FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 18, 2010   
MEDIA CONTACT:
STEVEN ENGELHARDT (314) 504-4029

FLOOR STATEMENT BY
CONGRESSMAN WM. LACY CLAY (D) MISSOURI
SUPPORTING FINAL PASSAGE OF HEALTHCARE REFORM LEGISLATION

NOTE:  The following is a
first-person statement from
Congressman Wm. Lacy Clay (D) Missouri delivered this
Evening on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives

"Madame Speaker,

I rise this evening as we prepare for this historic vote, and I'm here to tell you the people of Missouri’s 1st District want us to act and pass this healthcare reform legislation now.

Here’s why:

It will improve coverage for 331,000 residents who have health insurance.

It will give tax credits to 168,000 families and 15,000 small businesses to help them afford coverage.
 
It will improve Medicare for 96,000 seniors, including closing the donut hole.
 
-It will extend coverage to 45,500 uninsured residents.

-It will guarantee coverage for 10,000 residents with pre-existing conditions.

-It will protect 1,400 families from medical bankruptcies.

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This plan ends gender-based discrimination by stopping insurance companies from charging women more than men for the very same coverage.

It controls costs and reduces the deficit.

The CBO announced today,

It will cut the deficit by $138 billion over the next ten years and over $1.2 trillion over the next twenty years. 

And, finally, this bill will put average Americans, families and their doctors back in charge of their own health decisions.

No will ever again face being denied coverage because they are sick or lose their job.

Madame Speaker…

The time has come for this Congress to act with courage, to do the right thing for everyone who has health insurance, and for the millions who still need it.

Thank you."