Bill Clinton: “She said that--this lady is from the nurses association here in Florida. Give her a hand. [Applause] And the American…”

“She said that--this lady is from the nurses association here in Florida. Give her a hand. [Applause] And the American Nurses Association have been among the strongest supporters of our plan. I appreciate that. She said I said that I would veto any bill that didn't provide universal coverage; would I also veto a bill that didn't have cost controls? And would I comment on the role of advanced- practice nursing? Let me answer the second question first. We have achieved so much support among nurses in part because our plan permits the widest possible use of nurses to do things that they are properly trained to do anywhere in the country. And secondly, it's not as easy to say yes or no on that. I think there have to be cost controls in the plan. If there aren't some guarantees of controlling costs, we won't be able to prove to the Congressional Budget Office how much the plan costs, and we won't be able to pass it. So as a practical matter, no plan will pass and come to my desk unless there are clear, disciplined measures to make sure that costs are held down. It can't happen. But I don't want to get into a fight about what kinds of measures we'll accept or not accept.”