Political Quotes

“Madam President, I rise to speak on the pending question, which is the Cruz amendment, to defund ObamaCare. I appreciate him offering the amendment on this very relevant issue. I am glad we are talking again about it. When I ran for office 2 years ago, this was one of the central issues. There has been a court decision since then. We need to understand, court decisions are about the constitutionality of something. They do not speak to its policy wisdom. That is what this debate is about today. I think it is important because since the election--and even going into the election--we had lost some view on this. But let me begin by saying health insurance is a problem in the United States. There is no doubt about it. I think that to be in opposition to the health care bill is not to say that we think nothing should happen. On the contrary, I know health insurance is a major problem for millions of Americans. Its affordability is a problem. Its access is a problem, the ability of people to get the kind of health coverage they want. In fact, when I was speaker of the Florida House--I had the honor of being that for 2 years in Florida--we actually worked on some ideas that created a marketplace where the private insurers and others could come together and create creative packages for people. That is the kind of insurance you need. Not everybody needs the same health insurance. Let me give you an example.…”