Senate Proceeding on Sep 23rd, 2009 :: 0:44:55 to 0:50:40
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0:44:51 to 0:45:14( Edit History Discussion )

Mark Udall: america, wrong and wrong for business. thank you, mr. president. mr. warner: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from virginia. mr. warner: i thank my friend from oregon pointing out the challenges the status quo presents to so many american families. i'd now like to offer four minutes to my friend, the distinguished senior senator

0:44:55 to 0:50:40( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Mark Udall

0:45:15 to 0:45:35( Edit History Discussion )

Mark Udall: from mr. udall: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator fro recognized. mr. udall: i'm here with my fellow freshman senators because we're united in our determination to pass health care reform this year. our late and giant colleague,

0:45:36 to 0:45:56( Edit History Discussion )

Mark Udall: senator ted kennedy, said it best when he called health reform the great unfinished business of our society. we're presented with an historic opportunity to finally succeed. and for me, failure is not an option. the cost of inaction is too great both for american families and for our economy.

0:45:57 to 0:46:17( Edit History Discussion )

Mark Udall: we have a bloated $12 trillion federal deficit which is being fed every day by growing health care costs. every day small and large businesses are laying off workers and slashing benefits to their employees. and those americans who have verage still do not have the peace of mind that comes from knowing that

0:46:18 to 0:46:39( Edit History Discussion )

Mark Udall: insurance companies will keep their promises. premiums are rising at three times the rate of wages. the growing at a faster rate every day. in colorado nearly one in four are uninsured in some areas. a study shows one out of every two americans will lose coverage

0:46:40 to 0:47:00( Edit History Discussion )

Mark Udall: at some point over the next ten years. mr. president, we can't allow this to become america's future, but it will be if we don't act now. there are many reasons that health reform can't wait, but there's one that i know strikes a cord with many coloradoans, and that's the lack of freedom -- the lack of freedom that our current system

0:47:01 to 0:47:21( Edit History Discussion )

Mark Udall: provides. workers across our company are afraid to leave their jobs for fear they won't be able to provide health care to their families. that lack of a freedom affects our economy because fostering the growth of small business is one of the keys to economic success. but in our current system, americans are afraid to follow their dreams and start a small

0:47:22 to 0:47:42( Edit History Discussion )

Mark Udall: business o travel to go to work for a new company. small businesses run on thinner margins than their big-company counterparts and are being hit hardest by the rise of health care costs. in colorado we have a disproportionate share of small businesses. as a result, we have more

0:47:43 to 0:48:03( Edit History Discussion )

Mark Udall: steufts who are uninsured -- citizens who are uninsured. many are faced with employees or slashing benefits or dropping coverage completely or in some business forever. the proposals in front of us are tailor-made to help small businesses.

0:48:04 to 0:48:25( Edit History Discussion )

Mark Udall: the ideas in place would provide tax credits and create a simplified, well-regulated pool of marketplace to help small businesses find cheaper higher-quality coverage. it's estimated that reform will save small businesses more than $500 billion over ten years or more than $3,500 per worker. that's real money, mr. president, that can be

0:48:26 to 0:48:47( Edit History Discussion )

Mark Udall: reinvested in business growth and adding additional jobs to fuel our economic recovery. the burden on individuals is only one of the culprits preventing economic growth. our deepening of federal deficits and long-term fiscal outlook are closely linked to the broken system. as president obama said in his address to congress just two

0:48:48 to 0:49:08( Edit History Discussion )

Mark Udall: weeks ago, our nation's health care problem is our deficit problem. just think, we spent $2 trillion on health care per year. mr. president, that's more than one out of every $5 spent in our economy, more than twice what any other industrialized nation spends. i think we would all agree we're

0:49:09 to 0:49:30( Edit History Discussion )

Mark Udall: certainly not twice as healthy for our money. if this number continues to grow, there is no hope for reining in the long-term deficits we face. health insurance reform is the golden opportunity to begin to control our deficit. we can and we need to grab this opportunity and make health care the spring board from which we

0:49:31 to 0:49:51( Edit History Discussion )

Mark Udall: clean up our long-term fiscal mess. the president reminded us that the growth of health care costs, if we slowed that growth by .1% a year it would help bring down the deficit by $4 trillion. there are many excellent ideas on the table to help us get there, by insuring medicare's solvency, reforming medicare's

0:49:52 to 0:50:12( Edit History Discussion )

Mark Udall: payment structure to bring down cost growth in the long term and disturbing overgenerous health plans which encourage overutilization of our stem. mr. president, many of the proposals being discussed are politically difficult to support, but not facing politically difficult decisions head on is what's caused so much of the inertia that brought us

0:50:13 to 0:50:34( Edit History Discussion )

Mark Udall: to where we are today. we don't all agree on exactly the best way forward, mr. president, but i think we do agree that it's time for every member of congress and every member of the senate to think about health insurance reform for what it is. a huge and necessary sp to putting our economy back on track and finally providing stability, security and freedom

0:50:35 to 0:50:41( Edit History Discussion )

Mark Udall: to the people of our country. if we do this, i know we can find common ground. and we must, because the cost of