Media

Rising health care costs and inadequate coverage burden many Americans. The current system lets insurance companies penalize a woman, just for being a woman.

It is unfair and it is wrong, plain and simple, that a woman can be charged a higher premium than a man or be denied coverage for a "pre-existing condition" such as pregnancy, having a c-section, or being a domestic violence victim.

An estimated 1.3 million women are victims of physical assault by an intimate partner each year, and 85% of domestic violence victims are women.

Let me give you one example.

No one should be forced to lose their health insurance when they need it the most or be faced with bankruptcy trying to pay for health care. Unfortunately, we have a system today where insurance companies, not patients, are making those decisions.

Insurance companies have been using lifetime and annual limits since the 1970s to limit the total dollars in benefits that they will pay out over a year or the lifetime of a patient.

Dear Friends,

Our nation's health care system is broken, and it needs to be fixed. Tens of millions of American are uninsured, underinsured, or afraid of losing their coverage. Insurance companies continue to squeeze families by increasing health premiums and reducing coverage. Unless you are an insurance company or a Republican Member of Congress this is the time for action. It is time to pass health care reform.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in opposition to H.Con.Res. 248, a resolution that would require the President to precipitously withdraw American troops from Afghanistan by December 31, 2010. While I welcome today's robust debate on such a critical issue, there can be no doubt that abandoning Afghanistan and the region in this moment is against America's national interests.

Dr. Shah, good morning and welcome.

Your vision is to restore USAID as the world's premier development agency. As a Member of this Subcommittee, I am committed to making that vision a reality.

I want to elevate and strengthen USAID, and ensure your agency has the authority and resources it needs to focus on long-term development rather than crisis response and contract management. This is an exciting moment for USAID and for global development.