A Victory for the American People

A Victory for the American People
In passing health reform, we made history for our nation and progress for the American people. We completed the unfinished business of our society and strengthened the character of our country. We ensured health care would be a right for all, not a privilege for the few. Yesterday, the Supreme Court affirmed our progress and protected that right, securing a future of health and economic security for the middle class and for every American.

The Affordable Care Act is already protecting millions of Americans – and the best is yet to come:

• Children can no longer be denied coverage due to pre-existing conditions.
• Seniors are paying less for prescription drugs.
• Students and young adults can stay on their parents’ plans.

Congresswoman Pelosi celebrates the Supreme Court’s health care decision which ensures that Americans will benefit from critical patient protections, lower costs for the middle class, more coverage for families and greater accountability for the insurance industry.

Investing in America’s Future
For months, Democrats have called on our Republican colleagues to bring to the floor a bipartisan transportation bill that creates jobs and bipartisan legislation that would prevent an interest rate hike for more than 7 million students. More than 100 days ago, our colleagues in the Senate passed a bipartisan, long-term job-creating transportation bill to rebuild America but Republicans in the House refused to take it up. Finally, today we passed the bill we should have passed months ago. The bill creates or saves more than two million jobs and prevents student loan interest rates from doubling; saving more than $475 million in additional repayment costs for California students for the coming school year. My Democratic colleagues and I will continue to work to create jobs, rebuild our crumbling roads and bridges, and keep college affordable.

Fighting for Global Equality
Equality is a core value of American history; it is our heritage and our hope. On Saturday, I was honored to deliver remarks at a ‘Friends of the Pink Triangle’ ceremony commemorating the LGBT victims of the Holocaust. On that day, we came together to remember and reflect on the horrors of the Holocaust; to recognize how far we have come and to acknowledge how much we have left to do on the march to equality and respect.

Around the world, members of LGBT communities may not be marked by a pink triangle anymore, yet their lives are still marked by violence and prejudice of the worst kind. That is why we must make it a priority to put an end to laws criminalizing an entire group’s sexual orientation and increase access to HIV/AIDS treatment and care abroad. We must work to advance understanding, educate others about the past, and act to prevent atrocities in the future.

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