Political Quotes

“I am here to talk about insulin. You may wonder why someone would talk about insulin, given all the weighty and pressing issues we have before us in this Chamber and even more so in the world today. I will not begin to recite them, but insulin for millions of people--in fact, 30 million people in the United States--is a matter of life and death. Many of us are fortunate because we never have to think about insulin. Our bodies make enough of it to keep us healthy, and we go about our lives without a second thought concerning blood glucose or how our pancreas is functioning, but for those 30 million people--and quite a few of them visited us this morning in our offices, and they were present in the Committee on Aging at our hearing--insulin is a constant worry. It is top of mind. It is always present as an issue for them, in fact, on a daily basis. Patients with diabetes need to carefully monitor and adjust their insulin levels along with managing their physical activities, their diet, stress, pain, sleep levels. Many of those young people who came to the Committee on Aging today-- by the way, I want to thank Senators Collins and Casey for holding that hearing and giving them an opportunity to come to the Nation's Capitol and make us more aware--were wearing monitoring devices, hidden but a constant concern. They depend on insulin as a matter of life and death. It is not a luxury for them. It is not like ice cream or ball games. It is life and death.…”