Sam Gejdenson: “I watched this institution debate a number of issues in the years that I have been here, but never before have I seen…”

“I watched this institution debate a number of issues in the years that I have been here, but never before have I seen such an incredible amount of money coming from special interest groups trying to defeat a piece of legislation. And in that way, health care is different from the battles we had in the past on civil rights or Social Security, even different from the battle we had in getting Medicare for our senior citizens. Madam Speaker, Tip O'Neill used to talk about, when he came to this Congress, over half the senior citizens in this country lived in poverty; they were without medical coverage; they were the pity of the country. We took action in this Congress in previous decades, first with Social Security and then with Medicare, and we made progress that now the entire country recognizes has made this a better place for our senior citizens to live. Most of the people who oppose the President's plan today come from the political party that opposed social security and opposed Medicare as well. They made dire predictions about what would happen to America if we passed Social Security and Medicare. They were wrong them; they are wrong today. We are losing choice today as Americans; if you have a child with juvenile diabetes, you have no choice, you cannot get coverage for that child as it reaches maturity.”