Barbara Boxer: “I will respond to the plea from my friend from Texas, his plea that we finish this bill. No one wants to finish this…”

“I will respond to the plea from my friend from Texas, his plea that we finish this bill. No one wants to finish this bill more than the authors of the bill, Senators McCain, Kennedy, and Edwards. They have been working to compromise; they have been working with Republicans. That is the reason we are winning these votes on amendments, because we are getting Republican and Democratic votes and carrying the majority. We also want to finish this bill and do things the right way. Why do folks stand up and talk about issues that are already taken care of in this bill? I know there is a disagreement on the fine print. That is what the frustration level is. I hope my friend will work with Senator Snowe as she seeks to craft a bipartisan amendment dealing with the employer liability. Right now, as I read the bill, employers do not have liability; they cannot be sued unless they personally make the decision to withhold care from the patient. Most employers do not do that. They contract with providers, and those providers will be held responsible. I find it very interesting that my friends on the other side of the aisle--most of them, certainly not all of them; and we are happy to have Senator McCain and other Senators joining with us on many of these amendments--I find it intriguing that they keep talking about these poor HMOs and insurance companies.”