Political Quotes

“Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition to repealing the CLASS Act. You know, we all get old, or hopefully we will all get old and reach an elderly status, and we will then perhaps become physically unable to get around a whole lot and we may need to have some long-term care. Tea Partiers will need it. Occupy Wall Streeters will need it. Mitt Romney and his group of 15 percent taxpayers will need it. The only question is whether or not the 99ers and the Tea Partiers will be able to afford it. That is the only question. We're in the same boat. The CLASS Act was included in the health care law in order to help elderly and functionally disabled Americans purchase the services they need, which would enable them to continue living in their communities, as opposed to being forced into expensive private care which most of us can afford. So I understand that HHS had determined that the CLASS Act cannot be implemented as written based on financial considerations; but, ladies and gentlemen, that's no reason to throw out or to repeal this worthwhile initiative. We certainly need to improve it, but there's no need to repeal it. No matter what side of the political aisle you sit on, you cannot ignore that we need to improve access to long-term care. Approximately 10 million Americans are in need of long-term care, and this number is expected to increase to 15 million over the next decade. America is aging.…”