Mr. Speaker,  I rise in strong support of H.R. 5573, the Health Centers Renewal Act.  By reauthorizing the health center program, we will ensure that community health centers are able to continue the delivery of cost-effective, high quality care to medically underserved communities.

It is important to note that community health centers are the primary providers of health care to America’s poor and medically underserved. For over 30 years, they have been responsible for bringing doctors, basic health services and facilities into the nation’s neediest and most isolated communities. Community Health Centers provide quality primary health care in over 20 locations to one out of ten Rhode Islanders throughout my home state. 

With increasing numbers of Americans are losing access to employer-sponsored health coverage as a result of recent increases in unemployment and the rising cost of health care, it is more important than ever to support people and programs devoted to filling in the gaps.  Without the services of community health centers, we would see even more over-crowding in our emergency rooms and unnecessary declines in quality of life for those who lack access to other forms of preventative care.  Health centers do a tremendous job of managing the problems that exist in our broken health care system.  But they cannot continue to do it alone.  As we join together today to reauthorize the health center programs, I hope my colleagues will take this opportunity to reflect on the health care crisis that exists in America. 

I have introduced legislation that proposes a universal system of health care, offering access to coverage for all Americans.  Under my proposal, all Americans would have the opportunity to participate in a program modeled after the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP), which has provided Members of Congress, their staffs and other federal employees with quality health care over many years.  With a commitment and partnership from businesses, consumers and the government, we offer this kind of coverage and oversight to all Americans.  Recent developments in Massachusetts and other parts of the country have shown us that the business community and Americans are ready to take on their responsibilities for such a system – it is now up to us, as Congress, to take on this issue.

Mr. Speaker, once again I call on Congress to join me in the effort to develop a universal health insurance program that will include all Americans.  In the meantime, I urge my colleagues to join me in support of programs that make health care available to at-risk individuals in underserved communities and vote in favor of H.R. 5573.