Richard Shelby: “I firmly believe it is my obligation, as an elected member of the United States Senate, to defend the liberty of the…”

“I firmly believe it is my obligation, as an elected member of the United States Senate, to defend the liberty of the constituents that put me in office. Freedom manifests itself in various ways, but one fundamental concept of importance in America is the protection of one's discretion over one's financial resources. I often raise this issue in the context of taxes, but in addition to allowing one to reap what one sows, it is equally important that people have the ability to spend their earnings as they see fit. I want to be perfectly clear what I think the essence is of what we are discussing when the issue of Medicare private contracting arises. We are talking about allowing people to spend their money as they see fit. This is a very simple, yet important, freedom that people enjoy. We are not talking about letting people buy illegal products, but rather about the right of people to spend their money on health care. Only in Washington DC could such a notion be considered controversial.”