Newt Gingrich: “But I am so shaken when I see, as I did in the morning paper, your assertion that you would have to pass the plan with…”

“But I am so shaken when I see, as I did in the morning paper, your assertion that you would have to pass the plan with only Democratic votes. I am so disheartened when I see your side not willing to work with us on a bipartisan basis, that it is hard for me to respond to that the way I would like to. But I can assure you that if you would really like to work together, I am prepared to say let us start with, I think, the plans that are already out here that I think are bipartisan. I look at the Bilirakis/Rowland plan, I look at the Cooper/Grandy plan. I certainly look at the Thomas/Chafee plan. If you are willing to start with those plans as a beginning point, I think together we could be creative in finding a solution. What I cannot do, I say to my friend, it is not just that these are little points; the American people have learned painfully that big, thick bills become even bigger and thicker regulations and they need to long jail terms. This is not always obvious to everybody in public life, but you are actually supposed to obey these laws. In that context, it is dangerous for the Congress to just pass lots and lots of regulations that even very well-informed lawyers may not fully understand and be able to obey.”