Pete Stark: “Mr. Speaker, the debate comes down to this: Do you favor big tobacco or children? Do you favor big tobacco and insurance…”

“Mr. Speaker, the debate comes down to this: Do you favor big tobacco or children? Do you favor big tobacco and insurance company profits or seniors? We come down on the side of children and seniors, and that's what this bill is all about. You've heard over and over and over again there is no change of eligibility, but you insist on saying the same untruth because you want to make a point in the press. That is wrong. There are not any illegal aliens going to get in here. What we took out was what you put in. The fact is that we took out your requirement that people bring in papers when their kid is sick and dying, and you're saying to a parent, now you've got to prove you're a citizen before we'll take care of your kid. That's what you're doing. You've taken your clothes off in public. You don't want to take care of children.”