to achieve universal healthcare for the American people.

The proposals fall into two broad categories, as you have heard. Some are like Medicare for All, sweeping single-payer reforms which would cover everybody in the United States.

We want to bring our tax dollars home.

This is not something where you can say we are going to get something that looks like something elsewhere in the world.

At the beginning of this year, as when my colleagues elected me the chairwoman, the question was asked, 'Will you have a hearing on Medicare for All?' And I said that I would.

Is there any better gift to a loved one than health insurance?

Now, the Democrats this week are going to pass one of the missing links to allow Medicare to negotiate prices and drive down drug costs and then carry that over to private insurance, so that is going to be a great thing for families.

These proposals would diminish the rate of reimbursement for hospitals and thus would inevitably degrade the quality of that care.

I was unable to be present during roll call vote number 649. Had I been present, I would have voted: on roll call vote number 649, YES. ____________________

It's hard to see these developments as anything but intentional efforts to weaken an important social safety net program.

Will you send the letters of inquiry to me?

I consider this a moral issue. A moral issue. And why? Because we are talking about veterans. We are talking about the elderly. We are talking about domestic violence victims.