confused. This legislation consolidates 15 ineffective or duplicative programs and makes the job of navigating a complicated bureaucracy easier for jobseekers. We reform workforce training boards to ensure that a majority of board members are from the business community--the job creators who know best what skills they need in their workforce. Madam Speaker, this legislation is a good first step to helping the unemployed, particularly those who have been out of work for many, many months. I encourage my colleagues to support this conference report and help our friends and neighbors get back to work.

Mr. ROE of Tennessee

Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, today I want to recognize the dedication of the Wolf Creek Bridge in Cocke County, Tennessee to Mr. Michael Gibbs. The Wolf Creek Bridge is one of East Tennessee's infrastructural treasures. Located in Cocke County, Tennessee, the original bridge was completed in February 1928 for a meager cost of $119,102. Having been through a series of repairs throughout its time, the Wolf Creek Bridge underwent its first major rehabilitation in April 2012 under the direction of the Tennessee Department of Transportation. The Wolf Creek Bridge is now larger than it has ever been at 30.8 feet across with lanes widened to 12 feet and 3 foot shoulders on either side. Thanks to this rehabilitation, this bridge, which has been an integral part of the region since its induction in 1928, is now better than it has ever been before. June 27, 2014 marked a new day in the history of the Wolf Creek Bridge, wherein the bridge was dedicated to one of the many soldiers from Tennessee that has given his life to the service of our nation and renamed Veterans Pass in Memory of Michael Gerald Gibbs. Michael G. Gibbs, a native of Del Rio, Tennessee, served in the United States Navy during the Vietnam War. On April 25, 1967 he made the ultimate sacrifice for the United States of America and was among the first casualties from Cocke County, Tennessee. His name on the Wolf Creek Bridge marks a significant union between those who have served our nation on the front lines through the military and those that have provided the necessary infrastructure and community support to keep America strong at its core. It is an honor to see the dedication of the Wolf Creek Bridge to the memory of Mr. Michael Gibbs, a true representation of the volunteer spirit.

Mr. ROE of Tennessee

Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I would like to associate my remarks with my friend, Mr. Cohen, from Memphis. Today, I rise and recognize Judge John Wilson of Tennessee's First District for his commitment to serving the Third Judicial District of Tennessee and our Nation. His dedication to freedom, liberty, justice, and many other principles that make our country great is both a testament to his character and an achievement to be proud of. Judge Wilson was born and raised in east Tennessee. He graduated from East Tennessee State University, located in my hometown of Johnson City, Tennessee, with his undergraduate degree, and graduated law school at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. Since his graduation from law school, Judge Wilson has served in the United States Air Force as an assistant district attorney and, most recently, as a circuit court judge for the Third Judicial District of Tennessee for 35 years, representing Greene, Hamblen, Hancock, and Hawkins Counties. Judge Wilson would be the first to say that he could not have done it without his lovely wife, Nancy, who has been by his side for 48 years. I am proud to call both of them my friends. I thank Judge Wilson for his service to our community, our State, and our Nation and wish him all the best in his well-deserved retirement.

Mr. ROE of Tennessee

Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to support the designation of June 20, 2014 as American Eagle Day and celebrate the recovery and restoration of the bald eagle, the national symbol of the United States. On June 20, 1782, the eagle was designated as the national emblem of the U.S. by the Founding Fathers at the Second Continental Congress. The bald eagle is the central image of the Great Seal of the United States and is displayed in the official seal of many branches and departments of the Federal Government. The bald eagle is an inspiring symbol of the spirit of freedom and the democracy of the United States. Since the founding of the Nation, the image, meaning and symbolism of the eagle have played a significant role in art, music, history, commerce, literature, architecture and culture of the United States. The bald eagle's habitat only exists in North America. I hope my colleagues will join in celebrating June 20, 2014 as American Eagle Day, which marks the recovery and restoration of the bald eagle.

Mr. ROE of Tennessee

Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker I thank the chairman. I rise in support of H.R. 4810, the Veteran Access to Care Act. As a physician, veteran, and member of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee, words cannot express my outrage over the VA's blatant disregard for the lives of those who served their country honorably and earned timely access to quality care. I have helped run a hospital and am fully aware of how wait times and performance goals work. When the VA set a 14-day goal for scheduling appointments, it should have become immediately apparent that this was unattainable and could only be realized by cooking the books. Even in the private sector, a 14-day wait time is quite ambitious. This bipartisan legislation offers a simple solution to a deadly problem. The needs of the vast majority of VA patients across the country can and will continue to be met through the existing VA system. But it is outrageous that veterans could die awaiting for care that is readily available in the private sector, so this is a commonsense solution and, frankly, the least we should do to help our veterans. As I said last night in the committee hearing, there is something the VA could do today to change the culture of the VA. If you asked someone who works on a VA campus where do they work, Mr. Speaker, they will say I work for the VA. They should say, the answer to that question should be, I work and serve veterans. I applaud the work that Chairman Miller, Ranking Member Michaud, and the committee staff have undertaken to hold the VA accountable.

Mr. ROE of Tennessee

Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. ROE of Tennessee. I would especially like to thank a couple of people, such as Jeff Miller, my friend from Hendersonville, North Carolina, who introduced me to Scott Stump and his colleagues at the National Desert Storm Memorial Association, for the legwork they have done in support of H.R. 503. Without their efforts, we wouldn't be standing here today. I also would like to thank Lieutenant Colonel Norbert from Canada, who is also in the audience today. I would also like to express my appreciation to Chairman Hastings and Chairman Bishop for their assistance in moving this legislation to the House floor. I encourage my colleagues to support this legislation and to honor the service of those who served in these operations.

Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I rise today as the proud sponsor of H.R. 503, the National Desert Storm and Desert Shield War Memorial Act. In the previous debate we heard just a moment ago about tyranny and the oppression of human rights, this bill honors those who fought this and freed an entire country--Kuwait. In having just celebrated Memorial Day, it is fitting that the House today is considering legislation which would establish a monument to honor those who served on active duty in support of Operation Desert Storm or Operation Desert Shield. 2014 marks 23 years since the first U.S. casualty in Operation Desert Shield, the first phase of one of the largest military operations in our country's history. The seeds for this conflict were sewn on August 2, 1990, when Saddam Hussein ruthlessly invaded Kuwait and imprisoned the people. In less than 24 hours, he dominated nearly 30 percent of the world's oil supply, before setting his sights on Saudi Arabia. Recognizing Saudi Arabia's important role in the region, President George Herbert Walker Bush and a coalition of 34 supporting countries launched Operation Desert Shield, the deployment of combat forces to Saudi Arabia, and ordered Hussein to remove Iraqi troops from Kuwait by January 15, 1991. With Kuwait still occupied after the deadline passed, over a half- million United States armed servicemembers led coalition forces in the liberation of Kuwait: Operation Desert Storm. Of the roughly 600,000 American troops who were deployed in both Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm, 294 died in theater, of which 148 were killed in action. The United States currently lacks a national memorial dedicated to the valor and sacrifices made by those members of our Armed Forces who protected two of our key regional allies. This sacrifice was not just borne by those who deployed, but also by their families on the home front. Believing that we should have an enduring monument to their service in the Nation's capital, I introduced the National Desert Storm and Desert Shield War Memorial Act. This bipartisan legislation would authorize the National Desert Storm Memorial Association to establish a National Desert Storm and Desert Shield War Memorial on Federal lands within the District of Columbia. It is important to note that no Federal funds will be spent to build this memorial. All funds will be raised privately by the National Desert Storm Memorial Association. I will include letters of support from veterans service organizations such as AMVETS, the American Legion, the Air Force Association, the National Guard Association of the United States, and Blinded Veterans of America. AMVETS Draft Resolution 14-08 Subject: Support the National Desert Storm Memorial Source: National Headquarters Whereas, on Aug. 2, 1990 Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait and set in motion a chain of events that would impact America and the rest of the world forever; and, Whereas, on January 16th 1991 Operation Desert Storm was launched following Saddam Hussein's refusal to withdraw his Iraqi forces from Kuwait; and, Whereas, there were 293 American men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice in extracting the Iraqis and liberating Kuwait; and Whereas, in 2011 we celebrated the 20th Anniversary of this historical conflict and yet there remains no national memorial to honor the brave men and women from the United States who served and sacrificed in that war; now therefore, be it resolved: That AMVETS do everything in its power to support the passage of HR 503, National Desert Storm and Desert Shield War Memorial Act.

Mr. ROE of Tennessee

Mr. ROE of Tennessee. I thank the chairman. Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong support of H.R. 10, the Success and Opportunity through Quality Charter Schools Act, and I am going to sound like a recording because you are going to hear a lot of the same themes in this. Today, there are an estimated 1 million students on waiting lists to attend public charter schools. These students and their families believe that their educational needs are not being met by their current schools. While many of our public schools are doing a great job, too many others are failing our children. These kids deserve the opportunity to receive a top-notch education, and they cannot wait as we work to improve these underperforming schools. They don't have the time. Public charter schools provide students with the opportunity to escape underperforming schools, while also giving parents more control over their children's education. To ensure more access to these innovative institutions, the Success and Opportunity through Quality Charter Schools Act supports the replication or expansion of existing high-quality charter schools. H.R. 10 streamlines and modernizes our charter schools program, providing our Nation's public charter schools with the flexibility needed to encourage innovation at the State and local levels. H.R. 10 supports the sharing of best practices between charter and traditional public schools. In this way, all public school students, not just charter school students, benefit from the innovation at these institutions. I am proud of the educators and students in my home State of Tennessee and of their accomplishments in improving education in our State. Since 2003, Tennessee has increased its high school graduation rate by 17 points to 87 percent. This is commendable, but it is not enough. We can and should do more, and charter schools must be part of the discussion. Since 2002, Tennessee has opened more than 45 charter schools, giving nearly 12,000 students the opportunity to attend these innovative institutions. Tennessee's public charter schools serve 87 percent low-income and 96 percent minority students from economically disadvantaged areas, providing school choice to the students who need it the most. Just like Tennessee, we, as a Nation, must fully embrace all of the tools available, including charter schools, to ensure our students' success. Mr. Chairman, I spent 24 years in the public school system. I never attended a private school. The opportunity for students like me who are first generation students--college students--to be able to get a great, basic public education is really the future of our country. I think our very future depends on that. Also, while I am here, I want to thank both the chairman, Ranking Member Miller, Mr. Polis, and the rest of the committee for circling around this extremely important piece of legislation because students in the first or second or third grade cannot afford a failing school. They have to be allowed to go into a school where they can be successful. With that, Mr. Chairman, I strongly urge my colleagues to support H.R. 10.

Mr. ROE of Tennessee

Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, today I hope to raise awareness of lymphedema, a debilitating disease for which no cure has yet been developed. Lymphedema is a blockage of lymph vessels that causes an accumulation of fluid, protein, and other cellular waste. This results in a swelling of the body in places where the blockage occurs. Though lymphedema can be passed down genetically, it most frequently occurs after surgical procedures to remove damaged lymph nodes or vessels. Often it is a tragic side-effect to cancer treatments, the highest risk occurring in breast and prostate cancer patients. Doctors can screen for lymphedema using a number of diagnostic tools, and early detection is important to minimize the effects of this disease. Lymphedema, sadly, is not curable, but it is treatable through compression, specially designed exercises, or, in some cases, surgery. One of my constituents, Jennifer Onks Hovatter of Johnson City, lost her husband Thomas to complications arising from lymphedema in 2007. Every year around June 18th--the day that Thomas passed away--Jennifer holds the Thomas Hovatter Lymphedema Awareness Day in memory of her husband. This year, Lymphedema Awareness Day is June 21. Jennifer's efforts to raise public recognition of this disease--which have been reported on by the Associated Press--led the Tennessee legislature to declare that the third week of June each year to be ``Lymphedema Awareness Week.'' I applaud Jennifer for her tireless work to bring awareness to lymphedema, and encourage all Americans to learn more about this condition.

Mr. ROE of Tennessee

Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong support of the House Republican budget. Today, our national debt exceeds $17.5 trillion. Mr. Chairman, that is a blueprint for decline--more than $55,000 for every man, woman, and child in America. If we fail to address this mounting debt now, our children and our grandchildren will inherit an America that will be poorer, less free, and provide fewer opportunities. To address this looming crisis, Republicans propose balancing the Federal budget in 10 years. Most Americans don't realize that discretionary spending has decreased 4 consecutive years, a tremendous accomplishment spurred on by House Republicans. Now we must show the same resolve to tackle our largest drivers of debt, mandatory programs, including Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security, and SNAP. We can achieve balance without reducing overall spending--let me say that again--we can achieve balance without reducing overall spending by simply slowing the rate of growth at which spending increases. We must spend hardworking taxpayer dollars smarter. Mr. Chairman, I am Medicare age, and I realize that for every dollar that we pay in in premiums, we get $3 out in benefits. This is clearly not sustainable. As a physician, I would like to commend Chairman Ryan for his continued efforts to save and strengthen Medicare. We must act to protect seniors' access to medical care before the Medicare trust fund becomes insolvent in 2026, a short time from now. This proposal achieves that goal while ensuring those Americans 55 and older experience absolutely no change. I urge my colleagues to support this very conservative budget.

Mr. ROE of Tennessee

Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, this bill would repeal ObamaCare's mandate on employers to provide insurance to all employees working at least 30 hours per week and would instead restore the traditional 40- hour standard. Everywhere I go, I hear concerns about the lack of jobs and the need for job creation. Tennessee's unemployment rate is still near 7 percent. We need to be doing everything possible to encourage employers to not only create jobs, but to maintain current jobs. That is why the 30-hour standard makes no sense. Employers are already struggling to make their budgets work in the stagnant Obama economy. We all know how the employers are forced to respond: by cutting hours or hiring fewer workers. There is concrete evidence this is already happening, not just in the private sector. In my own hometown, Johnson, Tennessee, where I was mayor before I came here, the city school system been forced to keep approximately 200 employees, including substitute teachers, below the 129 hours a month. This hurts the families that count on that income and the schoolchildren that benefit from the efforts of these adults. President Obama's case for defending this flawed law is built on a false premise: that there is no other way to help individuals who cannot afford health insurance or who have been affected by a catastrophic illness or disease. Mr. Speaker, I have spent my entire adult life as a physician taking care of people from all walks of life. I want every American to have access to an affordable health care plan, and I have worked since I arrived in Congress to develop patient-centered solutions to help people afford health care, like H.R. 3121, the American Health Care Reform Act. There are ways to reach this goal without creating massive new bureaucracies, spending $2 trillion, weakening the doctor-patient relationship, or increasing premiums for millions of hardworking Americans, but the President won't even engage in a conversation. So, in the meantime, we must do everything we can to protect the American people from this law. That is why I encourage my colleagues to support this bill.

Mr. ROE of Tennessee

Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that when the House adjourns today, it adjourn to meet at 9 a.m. tomorrow.

Mr. ROE of Tennessee

Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, this physician rises in strong support of H.R. 4015, the SGR repeal. This bicameral, bipartisan compromise will preserve seniors' access to needed medical care and give physicians certainty about how Medicare will pay them for their services. This bill also lays the groundwork for a gradual transition to a reimbursement system that rewards value instead of volume. The House, by passing H.R. 4015, will take a big step toward the permanent repeal of a flawed payment formula that has hampered physicians since 1997, but we can't allow the process to stop here. I encourage our Senate colleagues to pass a bill as soon as possible, so that we can move into conference and find a mechanism to repeal this bill. I would like to thank the members and staff of the committees for their tireless efforts on this bill, particularly my friend Dr. Mike Burgess, who has long championed this reform. I encourage my colleagues to support H.R. 4015. Mr. Speaker, the American Medical Association represents less than 20 percent of the physicians in this country.

Mr. ROE of Tennessee

Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlelady for yielding to me. I rise in support of the SIMPLE Fairness Act and a level playing field for all Americans. In the span of about 7 months, the Obama administration has taken action twice to provide big businesses with relief from the President's disastrous health care law. Working families, however, are still being forced to comply with the individual mandate. Over the last year, President Obama's broken promises on health care become almost too numerous to count. Americans were told that if they liked their health care plan, they could keep it. Tell that to the 82,000 Tennesseans who were forced out of their coverage by ObamaCare. Americans were told that ObamaCare would lower the cost of insurance. Explain that to the 11 million people that CMS has determined will have their premiums increase. We were told by the Democratic leader that ObamaCare would create jobs. I invite her to have a conversation with the workers at Mountain States Health Alliance in my district who lost their jobs. Even the CBO agrees that this law is discouraging work. Throughout the implementation of ObamaCare, the one thing the President has held firm on is that working families must buy insurance--or else. He has promised a veto on this commonsense legislation simply because it delays individual mandate penalties for 1 year. Here in the people's House, we should stand for their interests and treat people the same as big businesses. It is only fair. Madam Speaker, I would argue that if this bill is doing so well, why would only 34 percent of the people in this country approve of it? I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

Mr. ROE of Tennessee

Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Madam Speaker, as an OB/GYN physician who has delivered close to 5,000 babies, I strongly support the sanctity of life and, therefore, H.R. 7. Since 1976, Congress has prevented taxpayer funding for abortion. Unfortunately, this door was reopened with the passage of the Affordable Care Act. This misguided law, in addition to causing incredible harm to our health care system, has potentially put taxpayers on the hook for funding the termination of innocent life. That is why H.R. 7 is so important. It explicitly states that taxpayer dollars should not be used to fund abortions. I am not here today making a point. I am here on this floor as a physician, trying to save lives. Abortion is not a business our government should be involved in. As legislators, we carry the responsibility and privilege to protect those who do not have a voice. We must make our laws consistent with our science and ensure full legal protections to those who are waiting to be born. This starts with legislation like H.R. 7. One of our government's core functions is to protect the most innocent among us, and I will do my best to ensure that government fulfills its duty. I will always fight for the right to life because it is my belief that we are unique creations of God, who knows us and loves us even before we are born. I urge my colleagues to support this important rule.

Mr. ROE of Tennessee

Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, before I begin, I must spend a moment or two talking about Congressman Chris Smith, who has been down here for three decades of his life advocating for life tirelessly. This Nation and the unborn owe this man right here a gift of thanks and gratitude. And I do, Mr. Smith, thank you very much for your work and leadership in this. It is truly amazing. Mr. Speaker, it is with a heavy heart that I once again, in my 5 years in Congress, return to the House floor on this date, both as a father of three, a grandfather of two, and professionally an obstetrician and gynecologist. I have delivered close to 5,000 babies, and I strongly support the sanctity of life. Using technology like 3-D ultrasound has given us a window to the unborn as a living, breathing, feeling human being. I have looked through that window with my own eyes thousands of times. I have seen human development occur at its earliest stages of a baby's life all the way through birth, which strengthens my conviction in the right to life. I have lived in a small rural community in east Tennessee and watched these children I have delivered grow up to be doctors and nurses and professionals and teachers and to have their own children and families. Life is a precious miracle from God that does begin at conception. It is our responsibility and a privilege as legislators to protect those who don't have a voice. I will always fight for the right to life, because it is my conviction and belief that we are all unique creations of a God who knows us and loves us before we are even conceived. What a loving and caring God that is. Tonight we mark one of the most tragic, misguided Supreme Court cases in our Nation's history, ROE v. WADE. Since 1973, more than 55 million babies have been denied the right to life. We must make our laws consistent with our science and restore full legal protections to all who are waiting to be born. If government has any legitimate function at all, it is to protect those most innocent among us. For over 30 years, Congress has prevented taxpayer-funded abortions. Unfortunately, this door has been reopened with the passage of ObamaCare, the largest expansion since the pivotal ROE v. WADE decision. The Members who stand before you today have pledged themselves to protect those without a voice, and I look forward to working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to ensure this promise is kept. It is only by making good on this oath that we can expect to restore the trust that the American people have in their own government, and in doing so, ensure that the door to taxpayer-funded abortions remains closed. I am glad to be here tonight on the House floor with other legislators fighting for the rights of the unborn. Mr. Speaker, I prayerfully ask that hearts and minds are changed.

Mr. ROE of Tennessee

Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Just one comment. I tried today for the sixth time to get signed up, and I couldn't. So I am going back Thursday for the seventh time.

Mr. ROE of Tennessee. I thank the gentleman for yielding. I appreciate the opportunity to be down here on the House floor today to discuss, Mr. Speaker, this extremely important issue of health care. One of the reasons that it is so important is that it affects every single American citizen in a personal way. As Dr. Gingrey said, I spent 31 years practicing medicine and teaching in medical school in Johnson City, Tennessee. I know the thing that I saw as the biggest issue and problem in health care--and Dr. Gingrey did also--was the cost of care. I saw the cost going up, and I saw more and more people that didn't have access to affordable health insurance coverage. And I say this as a joke, but it is true. I have never seen a Republican or Democrat heart attack in my life. I have never operated on a Republic or Democrat cancer in my life, and I have operated on many of them. These are people issues. And why in the world we passed a partisan health care bill makes no sense to me whatsoever, Mr. Speaker. I never understood that for now going on 5 years later. We should have sat down in that bipartisan way and talked about, as Dr. Gingrey so eloquently explained, taking care of those 15 or 20 million people, whatever the number is. We could do that. Let me just give you some data from my own State. In 2011, we had 2\1/2\ percent of our children in our State who didn't have health insurance coverage. We are not a wealthy State, and about 10 percent of the population--1 in 10 Tennesseans--didn't have access to coverage. Not everybody had a Cadillac plan, but they had basic health coverage. We did this massive, 2,700-page bill, which I have read. I almost hate to admit that I have read it all, but I have. We did this with now tens of thousands of pages of rules that add absolutely no value for patients whatsoever. It doesn't pay for anybody's prescriptions. It doesn't pay for operations, hospitalizations, immunizations, and so on--none of those things. So, Mr. Speaker, I certainly see the need for health care reform--I totally agree with that--but on the premise that if we repeal the Affordable Care Act we will go back to where we were is not true at all. Again, let me say this--and I believe this to the core of what I did for 30-plus years, and I believe it today. It is that health care decisions should be made between a patient, that patient's family, and his doctor. They shouldn't be made by an insurance company. They shouldn't be made by a clerk at the insurance company. They shouldn't be made by the Federal Government. I think one of the problems with the rollout of the Affordable Care Act--and it was absolutely predictable what would happen when you listed the Essential Health Benefits. Mr. Speaker, if you had read the bill and if you had ever run a business, as I had, you would know that you make some changes in your health insurance. Every year, we did this. It was, maybe, the copay or the out-of-pocket or something that changed in that bill. Maybe it was a new procedure. If you the read the bill, it said, if those things changed in any significant way, you lost your grandfathered status. I apologize if Dr. Gingrey has already done this, but I want to read the Essential Health Benefits that are required for you to buy and purchase. There are 10 categories: ambulatory patient services; emergency services; hospitalization; maternity and newborn services. Let me just point out that one of my friends who is a sheriff-- Sheriff Seals in Sevier County, Tennessee--came to me the other day when I was visiting there. He said he had a friend who had just lost her insurance because she is 55 years of age and has had a hysterectomy. Her insurance plan, which met all of her needs, did not include maternity coverage, so she lost her health insurance, as almost 90,000 Tennesseans have done. Mental health and substance abuse disorder services, including behavioral health treatment; prescription drugs; rehabilitative and habilitative services; devices; laboratory services; preventative and wellness services; chronic disease management; pediatric services, including oral and dental and vision care. Those are things that you have to have in a plan or you lose your coverage. Remember now that this is only affecting about 18 or 20 million people. Next year, when the employer mandate kicks in--the employer reporting requirement kicks in--many people on ERISA, or if you get health insurance through your job, through your work--if you don't hit these benchmarks, guess what? You're going to lose grandfathered status. That is why these staggering numbers are 50 to 100 million people, because, right now, Mr. Speaker, about 160 million people and their families in our country get insurance through their employment. So that is what we are facing. Now, we mentioned what the Affordable Care Act promised it would do, and Dr. Gingrey has pointed this out very well. He has pointed out the promises that were made: Universal coverage, that we are going to cover everybody. It didn't do that; No new taxes on the middle class. Boy, is that ever something that wasn't true; An annual savings of $2,500. We have heard the President say that on numerous occasions. That is not true; No increase in the deficit. We already know that this bill is going to cost some two or three times what it was purported to cost; Then I think the most famous one we have all heard now enough times is that, if you like your doctor, you can keep him. If you like your health insurance plan, you can keep it. Not true. We were tasked on the Republican Study Committee, the health committee, to come up with a market-centered approach to health care, which would include no new taxes, no mandates, and would maintain the doctor-patient relationship. It is a very short bill of 180 pages. It had been reviewed, back during the Bush administration, to increase by 9 to 11 million people who would have health insurance and, we think, far more than that. There are six titles to this bill, and they are very simple to understand: One is to overturn the Affordable Care Act. That is No. 1. No. 2 is to equalize the tax treatment between an individual and a company. What does that mean? I will use myself as an example. When I worked for my medical group, my health insurance was deductible. I then retired from that group to run for Congress, and when I then had to go buy health insurance, I had to pay first dollar. I couldn't deduct it. This simply says, if you are an individual out there or a farmer or a small business person, you get to deduct your health expenses just exactly like a huge company like Dow Chemical can do. So it treats you the same as an individual. That is a mistake that was made 60 years ago in the tax law that we correct. We massively expand health savings accounts. I use a health savings account. What is that? It is when you put pretax dollars away in your own account, and if you don't spend them on health care, you get to keep them. I will use myself as an example again. We had a health savings account for 2 years that we started 7 years ago. I still have $6,000 in that account that I can use for preventative services, for buying prescription drugs--for lots of things that my insurance doesn't cover. If it is above a $5,000 deductible, my insurance is 100 percent covered--all the costs. Guess who would have had that $6,000 if I didn't have it? The insurance company would have had it as a profit. This allows you and your doctor to make those decisions. We expand those to veterans, to seniors. We also do medical liability reform. Dr. Gingrey has a wonderful bill that we do that for. We also allow you to buy across State lines. The only insurance you cannot purchase is health insurance across a State line. You can buy life, fire. I, personally, have never seen an insurance agent. I have always used the Web, and have bought my insurance across State lines. You can do that, and you can form association health plans. Let's say large church groups want to get together. Instead of small churches at which there is one pastor or two, you can join with larger churches and groups across, maybe, an entire region of the country and get thousands of people. That helps take care of preexisting conditions, and we also have a high-risk pool for preexisting conditions. Lastly, there is no funding for abortion services. So it is a very simple bill. It is patient-centered and market- oriented, and it will work.

Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Just a couple of points I would like to make, Dr. Gingrey. This bill is not perfect, and it is open for amendment, as opposed to the Affordable Care Act that was not open for amendment. As I recall-- you and I were both here then; that was my first term--when we had that debate, some 80 amendments were brought to the Rules Committee here and none of them--none, zero--was ruled germane to the bill. As Dr. Bucshon was speaking, there were nine of us physicians in the Doctors Caucus 5 years ago. Not one of us was consulted about the health care bill. Really rather astonishing, I thought. And to Congresswoman Ellmers--she made a point a minute ago and wasn't as passionate about it as I am--I think one of the most arrogant things I have heard stated in this town was that what you have bought that you like is no good. I still find that amazing that somebody--a talking head--could be on television and say with a straight face, not knowing what I purchased that I am perfectly happy with, that it is no good. That is beyond arrogance. We have heard people over and over in this town say that very thing. That is why people are turning against this. When you tell me when I have sat down with my family and worked out what I can buy, and it seems to work for me just fine, that it is no good, that I know what is better because I have got it right here that you have to buy, that is the height of arrogance. I just was a little more passionate about it.

Mr. ROE of Tennessee

Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman, and I rise in support of the Keep Your Health Plan Act. This bill is important for many people in my district, including Joann. Joann lives in Limestone, Tennessee, and because her policy doesn't meet the minimum requirements set by ObamaCare, she has been forced to buy a more expensive health care plan. Her premiums will rise from about $95 a month to $200 a month. Joann thought $95 was affordable, but $200 not. Despite promises of more affordable health care, this law is making insurance unattainable for many across my home State. BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee, our State's largest insurer, has announced it will be forced to send 66,000 cancelation notices to my fellow Tennesseeans because of ObamaCare; a Medicaid plan called Cover Tennessee, another 16,000 lose their care. Mr. Speaker, it is well past the time for President Obama to work with Members of Congress to provide relief to families hurting because of this law. I urge my colleagues to support the Keep Your Health Plan Act.

Mr. ROE of Tennessee

Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I would like now to mention a couple of things and to talk about this a little bit. We don't have a lot of time left, but it is extremely important. I know that both of my colleagues on the House floor tonight have taught in medical schools and that we have a huge problem in this country with graduating enough doctors and educating them. Let me give you an example. When you graduate from medical school, you are not then prepared to go out and practice. You need to go and either do your specialty training or surgery--or whatever it may be--or a family practice residency or a primary care residency. In my small town of Johnson City, Tennessee, we have lost about 50 primary care residency slots. Those are 50 primary care doctors per year who are going to have to look elsewhere for residencies. Last year, for the first time in my lifetime, we had over 1,000 young students graduate from medical school--with huge debt--who could not find residency programs. Those are 1,000 students who are doing something this year before they can get into the residencies they need in order to be able to train to take care of us as patients. The American Medical Association and others have said, in the next 10 years, we will have 90,000 too few doctors to see us. We all know what that means. That means that we wait longer and longer to see the doctor. I think it is a tragedy that is out there that we have young doctors--and I can't imagine graduating from medical school when I did, Mr. Speaker, and not being able to find a slot. The reason that has happened is that Medicare pays a certain amount-- a cap that they put on--for residencies to train young doctors. Then hospitals and universities, through their endowments and other income, put more money in to help train these doctors. What has happened is, because of the Affordable Care Act, the hospitals are getting less money, and they are having to look to cut. That is why they are cutting their staffs, and that is why they are cutting residency programs and are delaying training. Folks, let me tell you that, downstream, Mr. Speaker, this is a very, very bad thing for us and for the health care of this Nation. I now would like to yield to Dr. Gingrey from Georgia.

Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Then how do you answer to her that the pundits that we heard all last week and some of our colleagues here on the House floor, including the President, who said these were substandard plans that these individuals' plans were? And I have just heard you say, Dr. Harris, three or four times that people were perfectly satisfied; they met their needs.

Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, we are here for the next hour to discuss the Affordable Care Act with my colleagues and my cochair of the Doctors Caucus, Dr. Gingrey, a fellow OB/GYN from Georgia. I thank the gentleman for being here today. We are going to break this hour up into several segments and talk about, number one, how the Affordable Care Act was initiated, how it actually came to be. Two, the promises that were made by the President and the Democratic Party about what the Affordable Care Act would do. The failures, which I think are probably fixable of the Web site--if, in 1969, we put a man on the Moon with a slide rule and a handheld adding machine, surely we can get a Web site to work in the year 2013. If we cannot overcome that, we are in trouble. Number four, I want to discuss something very near and dear to my heart, because I participated in this for years, which is medical education. I will go into this in more detail. We have a huge doctor shortage in America today, and it is getting worse. A major university in my State, Vanderbilt University, this past year, that university has lowered their workforce by approximately 1,300 people--it will, by the end of this year. It is very disconcerting for those people who lost good-paying jobs. We have had hospitals close in our region. We have had layoffs in our area, in the health care industry, for the first time in my medical lifetime, which has been over 40 years as a physician now. Also very distressing to me as a doctor and as a faculty member of the College of Medicine at East Tennessee State University, the Quillen College of Medicine and Vanderbilt University are reducing their class size by 10 percent. They are also reducing the number of the M.D./Ph.D.s that they have. These are our future researchers to find the great cures for diseases in the future. There is a pipeline out there, and we certainly know that a vast number of our senior doctors are considering, or have retired, as my own personal physician has done, due to the effects of the Affordable Care Act. So we will discuss that in more detail. I think, also, we need to discuss and focus on the new taxes, and also, on the effects on business. Then lastly, perhaps--hasn't been discussed much recently, the effects on Medicare, quite frankly, with $700 billion being cut from Medicare. There is one particular part, Mr. Speaker, of this bill that Dr. Gingrey and I have worked on closely together in the Medicare portion of the Affordable Care Act that is called the Independent Payment Advisory Board. It hasn't gotten a lot of press because it hasn't affected any seniors yet. It's a board, an independent board, independent of Congress, that will determine how Medicare dollars are spent, and we will go into that if we have time in more detail toward the end of the hour. I think that is one of the most egregious parts of this bill when it comes to our seniors, and we are adding 10,000 new seniors per day, each and every day, over 3 million per year, with a decreasing number of physicians and less money in that very-needed program that needs reform. Let's go back, Dr. Gingrey, approximately, 4 years when we were here on the House floor debating this bill--and the premise of the Affordable Care Act I completely agree with, which is to lower costs and increase access to care. That is a noble, noble goal to have, and I still share that goal to this day. There were three committees of jurisdiction in the House of Representatives that looked at the Affordable Care Act: the Ways and Means Committee; Energy and Commerce; and the committee I serve on, Education and the Workforce. Those committees had a bill brought forth by the House of Representatives. It was voted on, debated in the various committees, brought to the House floor, and was voted on in a straight party-line vote. That particular bill did not include the IPAB and some other things that are in the permanent bill, the so-called ObamaCare, or the Affordable Care Act. The Senate then voted on Christmas Eve, I believe it was 2009, brought a bill back over here the following month. We debated it again on the House floor for a very short time and, famously, our then- Speaker said we had to read the bill to find out what was in it. Well, guess what I did? It is a 2,600, 2,700-page bill, but I felt that a bill that affected ever American citizen in a very personal way deserved my attention, so I read that bill, and the surprises that you are seeing now I have been talking about now for 3\1/2\ years, as have my colleagues on the Doctors Caucus and others on our side of the aisle, and many, quite frankly, recently, in a bipartisan way. The only thing bipartisan about the Affordable Care Act was its opposition. I think some 32 Democrats voted against that bill. So it comes as no surprise to me when the President says--and we will go over the broken promises in a minute--it comes as no surprise to me when the President says, if you like your health insurance, you can keep it. That wasn't going to happen. Why did I know that? Let's go over the promises that were made. Number one was universal coverage. I quote. This is the President saying this. He wasn't the President then, but this was in June of 2007. I will sign a universal health care bill into law by the end of my first term as President that will cover every American. Well, that is a promise that hasn't been fulfilled. It does increase access by a massive expansion of Medicaid, and we will go through the Medicaid expansion in just a minute, about why some States chose to do it and why our State of Tennessee has chosen not to. And there are very good reasons why these Governors have chosen not to. There are a host of unintended consequences of this bill that we are dealing with today. The decreased payments to our hospitals have forced some of our rural hospitals and, certainly, where I live in rural America, has put great strain on these hospitals. Even in the more major medical center areas, as I pointed out, at Vanderbilt University, and many others, I have talked to colleagues today in Indiana who have experienced the same scenario. So the promises that were promised, there would be no new taxes on the middle class--here is the President's quote: I can make a firm pledge under my plan: no family making less than $250,000 a year will see any form of tax increase; not your income tax, not your payroll tax, not your capital gains tax, not any of your taxes. That was September 12, 2008. The third promise, and this is one that anybody who has studied health insurance and has dealt with it in private business, as I have, knew was not going to be possible, was the outrageous claim that, by the end of his first term, that premiums would decrease by $2,500 a family. I mean, anybody would know better than that that has ever run a business. This is the quote: We will lower premiums up to $2,500 for a typical family per year. We will do it by the end of my first term as President of the United States. That was June 5, 2008. The next promise was there would be no increase in the deficit. No increase in the deficit. Here is the President's promise: I will not sign a plan that adds one dime to our deficits. That was Promise Number Four. And the last one, Promise Number Five, is, you can keep your plan if you like it, and here is the quote: ``If you like your doctor''--which, by the way, I like my doctor a lot; I went to medical school with him--``you will be able to keep your doctor, period. If you like your health care plan, you will be able to keep your health plan, period.'' Well, let me point out at the end of that period, that people who work for me now in this congressional office have lost their plan, so that is not true: No one will take it away, no matter what. Well, I certainly don't see that as being true. The failure of the Web site rollout, we will get into that a little later. I think that, as I said, certainly, if we can't correct a Web site, if we can't build a Web site, I have no faith that this plan will ever be workable. I would now like to yield some time to my good friend and colleague from Georgia. We have been joined by Dr. Paul Broun, also from Georgia, a family practitioner, but I would like to turn it over now to Dr. Phil Gingrey from Georgia.