Political Quotes

“Representative Tonko, thank you so very much for the opportunity to join you this evening on this critical issue. We often call this the Ryan Roadmap, but it really is the Republican budget proposal. It's not only the chairman of the budget committee that put this out, but every Republican in this House voted for it. So they really have adopted this as their roadmap, as their solution to the problems that face this Nation. {time} 1850 You spoke very eloquently about the way in which this proposal would change who pays and how it's going to be paid for. It shifts the burden away from all of us. It shifts the burden onto individual seniors. One of the things that I found very interesting was: How much does it cost an individual senior? Now, recognize that those who are seniors today also suffer. It's not just those who will become seniors but those who are seniors today, and I'll come back to that during this discussion because that's a very, very important part. Our Republican friends have often said this doesn't affect anyone on Medicare. Well, the Medicare portion doesn't, but the Medicaid does because it does cut Medicaid. We'll come back to that. What I want to focus on is the shift of responsibility here and what it's going to cost an individual. If you are not yet 55, then you're going to be in a system that is not Medicare. As you say, it's a voucher program.…”