WATERLOO - Rep. Bruce Braley said Tuesday he felt "abused" by those Republicans taunting him while speaking on the House floor Saturday night and noted it's indicative of the continuing partisan divide between congressional Democrats and Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Braley, a second-term Waterloo Democrat representing the 1st Congressional District, said boos and taunts of "trial lawyer" during his speech on patient safety, just before the health care reform bill was passed, were unjustified.

"It's very uncommon, because there's supposed to be decorum on the House floor," Braley said during a stop at Waterloo's Alpha Express Inc. on his Health Care Reality Tour. "But it made me very proud to be speaking up for patient safety, and to talk about what is not being talked about on the other side of the aisle."

A video posted on the Courier's Web site shows Braley having to stop briefly during his approximately four-minute speech until order was restored.

He noted Republican dissent over the recently passed Affordable Health Care for America Act, which now heads to the Senate, was not confined to House chambers.

"Look at what was happening at the Capitol. Republicans were leading chants - ‘Kill the bill, kill the bill,'" Braley said.

Nevertheless, Braley said he was "happy" the House version of the bill passed and that he was a part of helping it along.

Levorn Robinson, owner of Alpha Express Inc., said he thought he had as many as eight choices of insurance providers for his small business on Newell Street. But when prices kept going up on all eight, he did some research and found out they were all from just one company.

"Health care is important to us because we have people, and we care about people, but with the price of health care we cannot afford to provide for them," Robinson said. "We appreciate people like (Braley) here helping us with health care."

Braley noted he was a small business owner for 23 years and was able to relate to Robinson.

"Iowa has 80 percent of the health insurance market dominated by two companies. Without competition, there isn't incentive," Braley told Robinson. "Hopefully this bill will get passed in the Senate and the president signs it, and you and your son will have more choices."