Jackie Speier

Ms. SPEIER

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

Ms. SPEIER

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

Ms. SPEIER. I now yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H. Con. Res. 244, a bill recognizing the work of our Nation's long-term care physicians. Millions of Americans with disabilities or chronic illnesses require long-term medical care. The medical professionals who provide this care commonly address multiple chronic conditions and develop strong, compassionate, and trusting relationships with their patients. Long- term care is often required by Americans in advanced age; and as this population increases, the demands for these services will obviously be increasing as well. However, all of us of any age are susceptible to illnesses, injuries, and conditions that require long-term care, so we all have a stake in this. All Americans should be grateful for the hard work of these dedicated professionals. In particular, H. Con. Res. 244 recognizes the work of the American Medical Directors Association, the professional association for long- term care physicians officially chartered in 1978. H. Con. Res. 244 was introduced by my colleague, the gentleman from Georgia, Representative Phil Gingrey, on March 2, 2010. The measure was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, which reported it favorably by unanimous consent on March 18, 2010. The bill enjoys the support of over 50 Members of the House. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this measure, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. SPEIER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. And I would like to just say to the gentleman from Georgia, as much as we are talking about the great work of long-term care physicians, it is important to note, as he expresses his disdain for the health care reform measure, that the American Medical Association, made up of thousands upon thousands of physicians across this country, stands in strong support of the health care reform measure. I reserve my time.

Ms. SPEIER. I yield.

Ms. SPEIER. Mr. Speaker, as we again debate this health care reform measure, which is not the measure that is before us presently, but a resolution to promote long-term care physicians, I would just like to point out that while the bishops may not support the language in the Senate bill, the network which is comprised of tens of thousands of Catholic nuns across the country does support the language. So maybe it's the nuns versus the priests, and I would side with the nuns.

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

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

Ms. SPEIER. Madam Speaker, as we discuss this resolution on recognizing the long-term care physicians, my colleagues on the other side of the aisle keep wanting to debate the health care reform measure, so I feel it is incumbent on me to at least shed some light from our perspective on why this is so very important to the American people. And as we look at the health care professionals who are supporting the health care reform measure, I would like to just list a few of them. The American Medical Association, the AARP, the Catholic Health Association, the Federation of American Hospitals, the National Association of Public Hospitals and Health Systems, the American College of Physicians, the National Hispanic Medical Association, and the list goes on and on. All of these health care professionals can't be wrong. I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. SPEIER. Madam Speaker, I would like to yield to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Woolsey) such time as she may consume.

Ms. SPEIER. I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Yarmuth).

Ms. SPEIER. Madam Speaker, I find this discussion somewhat hypocritical, to say the very least. We are here discussing the long- term care physicians and elevating them and talking about how necessary they are for the aging population in this country, and many of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle took the opportunity to start talking about the health care reform measure. Well, guess what, my colleagues on the other side of the aisle? The long-term care physicians of America have endorsed health care reform. So don't use them as some means by which you can debate health care reform when they're the very physicians that support this legislation. I reserve the balance of my time. Announcement by the Speaker Pro Tempore

Ms. SPEIER. Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Ryan).

Ms. SPEIER. I yield 1 additional minute to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Ryan).

Ms. SPEIER. Madam Speaker, you know, there's something very ironic about the fact that when we are honoring long-term care physicians, that they have become the pawn by the Republicans to have a discussion on health care reform and--oh, by the way, the long-term physicians that they want to applaud are endorsing the health care reform legislation. I have a story I want to share with my colleagues. It's about a constituent who has two children, a family of four. Their health insurance premium was $560 a month 4 years ago. Their health insurance premium today is $2,008 a month. The irony of this particular story is that the father is an emergency room doctor, and he gets his health insurance from Anthem Blue Cross. And, oh, by the way, Anthem Blue Cross negotiated a contract with him as an emergency room doctor where they require that he take a 60 percent discount in the fees that he was charging. So what that should say to all of us is that the Anthem Blue Crosses of the world aren't spending the money on health care. They're spending the money on CEOs' salaries and bonuses and Wall Street; and that's why health care reform is so critical today. So I urge my colleagues to join me in recognizing the work of our Nation's long-term care physicians who endorse health care reform by supporting this measure. I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. SPEIER

Ms. SPEIER. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 1174) supporting the goals and ideals of National Women's History Month.

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

Ms. SPEIER. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H. Res. 1174, a bill supporting the goals and ideals of National Women's History Month. This resolution was introduced by my distinguished colleague, the gentlewoman from California, Representative Lynn Woolsey, on March 11, 2010. It was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, which ordered it reported by unanimous consent on March 18 of this year. It enjoys wide support from over 120 Members of the House, and I am pleased to be an original cosponsor of the measure. Mr. Speaker, as recently as the 1970s, women's history was rarely covered in the kindergarten through grade 12 curriculum. Since the late 1970s, the concerted efforts of education commissions, historical societies, and others have increased recognition of the roles and accomplishments of women in history of the United States of America. These efforts included the establishment of Women's History Week back in 1978, which this body formally acknowledged in 1981. In 1987, the national celebration was expanded to the entire month of March. These celebrations have initiated new interests in highlighting the history of women in America, and it is most appropriate that we recognize Women's History Month here today with this resolution of appreciation. Mr. Speaker, women make history in this country every day, from our very own Speaker Pelosi and the Members of the House and Senate from both sides of the aisle, to the Supreme Court justices, to women scientists, CEOs, Nobel Prize winners, Olympians, teachers, writers, doctors, and leaders in every profession. In November of 2008, voters in New Hampshire elected 13 women, a majority, to their State Senate, making it the country's first State- level legislative body with more women than men. Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in taking a moment to recognize Women's History Month by supporting this measure. I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. SPEIER. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlelady from California (Ms. Woolsey), the author of this resolution, such time as she may consume.

Ms. SPEIER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Weiner).

Ms. SPEIER

Ms. SPEIER. I just want to say how proud I am to be associated with all of you tonight, because this is one issue that has gotten very little attention in this health care debate--the bald-faced discrimination against women in health care--and it's been going on forever. I just want to share a couple of stories that happened when I was serving in the California Legislature, trying to improve reproductive health for women. And it's all about our organs. It's all about our plumbing. The first issue dealt with contraceptive pills and prescription drug benefits in California. Basically, the bill said that if you were offering a prescription drug benefit, you can't discriminate against one class of drugs, and only one class of drugs was discriminated against. It was contraceptive bills. I carried the bill 1 year. It got to the Governor's desk, and he said, Oh, it's too costly. And then by the insurance industry's own estimates, they found that it was $1 per month per employee. Then we rounded a second year and a third year, and finally in the fourth year, we were successful in getting contraceptive coverage included in prescription drug benefits. But I can't take any credit for it. You know who I give credit to? Pfizer Pharmaceutical. Because in that year, they introduced VIAGRA. And guess what? Instantly VIAGRA was covered in prescription drug benefits in California, even though it was twice as costly or, depending on how many times a month you had to use it, far more costly. It was a lifestyle drug; yet that was covered immediately, and contraceptive pills, we had to fight for 4 years to get it into California law. So there has consistently been discrimination against women in health care, and it's high time that we opened women's eyes wide so they see that, for the first time ever in this country, we're going to stop that form of discrimination. I just want to applaud you for what you're doing here tonight.

Ms. SPEIER

Ms. SPEIER. Mr. Speaker, I also want to thank Congresswoman Woolsey for her impassioned and principled leadership not only on this issue but so many issues facing Americans. To loosely paraphrase Judy Collins, We have looked at health insurance reform from both sides now--from insurance companies and consumers, from Wall Street and families, from Republicans and Democrats. But there has been something missing from the debate. This evening I would like to ask the question: What's a woman worth? Just how important is it to make sure that quality, affordable health care is affordable to the grandmothers, the mothers, the daughters, and sisters who are responsible for 80 percent of a family's health care decisions; 64 percent of a families' budgets; who represent 79 percent of the health care providers in this country. What is a woman worth? Is a woman worth as much as a man? One would think so, unless, of course, one was considering our current health care system, a system where women pay higher health care costs than men. Now, believe it or not, in 60 percent of the most popular health care plans in this country, a 40-year-old woman who has never smoked will pay more for health insurance than a 40-year-old man who has smoked. A lower percentage of working women receive employer-based health care. It is a system where health situations that affect only women, such as maternity care and mammograms, are less likely to be covered than common male procedures. In fact, 90 percent of individual policies available to 30-year-old women don't cover maternity care. Now, believe it or not, that is true. Ninety percent of the health insurance policies in this country available to women 30 years of age don't cover maternity care. Now think about this: this Chamber is filled with Members who claim to be pro-family and yet defend a system where women have to pay out of pocket to have a baby. Many more women are denied coverage due to preexisting conditions than men. Why are they denied? They're denied because they are women. If you are the one in three women in America who has had a C-section, that becomes a preexisting condition, and you're not going to get health insurance again. If being one in eight of the American women who is diagnosed with breast cancer, that becomes a preexisting condition, and God help it if you have to go into the individual market and get health insurance, because you just won't; or even being the one in four American mothers, daughters, and sisters who is a victim of domestic violence. Imagine having been declined health insurance because your spouse or significant other has beaten you--and may do it again. And because that significant other or spouse may do it again, you can't get health insurance. As a result of these and other factors, women are more likely to be uninsured or underinsured. And more than half of the women have delayed or skipped needed medical care due to the high cost of treatment. So I ask again: What is a woman worth? Is a woman worth a health care system that encourages preventative care by eliminating copays for recommended services such as mammograms and maternity care? Is a woman worth a health care system that bans annual and lifetime caps? Is a woman worth a health care system that prohibits insurers from charging us more than men? Is a women worth a health care system that covers maternity services, outlaws preexisting conditions, and dropping patients who become ill, and limits out-of-pocket expenses to prevent the 62 percent of bankruptcies caused by medical bills? I think women are worth that and much, much more. As a matter of fact, women are worth their elected officials showing some backbone to stand up to the multimillion-dollar misinformation campaigns to do what's right and reform a health care system that is unfair, inefficient, and unavailable to far too many American women.

Ms. SPEIER

Ms. SPEIER. Madam Speaker, it's time for us to stop talking in generalities and gibberish. It's time to start talking about real people and their real experiences. One thing all of us can agree on is that we trust our doctors. I just received a letter from a doctor in my district, Michael Bresler, who is an ER doc. Four years ago, his insurance premium to Anthem Blue Cross for his family of four was $539 a month. This year that same policy will cost him $2,008 a month, a 373 percent increase since 2006. What makes this especially hard to take is that in 2005, Dr. Bresler and his practice were forced by Blue Cross to accept a contract with a 60 percent reduction in payments. Dr. Bresler calls Anthem Blue Cross ``robber barons.'' I assume he uses harsher language when he is not corresponding with Congress. Madam Speaker, this is not a fight among Democrats and Republicans. This is a fight between robber barons, the insurance industry, and American doctors, families and working people.

Ms. SPEIER

Ms. SPEIER. Madam Speaker, every American can do something to address some of the most pressing issues facing our nation today--health care, energy independence, the obesity epidemic--simply by riding a bicycle or taking a walk. That is why I commend the County of San Mateo and other cities in the 12th Congressional District of California for joining in the ``Streets Alive'' celebration as part of World Health Day festivities on April 11, 2010. This worthwhile endeavor is part of ``1000 Cities, 1000 Lives,'' an international project to enlist 1000 local governments around the globe to open streets and public spaces to pedestrians and bicyclists as a worldwide message of cooperation and commitment to healthy and active living. I have the extreme privilege of representing one of the most beautiful areas in our nation, yet too many of us only see it while stuck in traffic. This is an excellent opportunity to slow down, get some exercise, visit with neighbors and soak in the local treasures that attract so many to the Peninsula in the first place. Madam Speaker, I commend the forward-thinking leaders of San Mateo County for participating in such a worthwhile event and urge my constituents and all Americans to celebrate World Health Day on April 11 by biking or walking through their community. They and the world will be healthier for it.

Ms. SPEIER

Ms. SPEIER. Mr. Speaker, my mother, Nancy Kanchelian, was born in 1915 in Fresno, California, the same year the Ottoman Empire began its systematic killing and deportation of millions of her fellow Armenians and members of her own family. A year ago this week, my mother passed away at the age of 93. And for her entire life on Earth, her country, the United States of America, refused to officially acknowledge what we know to be true. Our own Ambassador to Armenia at the time, Henry Morgenthau, informed the Secretary of State: `` . . . excesses against peaceful Armenians is increasing, and it appears that a campaign of race extermination is in progress.'' Mr. Speaker, the facts here are not in dispute. The one thing left to question is not whether the Armenian genocide took place but, rather, if we in this Chamber have the moral and political backbone to stand for truth. The House Foreign Affairs Committee will have the opportunity this week to pass H. Res. 252 and stand up for truth.