Political Quotes

“Mr. President, while Senators Alexander and Rounds are on the floor--Senator King has just left--I find it ironic that the four of us who are gathered here are former Governors and are interested in getting things done and are interested in working across the aisle. We want to be able to achieve better results for less money. I applaud Senators Alexander and Murray for their efforts in trying to ensure that we begin to do that. I think my friend from South Dakota gives much credit to President Obama in his attacking what was originally bipartisan legislation that had been introduced here in 1993 by Senator Orrin Hatch, with 22 Republican cosponsors, and that later became RomneyCare. The idea behind their proposal was that there ought to be exchanges in every State and that the people could join if they did not have healthcare coverage; No. 2, that there would be a sliding scale tax credit to help buy down the cost of coverage for people who got their care in the exchanges; No. 3, that there would be an individual mandate that said you don't have to get coverage but that, if you don't, you have to pay a fine; No. 4, that there would be an employer mandate that said employers of a certain size would have to cover their people; No. 5, that insurance companies could not refuse to cover people with preexisting conditions. Barack Obama had nothing to do with that. We continue to hear folks deride the idea of the exchanges and the five points I just mentioned as ObamaCare.…”