Madam Speaker, I rise today to speak on an issue that continues to be a top priority for American families and businesses – one that is fundamentally intertwined with the strength of our nation’s economy and the government’s long-term fiscal sustainability.  I am speaking of the need for health care reform.

Health care costs in the United States are rising at an alarming rate.  Yet despite the fact that we spend more per capita on health care than any other industrialized country, we produce some of the worst outcomes by a number of important health measures.  Furthermore, the U.S. remains the only developed nation that does not guarantee health coverage as a right to its citizens. 

Recent estimates indicate that over 45 million Americans lack health insurance – leaving one in six without access to proper medical care.  Even more shocking is that over 80 percent of the uninsured come from working families.  Health care costs are imposing an increasing burden on families and placing employers at a further competitive disadvantage. 

As we seek to unfurl the complex economic challenges facing our country, it remains abundantly clear that our success will not only depend on our ability to stem housing foreclosures and create new jobs; it will also depend on our will to change a system of health care that is fundamentally flawed and under tremendous strain.

According to Dr. Peter Orszag, Director of the Office of Management and Budget, in his recent testimony before the House Budget Committee, “the single most important step we could take to put the nation back on a path to fiscal responsibility is to address rising health care costs.”  He further stated that “health care is the key to our fiscal future. We cannot afford inaction.”

I could not agree more.  But this is not just an economic or fiscal imperative; it is a moral one.  For many years, I have continually heard from Rhode Islanders who are struggling to pay their share of health care premiums, as well as from businesses that can no longer afford to operate under the existing system.  Those constituents who are fortunate enough to have access to health insurance are struggling in the face of increasingly daunting costs, while many of them are afraid they will lose this benefit altogether. 

This cannot continue any longer.  I am very pleased that within the last two months this Congress and President Obama have already taken extraordinary steps to begin addressing these challenges by expanding coverage and investing in innovative technologies that will ensure better treatments and outcomes for our future.

On February 4th, Congress passed, and the President enacted a bill to provide health coverage to 11 million low-income children through the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP).

Also included in the Recovery Act were a number of measures to provide additional funding to state Medicaid programs, extend health benefits for the unemployed, and ensure proper investment into health information technology so that we can achieve higher quality care with greater efficiency.

And as recently as last week, President Obama signed an executive order lifting the ban on the federal funding of embryonic stem cell research – an act I believe will fundamentally alter the course of science and medicine in the same manner as did the discovery of the first vaccine or X-ray. 

We have made amazing strides in a short period of time.  But there is much work to be done.  I believe it is incumbent on us as policymakers to offer a new vision for health care in America – one that contains costs, improves quality, increases efficiency, promotes wellness, guarantees universal coverage and encourages investment in treatments and cures for the 21st Century.

I look forward to working with my colleagues in Congress, health care providers, community advocates, business leaders, families and patients across the country to find real solutions that permanently address the longstanding need for health reform in America.

Thank you, Madam Speaker.  I yield back.