Jackie Speier

Ms. SPEIER

Ms. SPEIER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Weiner).

Ms. SPEIER. I yield the gentleman 30 additional seconds.

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

Ms. SPEIER. Mr. Speaker, again, I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this resolution recognizing Women's History Month. Let me also suggest that we are all going to go down in history this weekend for the kinds of votes we take. If there ever was an issue on health care that must be addressed and is addressed in this bill, it is gender discrimination. And the dirty little secret in health care is that women have been discriminated against for decades in health insurance. In fact, a 22-year-old woman, a healthy 22-year-old woman is going to pay 150 percent more for her health insurance than a 22-year-old healthy man. A 40-year-old nonsmoking woman is going to pay more for her health insurance than a 40-year-old male smoker. Those are the kinds of discrimination that continue to exist in health care today that will not exist once we have health care reform. One in five women over 50 is not getting mammograms today. That will not be the case anymore because every woman in America will have access to those kinds of screenings. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. SPEIER. Mr. Speaker, to the gentleman who just spoke, I cannot understand how anyone seated in this Chamber today cannot appreciate the fact that the language from the Senate version of the bill already expands the Hyde language. Under the Senate version of the bill, a woman in the exchange paying for her insurance totally on her own is going to be required now to make out two checks: one for her insurance contribution and one for her abortion services should she ever need them.

Ms. SPEIER. Reclaiming my time, Mr. Speaker, I think it is very important for the American people to appreciate that the Hyde amendment is alive and well in this bill. In fact, it is extended in this bill. Many of us who are concerned about making sure that women have access to the services they need recognize that many of them are not going to access these services now because they are not going to have insurance to cover it. I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. SPEIER

Ms. SPEIER. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. SPEIER. Madam Speaker, the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Lance) just spoke rationally about the bill. He spoke about wanting to make sure that insurance would be available across State lines. I think he referenced, or someone else on the other side referenced having high risk pools available, that we should address preexisting conditions, and we should offer coverage to children of families up to the age of 26. What is so interesting is that all of those proposals, each and every one of those proposals, are included in the health care reform measure that we will all have the opportunity to vote on this weekend. Mr. Lance, if he has the courage to vote with the Democrats, would be improving coverage for over 500,000 residents in his district. He would be giving tax credits to 74,000 families and 18,000 small businesses. He would be improving Medicare for 96,000 people in his district. Those are the kinds of figures that speak to the American people. I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. SPEIER. Madam Speaker, in closing, I wish that the gentleman from Tennessee would have returned to the resolution that is before us in concluding his comments. We are here, as you know, to recognize the life and work of Donald Harington. And while we were trying to recognize the great work of an American novelist, we find ourselves drifting into a discussion of health care. But in any case, we are going to conclude this particular discussion by urging our colleagues to recognize the life and work of Donald Harington by supporting this measure. I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. SPEIER. Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Ms. SPEIER

Ms. SPEIER. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 4840) to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 1979 Cleveland Avenue in Columbus, Ohio, as the ``Clarence D. Lumpkin Post Office''.

Ms. SPEIER. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks.

Ms. SPEIER. I yield the gentleman 25 additional seconds.

Ms. SPEIER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Weiner).

Ms. SPEIER. I yield the gentlewoman 30 additional seconds.

Ms. SPEIER. I yield the gentlewoman 1 additional minute.

Ms. SPEIER. Mr. Speaker, I now yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Maine (Ms. Pingree).

Ms. SPEIER. Mr. Speaker, I would like to inquire how much time both sides have remaining.

Ms. SPEIER. I yield the gentleman 1 additional minute.

Ms. SPEIER. Mr. Speaker, I now yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Hastings).

Ms. SPEIER. Mr. Speaker, I find that we are incapable of doing what we were here to do, which was to pass a number of suspension measures, this one for Clarence Lumpkin. God bless him for having to listen to this debate, but we are, in fact, very supportive of this resolution. I just want to remind my colleagues that government-run programs are not bad, because Medicare is a government-run program, Medicaid is a government-run program. The veterans in this country embrace a health care program that is among the best in this country; again, a government-run program. Being government-run is a good thing. I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. SPEIER. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Tonko) as much time as he may consume.

Ms. SPEIER. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 4840, a bill designating the United States Postal facility located at 1979 Cleveland Avenue in Columbus, Ohio, as the Clarence D. Lumpkin Post Office. H.R. 4840 was introduced by my colleague, the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Tiberi) on March 12, 2010. It was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, which reported it by unanimous consent on March 18, 2010. It has bipartisan support from 17 Members of the Ohio delegation. Mr. Clarence Lumpkin was born in 1925 and spent years as a community activist in Columbus, Ohio. He is often affectionately referred to as the mayor of Linden, a neighborhood in the northeastern part of the city. Among his many accomplishments, Mr. Lumpkin has helped the Community Development Block Grant task force, persuaded the city to separate storm and sanitation sewers to stop basement flooding, led anti-drug marches throughout Columbus, made Linden the first inner city community with lights on every residential street, and improved the Linden area by including the Point of Pride concept that was first shared with city leaders in a speech given in 1974. Before moving to Linden, Mr. Lumpkin served in the United States Army, and he is a veteran of World War II. Madam Speaker, Clarence Lumpkin has spent his life serving his community and his country, doing everything he could to improve the lives of his fellow citizens. I urge my colleagues to join me in honoring this great American by supporting this resolution. I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. SPEIER. I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. SPEIER

Ms. SPEIER. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 244) expressing support for the designation of March 20 as a National Day of Recognition for Long-Term Care Physicians, as amended.