Nancy Pelosi: “Thank you, Madam Speaker. I thank the gentleman for yielding. I commend him for his exceptional leadership on this…”

“Thank you, Madam Speaker. I thank the gentleman for yielding. I commend him for his exceptional leadership on this issue. The issue of health care for Americans has been a signature issue for the Dingell family. Mr. Dingell, the distinguished chairman's father, was the author of legislation for access to health care for all Americans. He continues that tradition. He was in the chair the day and gaveled the vote on Medicare. So thank you for your years of experience and leadership, and, again, your leadership on this important issue of insuring our children. This isn't about an issue; this is about a value. My colleagues, as I listen to the debate today, I hear a lot of subterfuge and distractions; but the fact is that this is a discussion about America's children and it is a discussion about America. There is no industrialized country in the world that anyone respects that does not provide health insurance for its children. We are the exception. This is not a designation to be proud of. But the American people in their wisdom have this not as an issue, but as a value, as an ethic.”