Bill Clinton: “Thank you very much, all of you, for your obvious passion and concern for this issue. I thank Senator Daschle and…”

“Thank you very much, all of you, for your obvious passion and concern for this issue. I thank Senator Daschle and Congressman Gephardt. I thank Congressman Ganske for his very moving and highly illustrative argument. I don't think any of you will ever forget it. I thank Barbara Blakeney and Dr. Smoak for their strong representation of health care providers throughout our country. I thank all the health care advocates who are here today, all the Members of Congress, especially I thank also Senator Kennedy and Congressman Dingell, and Secretary Shalala and Secretary Herman who cochaired our quality health care commission that produced our recommendation for a health care bill of rights for patients. Let me say, first of all, I hope that the presence of Congressman Ganske and Congressman Forbes will be appreciated not just by Democrats on Capitol Hill but by Republicans out in America. I don't believe this is a partisan issue any place but Washington, DC. I've tried for years to talk them out of it, but I think most doctors are still Republican. [Laughter] I've tried for years to turn them around, but most voters in most parts of my country still vote Republican. But when you show up at a hospital in an emergency room, or you test positive on a biopsy, nobody asks you what political party you belong to.…”