Alcee Hastings: “Mr. Speaker, it is very difficult to not get involved in the discussion that is ongoing. There is a great need for us to…”

“Mr. Speaker, it is very difficult to not get involved in the discussion that is ongoing. There is a great need for us to correct a few things, and I hope that I can without exuding the passion that I normally bring to debate. I would borrow from an article in today's New York Times written by Paul Krugman where he says, ``Let's step back a minute. This is a bill with huge implications for the future of Medicare. It is also, at best, highly controversial. One might therefore have expected an advocacy group for retired Americans to take its time in responding, to make sure that major groups of retirees won't actually be hurt, and to poll its members to be sure that they are well informed about what the bill contains and do not object to it. Instead, AARP executives have thrown their weight behind an effort to ram the bill through before Thanksgiving. And, no, it is not urgent to get the bill passed so retirees can get immediate relief. The plan won't kick in until 2006 in any case, so no harm will be done if the Nation takes some time to consider.''”