Political Quotes

“And my colleagues, a budget shows our priorities for financial expenditures but our moral priorities as well. There are many reasons to oppose the Ryan budget, but what it does to Medicare and Medicaid are on the top of my list. They would end Medicare as people have known it. Rather than have a guaranteed benefit, they turn it into a voucher. There would be no guarantee that people would be able to get the services they need and get those benefits provided to them under this voucher. Every year, that voucher would be capped, so they would have to buy a cheaper and cheaper policy with fewer and fewer benefits. For Medicaid, the Ryan budget cuts $810 billion, ending the coverage for over 70 million Americans: 17 million are seniors or people with disabilities, and 33 million are children, for whom we want to have at least a chance of starting life in the best of health. They would make this into a block grant, cutting $110 billion, shifting the cost on to the States, on to the providers, on to the beneficiaries. They don't hold down costs. They simply shift them. I urge a ``no'' vote on the Ryan budget.”