On the recordSeptember 28, 2010
I am sympathetic to the purpose of this bill. What I'm saying and what, I think, the American people are beginning to say pretty loudly is that they are uncomfortable with the government's making these decisions as to what will be disclosed and what will be withheld. I think the American people are sympathetic. I don't know of a family in America who has not faced a medical emergency or who has not faced a relative or a family member who has had a large medical bill. So it sounds like something that would benefit people who have gone through medical crises. With each example of that, you could select another example of someone, let's say, who had had elective surgery or a type of plastic surgery who then had just not paid his bills for a few years. That might be an example to which we would all say, well, that wasn't intended, and that information would not be shared with lenders or with a landlord or whomever. As I say, I think that this is something Congress can decide, and you obviously have some bipartisan support for this bill.
