Bill Clinton: “Let me just say--[applause]--thank you--the reason I proposed the shared responsibility requirement is the reason--there…”

“Let me just say--[applause]--thank you--the reason I proposed the shared responsibility requirement is the reason--there were two reasons. One is the one mentioned by Governor Romer. It was the natural outgrowth of what we had, and we knew that we could get studies that would show that it would actually lower average costs of small business. We also knew we could afford to subsidize the smallest businesses and the people that were on the lowest profit margins so they could make it. And we knew that if that happened on a national basis, nobody would be at a competitive disadvantage. I know that these ads that this other health reform group has been running--I didn't even know about it until they were on the air-- involving the fast food operations and not covering their workers in America and covering their workers in Japan and Germany have been somewhat controversial, but they make the point, which is that if all your competitors are in the same boat you're in, you don't go broke doing this. They make that point. And so, I did it for that reason. The second reason I recommended it is that we had evidence. We had the evidence of Hawaii; we had the evidence of Germany which has a mixed system and which provides high-quality care at a lower cost even than the Canadian system. So, we had evidence. We had a system that could be expanded, and we had evidence. I have never ruled out another option. I just have never seen one I thought would work. And I do believe we have to keep working toward that. And as I said, I keep saying there ought to be a middle ground here. And I always enjoy reminding Senator Packwood that he and President Nixon recommended the 50-50 employer-employee split in 1972, and I don't believe that the Republican Party has moved that far from its moorings in the last 22 years. So, I'm asking them to come home a little bit, and I still think we can do it.”