It will be your view of the law and the facts, as opposed to your personal point of view, that will be the basis upon which you make your decisions.

I want to go to Senator Cruz--I know in Vermont we had a real debate.

Thank you, Chairman Sanders, for calling this hearing and giving me the chance to provide my testimony.

The idea that you are willing to go without paychecks to deal with--to walk on picket lines, to deal with all of the stuff out there in order to protect your patients is rather extraordinary.

For better or worse, nurses are much more respected than politicians.

What the nurses have told me, and I have had the opportunity on several occasions to sit down and talk with these nurses, is that what this strike has everything to do with is the safety of their patients.

They tell me that they are stressed out. They are burnt out and are leaving the profession they love in droves because they are overworked, undervalued, and are forced each and every day to do more work with less resources.

In the United States of America, we spend almost twice as much per capita as any other major country.

For working class people, lower income people, the gap in their life expectancy with the rich is about 10 years in America.

The function of a humane and civilized health care system is to provide quality care to all, not to make huge profits for the insurance companies, the drug companies.

This is a hearing designed to discuss the working conditions that nurses at the Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital are facing and why they have been on strike for almost 3 months.

We owe them a debt of gratitude that can never be repaid.

What the nurses have told me, and I have had the opportunity on several occasions to sit down and talk with these nurses, is that what this strike has everything to do with is the safety of their patients.

I have been on the Senate Health, Education and Labor Pension Committee for 18 years, and you know what, we have never had a larger meeting than this.

I have been on the Senate Health, Education and Labor Pension Committee for 18 years, and you know what, we have never had a larger meeting than this.

For better or worse, nurses are much more respected than politicians.

In the United States of America, we spend almost twice as much per capita as any other major country.

This is a hearing designed to discuss the working conditions that nurses at the Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital are facing and why they have been on strike for almost 3 months.