Vice President Pence Speaks on Healthcare
THE VICE PRESIDENT: Hello,
It is great to be back in the
The President sent me here today to say thank you. Thank you to all the good people of
And I'm really very touched that you all would come out today on a Wednesday afternoon. And I'm grateful to be joined today by another friend of mine, a strong partner of this administration, a leader who represents
I was for
And of course, thank you to
This business really is what America is all about. It's remarkable to think that nearly 30 years ago, Tendon got off the ground with only six employees. But you've clearly been doing something right here because today the company employs more than 75 people in good-paying jobs. You've got a state-of-the-art operation. You're living the American Dream by doing the thing most people think is impossible. You're just doing a great job every day, and your customers are responding. Give this whole team a round of applause, will you? Great job. (Applause.)
And I got to tell you,
The President promised to in his words to "set the stage for a great revival" for our factories, a new Buy American, Hire American agenda. And thanks to the President's decisive action, American manufacturing is already roaring back.
In the first five months of last year, American manufacturers lost 24,000 jobs. The first five months of this year, under President
And going back decades, manufacturers have invested in jobs and factories in other countries. But this year you've seen it in the newspapers, company after company are making record investment -- investing billions of dollars in America and creating American jobs instead of investing and building factories overseas. (Applause.)
Today, American manufacturers are more optimistic than at any point in the last 20 years. Confidence is back. Manufacturing is back because since day one of this administration,
Here's a couple of examples. Since the outset of this administration this President has signed more laws cutting federal red tape than any President in American history. (Applause.)
The President's actions have already saved American business and American workers up to
And this President has been putting America first every single day, like the day a couple of weeks back when he withdrew
As the President said it best -- that international agreement by some estimates would have cost 6.5 million jobs in this country in the next 25 years, put an enormous burden on our workers, on our economy while virtually letting countries like
You can look at all the statistics, but the President understands his job when he said he was elected to represent
This week is actually Energy Week, as well. And the President has been busy advancing American energy and American energy independence, ushering in a new era of energy dominance for this entire country.
The President approved the Keystone and Dakota pipelines. And Dakota pipeline is already open, building the infrastructure of this country for energy. (Applause.) He's rolled back the Clean Power Plan that's been raising electrical rates in states around the country. And under President
And the President has also not just been cutting red tape and making energy more affordable, but the President has also been focused on making sure that men and women of this country have the opportunities to get the skills education that's necessary to support their aspirations and to support a growing American future.
The President is working every day to make sure that the next generation has the opportunity to pursue careers in manufacturing and the skill trades. The truth of the matter is we're going to make vocational education a priority in every state and in every community in America once again. (Applause.)
Just two weeks ago, the President signed an executive order to expand apprenticeships and vocational training across this country. And under the President's leadership, I'm confident we'll train the students of today for the jobs of tomorrow -- not here at great places like Tendon Manufacturing alone but in companies large and small all across the country.
The President promised to get the American economy moving again, and he's done exactly that. As I've traveled across this country on behalf of our President, coming to businesses just like this, talking to people just like you, I see the truth:
But as the President likes to say, what I just described to you is just a good start. The truth is we got a lot more work to do. And I came here today to assure you of one piece of work that they're going to get done. Before this summer is out,
Every day that Obamacare survives is another day the American people struggle. I heard it from local businesses in a conversation we just had at the other end of this plant. We all remember the broken promises they made back when they passed Obamacare about seven years ago. You remember them. They said if you like your doctor you can keep them -- not true. They said if you like your health insurance you can keep it -- not true. We were told the cost of health insurance would go down -- not true at all.
Now we know the facts. Just last month, our administration released a new study of actual numbers proving that Obamacare has made health insurance more unaffordable for millions of Americans.
Here in
And it's only getting worse. Working families in
I actually met with some families this week in
And while costs are skyrocketing, choices are plummeting. Right now a third of American counties, including five whole states, only have one choice of an Obamacare health insurance provider -- which basically means you have no choice at all.
And come next year, tens of thousands of Americans or more may have no Obamacare coverage available because health insurers are abandoning this failed law left and right. You see the headlines every day all across this country.
Just a few weeks ago, the last statewide health insurer announced that it would pull out of Obamacare right here in
And, folks, remember -- it's one of the reasons I stopped and talked to the small-business owners before I met today; it's another reason that I had families out in
Just a few days ago, at the
A few years ago, Connie became disabled and could no longer work. She was counting on her Obamacare coverage to get her through this difficult time. But it's not working out. Connie lost her health-insurance plan at the end of last year. Choices began to plummet on the
She tried to make the best of it. She told me she worked with the exchange to find a new plan, and she was told that they had found something similar to the one she had lost. But after three months of Connie paying expensive premiums, she learned that her new Obamacare plan didn't cover any of the doctors or hospitals or clinics in her county that dealt with her condition. None.
Connie lost her plan. She lost her doctor, and she's just about lost hope that she'll ever find the health insurance that she needs to make it through.
Well, I looked Connie in the eye and I'm looking all of you in the eye, and on behalf of
Obamacare has failed and Obamacare must go. You'd have to be a politician blinded by partisanship to believe otherwise. But sadly,
It is remarkable: The
But they won't succeed I promise you because President
The President and I are grateful for the efforts in the
I'm here to say we're making great progress every single day, and we're not going to let up. The bill being considered in the
The bill repeals Obamacare's mandates and taxes on the American people and American business. It restores freedom and saves jobs. The legislation being considered in the
And the
And I'm also pleased that the
This legislation actually provides new resources to address the heartbreaking opioid crisis that's ravaging towns and families.
Let me say that Senator
And with the leadership and support of Senator
We're going to work with the Senator, and we're going to work with members of
And when we repeal and replace Obamacare, it's going to be a historic day for American health care. We're going to create a dynamic, national health insurance market when we're all done that will lower costs, improve quality, and give more choices to working families.
We're going to give American businesses like those that are here today the freedom to give their employees the coverage and the care that they want to give them. And after seven years of failed policies under Obamacare, we're going to put patients back in control of their own healthcare instead of bureaucrats in
This is the moment. Now is the time. For the past seven years, we've had a healthcare system based on the flawed premise that the federal government should order every American to buy health insurance, whether they want it or not; that bureaucrats and politicians in
Men and women of
We've got our work cut out for us. The truth is we need your help to get it done. We need each one of you to let your voice be heard, let your elected representatives in
And let me say as soon as we repeal and replace Obamacare, next up -- working with
We're going to lower taxes on the American people and we're going to lower taxes on American businesses so companies in America can compete with companies around the world to create jobs here in
But this is all where you come in as I mentioned.
If you like what you've seen so far in the last five months, just buckle up. We're just getting started. We're going to repeal and replace Obamacare. We're going to cut taxes. We're going to continue to steer the policies of this country toward American strength as we rebuild our military and stand tall in the world once again.(Applause.)
It's the greatest honor of my life as the father of a
In the midst of everything we've done to get this economy going again, and we all know that security is the foundation of our prosperity, this President has already signed legislation supported by the
We're going to rebuild our military. We're going to restore the arsenal of democracy, and we are once again going to give our soldiers, sailors, airmen,
So it's a tall order, but I serve with a tall President. (Laughter.) Broad shoulders and a big heart -- and he's going to keep right on fighting.
And I know we'll succeed. I know this because I have faith in this President. I see him every day when the cameras are off. I see his resilience and his determination. I see his love for his family, his love for this country, and his boundless energy to turn this country around.
And I also have the other kind of faith. I always love being in
In these times of too much division in America, of widening and unknowable threats around the world, a struggling economy, as you stand by this President and those who stand by him, I encourage you to avail yourself of that motto's wisdom.
If you're of a mind to bow the head and bend the knee, it would be a good time to do it, to pray for this country. But when you pray, I don't mean pray for an agenda or pray for a party. I rather like what
And so pray for America. Pray for this country. (Applause.) Because America matters far beyond our shores.
And so with confidence in all of you, with boundless confidence in the President I have the privilege to serve, and with faith in Him who set this miracle of democracy on these wilderness shores, I can tell you I know in my heart of hearts that with your support, and with
Thank you all very much. God bless you. God bless
Cyclone Debbie Losses Approach $1 Billion
Cyber Protection: What to Do Before and After a Cyber Incident
Advisor News
Annuity News
Health/Employee Benefits News
Life Insurance News