BOSTON, July 27 /PRNewswire/ -- The following is a transcript of a speech by the Honorable John Dingell at the Democratic National Convention on Tuesday, July 27, 2004:

Good evening. Let's talk about something important to every one of us-our health. And when it comes to our health care, America must find a better way. We need to fix the problems in our health care system. And we can start by making health care accessible to all Americans.

Today, 44 million Americans don't have health insurance. At some point over the past two years, 82 million people went without health insurance- that's one in three Americans under the age of 65. My friends, that's unacceptable. We must find a better way.

Making health care accessible means making it affordable. Last year, Americans spent 15 percent of our national income on health care. The average family now pays more than $9,000 a year for health care. My friends, that's unacceptable. We must find a better way.

And rising health care costs are not just a huge burden for families to bear. They're a mighty drag on our economy. I'm from Detroit. We've made cars in Detroit for a long time. And we still do. But I'm not sure how long that will last.

Because higher costs make businesses less competitive. Last year, our Big Three American automakers spent $9 billion on health care. That number is set to double by 2010. Today, there's more health care than steel in an American car. That's unacceptable. We must relieve American business of a burden so unfairly borne. We must find a better way.

We need to build an America where all Americans can get the quality health care they need. And where children like Ethan Bedrick can live healthier and happier lives. Ethan was born with cerebral palsy. When he was only 15 months old, his health plan cut off his speech therapy.

According to his plan, the therapy wasn't medically necessary, because Ethan would never be able to speak normally. But Ethan had a good lawyer, who fought for him and won. That lawyer was John Edwards.

And when John Kerry and John Edwards are in the White House, working with a Democratic Congress, we'll have leaders who stand up for all of us. We're going to make quality health care affordable to all Americans. We're going to pass a patients' bill of rights. We're going to work together to build a better America for all of us. Thank you.

Source: Democratic National Convention Committee

CONTACT:  Peggy Wilhide of the Democratic National Convention Committee,
+1-617-366-3100

Web site:  http://www.dems2004.org/