Rep. Doggett on Repeal: For House Republicans, Putting Insurance Companies First Seems to be a Pre-Existing Condition

Full text of Rep. Doggett's remarks as delivered follow below:

The choice here is whether to give more money to insurance monopolies or leave a little bit in the pockets of middle class Americans. But for House Republicans, putting insurance companies first seems to be a pre-existing condition.

This bill isn't repeal and replace, it is repeal and forget— forget the health care needs of millions of Americans, forget the hundreds of billions of dollars that they, with this repeal, add to our federal debt.

Within a year, Allison, a 23-year-old inBastrop,Texas, who is completing her college degree and caring for her mother who faces another round of breast cancer, would lose her health insurance.

Emily from Wimberley, who is battling cancer herself, would now face lifetime limits on what doctor- recommended care her insurer will pay for and of course, if her husband loses or changes his job, she won't have any insurance at all.

And Charlotte, an Austin senior, she would have to pay more for prescriptions and preventive health care, while Republicans reduce the solvency of the Medicare Trust Fund by over a decade.

Family budgets could be crushed by this bill as health care costs remain the leading cause of credit card debt and bankruptcy. And this same devastating Republican bill would also hike the federal debt—that's why Republicans have rejected pay-as-you-go budgeting and instead will borrow from the Chinese to pay for today's actions.

Yes, repeal is a priority for the insurance companies and their apologists. Neither our family budgets nor our federal budget can afford it. I believe that every American family is entitled to a family doctor, not an appointment with a bankruptcy judge because of soaring healthcare costs.

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