Pelosi Remarks at Press Conference Today on Health Care Reform and Med...( WASHINGTON July 22 ...),Health

WASHINGTON, July 22 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Congressman Xavier Becerra, Congresswoman Donna Edwards, Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro, and Congresswoman Mary Jo Kilroy held a press conference this afternoon in the Capitol on America's Affordable Health Choices Act and the reduction of crushing health care costs -- and mounting debt of Americans who already have health insurance.

They were joined by four Americans -- Molly Secours of Nashville, Vernon Le Count of Freedom, Maine, Catherine Howard of San Francisco and Jaclyn Michalos of Norwood, Mass. -- who shared their experiences with our current health care system and medical debt. Attached please find a fact sheet on all four of the participants.

Below are the Speaker's opening remarks and closing statement, statements of the four press conference participants, and the question and answer session.

Speaker Pelosi Opening Remarks.

Here we are today, one day closer than we have ever been in history -- to enacting real health care reform. We've made great progress -- two of our three Committees in the House, one of the two Committees in the Senate, as you know, have reported out legislation and the other two committees are hard at work in doing their jobs.

Today, we're going to hear real stories from real people about the impact that health care reform will have on their lives. For the American people, America's Affordable Health Choices Act will mean a cap on your costs, but no cap on your benefits. A cap on your cost, no cap on your benefit. That represents real change.

Today, we are joined by four Americans who have tried to work hard and play by the rules and have ended up with crushing health care costs and debt. Vernon Le Count from Freedom, Maine, with tens of thousands of dollars in med
'/>"/>