Transcript of Pelosi, Hoyer, Clyburn Press Conference with Americans Benefiting from the Affordable Care Act
Washington, D.C. - Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer and Assistant Democratic Leader James E. Clyburn held a press conference ahead of the House GOP vote to take away protections for millions of Americans. The press conference featured the stories of Americans that have been personally impacted by the benefits of the Affordable Care Act. Below is a transcript of the press conference:
Leader Pelosi. Good afternoon everyone. Good afternoon, thank you all for being with us this afternoon. I'm honored to be here with the Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer, our Assistant Democratic Leader Jim Clyburn. Also with our participants Bill Cea, Christine Farley, Emily Schlichting, Aracely Rodriguez, and Jamal Lee. Mr. Hoyer will be introducing them more fully in a moment.
More than two years ago, many of you were there for all of this and have been with us since, we put forth a vision for the middle class - to make health care a right, not a privilege, for all Americans. Today, as they've done more than 30 times this Congress, Republicans will vote to take away that right. So, what is the takeaway from this debate? The takeaway is the rights and protections Republicans will take away from millions of Americans. Today, up to 17 million children with pre-existing conditions have the right to health coverage. Republicans will take away the right from America's children and their parents. Today, all young adults have the right to stay on their parents' plans. Republicans want to take away that right from millions of students and young people. Today, millions of seniors and retirees are saving billions on their prescription drugs and have access to free annual wellness visits under Medicare. Republicans want to take away those savings and protections from America's seniors. Today, small business owners across the country are using tax credits to cover themselves and their employees. That's about two million people already. When the bills even fully in effect, Republicans want to take away those credits.
Today, all women have free coverage for life-saving preventive care like mammograms. Starting in August, these women will also gain free access to a full package of preventive services. And soon, being a woman will not be a pre-existing medical condition. Republicans want to take away these protections for America's women.
Nothing speaks more eloquently to the importance of health care reform than the stories of these Americans who are with us today. We hope our Republican colleagues think of their stories, and the millions more like them, before they cast a vote to take away their rights and protections. The Affordable Care Act is about strengthening our middle class and honoring the entrepreneurial spirit of America. It is about innovation, prevention, and wellness. It is not just about health care; it's about a healthy America. This law is about reigniting the American dream and living up to the vows of our Founders of ‘life,' a healthier life, ‘liberty,' and the freedom to purse happiness as you see it, according to your talents, your aspirations, your skills, and your passions. Now, to keep fulfilling that promise, Republicans must stop this effort to take away patient protections from the American people. We must work together on Americans' top priority, which is the creation of jobs. This health care bill creates four million jobs, but there are many other job initiatives in Congress that they have obstructed. Let's stop this legislation to nowhere that they have on the floor today. Let's get with building an initiative for job creation.
With that I'm pleased to yield to my distinguished colleague from the state of Maryland, the Democratic Whip of the House, Steny Hoyer.
Whip Hoyer. Thank you very much. Thank you very much, Madam Leader. I am pleased to be here with you as we, on behalf of the American people say: ‘make sure that we have access to affordable, quality health care.' That's necessary for us, it's necessary for our family, and as the Leader has said, it's necessary for the health of our nation. I'm very pleased that we're joined by so many real people - you know they don't think we're real people, you guys are real people and we're very pleased to have you here. We have Bill Cea, who is a retired New York social-studies teacher who's going to be speaking. We have Christine Farley, a mom with a child with a pre-existing condition. We have Emily Schlichting, who is very concerned and advantaged by having the ability to be on her family's health care program, but under 26. Small business owner Jamal Lee is here to talk about what it's meant to him and his small business. And Aracely Rodriguez is here as well to talk about preventive care for women.
With millions still out of work and families struggling to make ends meet, Republicans are responding how? By voting to take away critical health care protections for people. Polls show a clear majority of Americans want Congress to move on from the health care issue and spend time focusing on creating jobs, four million of which will be created by this health care bill, as the Leader has pointed out, and moving our economic recovery forward. It's unfortunate. It's unfortunate that the Republican leadership has chosen to set jobs aside, not just this week, but essentially every week that they've been in charge. They've set jobs aside to spend time on partisan messaging only. This bill will have a real and devastating impact on Americans if it were adopted. It won't be. They know it won't be. This is the 31st time we've considered this issue. It hasn't gone anywhere. It won't go anywhere. It will make it legal if it passed, once again, for insurance companies to discriminate against 17 million children with pre-existing conditions. We're going to hear a little bit about that. It will cause 40 million Americans to lose their insurance coverage. The Republican bill takes away the cost saving measures under Medicare that have enabled millions of seniors to receive free preventive services, and it will reverse the process of closing the donut hole.
If they have their way on this vote our deficits will jump one trillion dollars over the next two decades. I don't say that, the Leader doesn't say that, the Congressional Budget Office says that. Furthermore, 360,000 small businesses will lose access to tax deductions that help them provide coverage for their employees. If this bill passes, and was signed into law, which it won't be, 6.6 million young people under age 26 will be dropped from their parents' plans, left to face one of the toughest job markets with the prospect of no health care. Thankfully, as I have said, this bill has no chance of going anywhere. It will never pass the Senate and the President has already said he would veto it. But Republicans ought to know some of the real people whose lives will be affected if it were to pass, are going to speak out.
That's why I'm glad to welcome some of the many whose lives have been changed for the better by the Affordable Care Act and give them a chance to share their stories today. As I said, we have six of them, but we're going to start with Bill Cea. Bill Cea.
Mr. Cea. Leader Pelosi, Whip Hoyer, Congressman Clyburn, thank you very much. My name is Bill Cea and I'm a retired public school teacher. I'm here today on behalf of the Alliance for Retired Americans. Thanks to the Affordable Care Act and I am one of 16 million seniors on Medicare who are able to get a free wellness visit or preventive screening. These are free, no co-pays, no deductibles. For me it was an opportunity to go to my doctor's office for a thorough evaluation of my health, review my medicines, discuss any questions I may have, and to overall draw up a profile which my primary care physician then utilized.
Not only is this Affordable Care Act good for your health, but it is good public policy. Medicare costs will be much lower if more seniors are able to stay healthy and identify problems before they become serious and costly and the many seniors in Florida, where I come from now, who are in the Medicare coverage gap known as the donut hole, under this new law these seniors are now paying $600 less per year for their prescriptions. The law will keep closing more and more of the donut hole until it is completely closed. The bottom line is this: the Affordable Care Act is good for seniors, it helps us live longer, it helps us to live better, it helps us to be able to see a doctor and fill our prescriptions. These new Medicare benefits are making a big difference in seniors lives. Congress must now take them away. Please vote against repealing the Affordable Care Act.
Thank you very much.
Ms. Farley. Good afternoon. My name is Christine Farley and I'm the mother of two wonderful sons with bright futures. Unfortunately, one of my sons has Cystic Fibrosis. For him, the Affordable Care Act is the key to his bright future. Cystic Fibrosis, or ‘CF,' is a genetic disorder that has no cure at this time and has few effective treatments. Among the symptoms are persistent lung infections and breathing and digestive difficulties. Because only 30,000 Americans have CF, treatment for this disease is very expensive. The average CF patient pays $64,000 annually on health care costs, which is 15 times what the average American pays. My son has to take 30 pills, two inhalers, and three nebulizers every day. We have a machine in our home that he has to use twice a day to shake the mucus from his lungs, to prevent bacterial infections, and to clear his airways. At night he uses a feeding tube while he sleeps in order to ensure that he gets the calories he needs because CF patients don't properly digest food.
Even with this level of care, he's hospitalized about once a year for a week, in order to combat bacterial infections that require heavy antibiotics administered through IV's. You can just imagine what all of this costs. And yet we consider ourselves very lucky because we have excellent health care insurance that helps us to cover the costs of the various therapies and treatments that he needs. But we have always worried about what will happen when our son grows up and has to find his own health insurance. As you can imagine, our entire family was very happy when the Affordable Care Act passed and was signed into law. And we were ecstatic when the court upheld the law. But it makes me furious when I hear opposition to the Affordable Care Act based on the principle of states' rights.
For me that principle is entirely outweighed by the principle that every child deserves a bright a future, no matter what disease they happen to be born with. Repealing this law would allow young people with life threatening illnesses to be denied health insurance. I find that unprincipled. A survey conducted last year by the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation revealed that 31 percent of CF patients skip doses, or take less than is prescribed, out of concern for costs. It also revealed that 16 percent of CF patients met their annual limit on health care expenditures. And 3 percent met their lifetime limit. I've also heard about the challenges faced by young adults with CF finding health insurance. Young adults with CF are often denied health insurance coverage, and they face barriers in their career as they make work and life choices that are dictated by a limited set of health care options. That's not the future that I want for my son. Because of the Affordable Care Act, my son will be able to get the care and treatment he needs. He will be able to stay on our insurance until he's 26. And after that no company will be able to deny him coverage because of his pre-existing condition. And we won't have to worry about lifetime limits on his coverage. Moreover, he won't have to base his decisions about a job or a career based on health care coverage.
As a mom there is nothing more valuable to me than my children's future. I thank Leader Pelosi, the Congress, and President Obama for giving my son, and the other 17 million children with pre-existing conditions, that bright future.
Thank you.
Ms. Schlichting. Good afternoon everyone. My name is Emily Schlichting and I'm a 22 year-old auto immune patient from Omaha, Nebraska. I'd like to just first thank the leadership for giving us the chance to share the way that the Affordable Care Act has affected our lives because, believe me, it has affected our lives in a very positive way. My life drastically changed for the better thanks to the Affordable Care Act. But, unfortunately, I don't have any guarantee that those changes will last with the current assault on the law. I'd just like to share with you a little bit how the repeal of this law would affect my life.
So, to start, the summer before my senior year of high school, when I was 17, I began experiencing a lot of really odd symptoms that were seemingly unrelated. And none of my doctors could figure out what was causing them. So, fast-forward through two years of visiting multiple specialists, receiving MRIs and CAT scans, trying to link together these very odd open ulcers that would get painfully and dangerously with swollen joints and large abrasions that would form on my legs. I was finally diagnosed with a disease called Behcet's Syndrome, which is a very, very rare auto immune condition. That one is particularly bad. I end up hospitalized for a couple weeks at a time. When your health care is tied to your employment your career opportunities become a lot more limited than you might imagine. Upon getting this diagnosis I realized that suddenly, taking a few years off to work at a non-profit after college between attending undergrad and going onto higher education was no longer an option because I would've dropped off my parents insurance and that's not realistic for me. Beyond that I would have had to be extremely careful not ever to drop off an insurance plan because I have a pre-existing condition, which meant that if I had dropped off I would likely never be able to get back on insurance, which is problematic because paying for my own health care under the previous laws would have bankrupted me. I regularly see a Rheumatologist, an Ophthalmologist, a Dermatologist, an Internist, and a couple other specialists for my condition because there's no one doctor that specializes in it. And that's when things are going well. So, my health care is very necessary, and unfortunately very expensive.
But, thankfully, with the passage of the Affordable Care Act my disease no longer gets to dictate my life. The dependent coverage clause has been a godsend for me. It allows me to stay on my parents' insurance until I'm 26, which gives me that buffer time to figure out what career I want to pursue as Christine was talking about, to work for a few years and gain experience and job skills so that when I go back to school and spend a lot of money on a degree it's something that I actually want, that I'm going to use, instead of going back to school as an insurance shelter to make sure I can still see my doctors. Beyond that, allowing young people to stay on their parents' insurance gives us new freedom to work towards our goals without being uncovered. And even more important than that is that the Patient's Bill of Rights makes it so that I can't be denied insurance simply because I have a disease that I can't control.
It's changed my life in a lot of really fundamental ways that I think it's hard to understand if you haven't been sick, or been very close to someone who is sick. I can't put into words how scary the idea of being sick and bankrupt at 25 is, but just trust me, it's terrifying. I can tell you over and over how much health reform has affected my life. But the fact is that I'm not the only young American that has been affected by this law. I am one example of millions and millions of young Americans who have been helped by this policy. Whether it's through the dependent coverage clause, or the Patient's Bill of Rights, or a combination of the two, like me. Young people are the future of this country and we are the most affected by health reform. My generation has the highest rates of uninsured people.
We need the Affordable Care Act because it is really an investment in the future of this country. An investment that I believe we desperately need. Thank you.
Ms. Rodriguez. Hello everyone. My name is Aracely Rodriguez. I first would like to thank the leadership for this opportunity. I'm from San Diego, California, and I work every day to ensure that Latina women have access to affordable and accessible health care in their communities. I have the opportunity to experience firsthand the impact of the Affordable Care Act will have on women and especially women of color. It is very - it's extremely hard for me to understand how someone would want to take away these new benefits for women all over this country. We know that the Affordable Care Act will make insurance more affordable and provide more choices to women and their families. As a result of the Affordable Care Act, 14 million women will be newly insured in this country. Today, 49 percent of Latinas, just like me, are uninsured, which is more than women of any other racial and ethnic group.
The Affordable Care Act will ensure that women have access to preventive health services such as mammograms and life-saving cancer screenings. And in August, as the Congresswoman said, we will have access to more preventive health services - wellness visits and birth control without co-pays or deductibles. Access to birth control, it's extremely critical to Latina's and their families. Over 50 percent of Latinas have experienced a time in their life when costs for prescription birth control made it difficult for them to consistently use it and plan their future. The Affordable Care Act will end gender discrimination once and for all so that women are not charged more than men for insurance. Being is a woman is not a pre-existing condition. This is what health reform is going to do for women's health in our communities.
As a Latina, as a woman in this country, please do not take away our health care. Thank you.
Mr. Lee. Leader Pelosi, Congressman Hoyer - who left, Assistant Leader Clyburn, good afternoon. My name is Jamal Lee. I'm a native of Baltimore, Maryland, just as Leader Pelosi. I own Breasia Studios LLC - an audio, lighting, and video production company for large and small scale events - digital recording studio in Laurel, Maryland. I'm also a member of the Small Business Majority Network Council. Until recently, I did not have health insurance. In fact, when I was 21, I had to be dropped from mother's insurance, from her plan, because of the situation then. And I was still in college. Since opening my doors, my own corporation in 2005, I've actually been able to afford insurance for my daughter. I wasn't able to afford insurance for my daughter, myself, let alone my staff. When I needed a procedure done I actually flew out of the country, had the procedure done and completed, vacationed, shopped and still paid less than I will pay here at home. But the insurance companies wanted $400 to $600 a month. I did the best to counteract the lack of health care insurance by giving my staff safety training courses, expressing the importance of working together. I couldn't risk losing a member of my team due to on the job injuries.
But I finally was able to purchase health insurance through the Maryland state's subsidy program. When the Affordable Care Act was signed into law, I had another windfall, the small business tax credits. The tax credits, along with state subsidy programs, meant I could finally afford health insurance for myself and all of the others in the Breasia family. Knowing we are now covered has an enormous impact on the morale of my employees physical and emotional wellbeing. The simple truth is health care was too expensive. And it's so important to the security and the needs of the individuals and their families. From an entrepreneurial standpoint, when an opportunity presents itself to save money and to help the company and its workers, it's important to take advantage of it. Health care reform drops our premiums down to a fraction of the original costs which ultimately increases my bottom line. So what does that mean? It means more jobs. It means it gives me a healthier team. It shows to my crew that I actually care about them, the morale of my company is higher. Which means I can deliver a superior product made here in America.
Thanks to the tax credits in the health care law I can continue to grow my business. And now we can offer benefits affordably. Breasia Studios has become much more competitive. So we look forward to being able to hire more qualified individuals. Repealing the law, or defunding provisions, like the tax credits, would be a huge disruption in the forward movement of my business. So let's continue to work diligently to ensure affordable health care for all Americans. We need it. Thank you.
Assistant Leader Clyburn. Let me thank all of the ‘real people' who are here today. Let me thank all of those who have told their stories here today. Bill, as a former social-studies teacher I can relate to a little bit of your past experiences. There's something else to that that I can relate to as well. All of us are familiar with the fact that today unemployment is over eight percent for all America. For African-Americans, it's over 14 percent. Most of our insurance in this country is tied to employment, to the jobs that people hold. So the question that we should ask ourselves - what is happening in the lives of all those people who fall in that eight percent. Let me tell you a little bit about what is happening. They are now able to take advantage of preventive care without having to worry about paying deductibles. They can now take advantage of health care irrespective of what may be a pre-existing condition and they can hold onto their health care even when they are over 21 and not yet 26.
What happens in this system before all of this was available? What was happening was people were getting their primary care in emergency rooms. The most expensive care, health care, that there is. We, with this law, have taken people out of the emergency rooms and we have lowered the costs to every person who has insurance. Because it's been insurance carriers - they've taken up the slack because of the shifting in the costs.
I often tell the story and I'll close with this of my wife who had five-vessel bypass surgery. And the second day after the operation, I stayed at her bedside, and she asked me to look into her pocketbook and give her an aspirin because she had a headache. Now, we've been married for more than 50 years but you don't stay married going through your wife's pocketbook. So, I did not want to go through that pocketbook. So I said it to her: ‘Emily, why don't you just call the nurse and get an aspirin?' She said to me: ‘You give me the pocketbook because when you see the bill and see how much we're paying for an aspirin, you would know why I brought my own aspirins.' Just think about that. Someone facing that kind of a surgery, but then because of her experiences she took her own aspirins. That is the kind of decision-making. I was involved in this process until we passed this law and it was signed by President Obama and I would believe that rather than talking about repeal, we need to restore - restore individual freedoms, restore decision-making processes, restore the American dream for all those who are looking to us for leadership.
Thank you, Madam Leader.
Leader Pelosi. Thank you very much Leader Clyburn, to you and to our distinguished Whip Mr. Hoyer, to Bill Cea, to Christine Farley, to Emily Schlichting, to Aracely Rodriguez, to Jamal Lee, thank you all for sharing your stories with us. I hope you will allow me to submit them for the Congressional Record, so that everyone who follows the debate in Congress will know what, as we heard today, how important this Affordable Care Act is to you. And what a difference it makes in your life. I want to also acknowledge, again, the Alliance for Retired Americans who have joined us here. And MomsRising, thank you MomsRising for your help in the passage of the bill and for being here today. Some friends from Planned Parenthood I see by bringing signs and t-shirts and the rest and all.
Did I see some high school students over there as well? In any event, thank you all for being with us. It is an important, I was so happy that you enthusiastically responded to the Supreme Court upholding this legislation and now I'd be happy to take any questions.
Q: There are a number of Democrats who are in tight races. How many, if any, do you expect will peel off and go with the Republicans, or do you expect to hold your Caucus together on this vote?
Leader Pelosi. Well, what have I said to you before? Six to three? Remember I said six to three? It turned out to be five to four. The number will be in that range. It won't be many, it won't be many.
Q: It won't be many?
Leader Pelosi. It won't be many.
Q: Can you address for a moment what the electoral impact will be? I mean, the Republicans have pounded this, this is 30-plus votes that they've tried to defund or dismantle this law in some way, shape, or form. But I'd just like a debate, after the Supreme Court ruled that this is back out there in the public light, does that have any impact?
Leader Pelosi. Well, from our standpoint, we came here to get a job done for the American people. We saw an opportunity to stand with those who created Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid in the sixties and now our generational opportunity to have health care as a right, not a privilege, and that is what we came here to do, that is what we have done. We think the more people know about this legislation, you see, it has changed even in the last week. The support for it has increased and as people understand what we have heard here today, how it affects their lives directly that that will even grow. So, as I've said before, politics be damned. We came to do a job, we think, we're very proud of what we did, of course, we are thrilled with the judgment of the court, the decision handed down by the court, and I think the election will be about jobs, this bill creates four million jobs, this bill give people the freedom to choose their job, under their aspirations, their talents, their skills, not to be job locked if they need to be self-employed, if they want to start a business, if they want to change jobs, they can do that, and that freedom I think will help our economy as well this [inaudible].
So, I'm very proud of it, we're going to the election, but we know that job creation is the most important thing right now and that's why we're very concerned about the waste of time on the floor of the House on something that's never going to happen, but just as a manifestation of the fact that the Republicans are the handmaidens of the health insurance industry, they will do whatever the special interests call for, that, and there is also the anti-government ideologues who really would not be supportive of Medicare, many of them weren't and who wants to see Medicare wither on the vine, Social Security has place in a free society, they do not see a government role in health care, we want this to be a market-oriented, private sector initiative as a public-private initiative and that's what the debate is about. But really, we just want the people to know what they have, and what will be taken away, and then make a political judgment about that.
Q: Do you expect any Republicans will vote with you?
Leader Pelosi. I have no idea what happens in the Republican Conference. I'm the last person to ask. But then they vote for this repeal, they will be voting, denying children - ending discrimination against children with a pre-existing condition, women for being women, lifetime limits, they will be restoring lifetime limits and the rest, they will be harming the health and the economic security of America's families, so we have to understand that. And by the way, while they are taking away all of these protections for patients, they'll be voting to keep their own federal employees benefits package. And maybe even some of their children, up to 26 years old, may be on those policies.
Q: Slightly off topic question, but it involves a Member…
Leader Pelosi. I'd be happy to take an off topic question, but we have, perhaps, [Assistant Leader] Clyburn would like to address with them with what you've heard here, Mr. Clyburn?
Assistant Leader Clyburn. There was one more question?
Q: You mentioned the preventive services, one of the services that healthcare companies have to offer free of charge are sterilizations and I was wondering, do you agree with…
Leader Pelosi. I've told you before, let's go to church and talk about our religion. Right here, we're talking about public policy as it affects women and we're not, you know that this bill is about public policy.
Q: It has nothing to do with religious views. Do you agree that the federal government should be…
Leader Pelosi. I believe that the legislation should allow women to determine the size and timing of their families and have access to contraception. Next question.
Assistant Leader Clyburn. In the middle of this debate, it was said at one point that I viewed this law as the Civil Rights Act of the 21st century. The foundation for that belief came from a speech that was given by Martin Luther King Jr. and he said that of all the inequalities that exist in our society, the inequality in health care is the most egregious. I believe that, and I think that what we did with this law was to say to every American that those inequalities that exist in the health care industry should no longer exist for any American and I'm pleased with what we did.
Q: Leader Pelosi, on Congressman Jackson, when Members get sick and they take time off work - [inaudible reference to Mr. Hoyer's comments today] but he said that Congressman Jackson owes it to his constituents to get them information as soon as possible about his condition. Have you talked with Congressman Jesse Jackson? Do you know what's going on with him?
Leader Pelosi. I have not spoken to him.
Q: Do you think he should be giving his constituents more information?
Leader Pelosi. Well, you talked about two [different] things: as soon as possible and is it time? The time is right when Congressman Jackson has an evaluation of what his situation is and I'm sure then he will share it with his constituents. Our prayers are with his family. I hope that we will hear soon that he is on the way to recovery. He's a valued Member of Congress. But the timing and the ‘as soon as possible,' I think, is related not to my curiosity or anybody else's, but to his health care needs. And as he figures out what that is.
Q: But he hasn't been voting, or speaking in Congress for over a month.
Leader Pelosi. I don't know that that timing is such. But whatever, we've been out for the last 12 days and when we're in, we're in for like two days. So, how many legislative days has he not been here that is really the more relevant question in that period of a month. [Inaudible].
Q: It's the eleventh day today. [Inaudible].
Leader Pelosi. Eleventh. So, [he hasn't] voted in eleven days. So, again, hopefully he will have the appropriate evaluations so he can share that information. And I feel sad that whatever the situation is that he finds himself having to be away from Congress, but hope that we will see him back here soon again. And the timing relates to his knowledge of the situation and then he will share it with us. I feel quite certain.
I thank you all once again for being with us, for your enthusiasm to help pass that bill, to cheer on what we thought was iron clad in terms of the court, and it was, and now today, to protect it from, again, the assault from the insurance industry. I want you to know one thing, because I think this is important to note, there are already insurance companies already putting money in the kitty to go out and mischaracterize what this bill is about. In the debate on the bill, they spent over $200 million mischaracterizing the bill, saying it was public funding of abortion, which it was not and is not. Saying it was death panels which it was not and is not, that it's a job killer, it creates 4 million jobs, it increases the deficit, no, it reduces the deficit. We had to meet that standard with the Congressional Budget Office, and as Steny said, reversing it could cost us a trillion dollars over the next two decades. So, beware of what they will come out, and I can tell you one thing for sure, there will be a mischaracterization because the facts are so in favor of people versus insurance companies and they don't want you to know the facts.
So, thank you all for being here.