Dick Durbin: “because my friend from Arizona has waited patiently, I will turn the 5 minutes into 3 minutes. The question is health…”

“because my friend from Arizona has waited patiently, I will turn the 5 minutes into 3 minutes. The question is health insurance for Members of the Senate and their staff. The Senator from Louisiana said that we should not be treated any differently than anyone else, and he is right. It turns out that Members of the Senate and their staff go to get their health insurance through the insurance exchanges, just like 8 million other Americans, and we buy our health insurance not from a special little company but from the same list--in my case--of 100 different policies available to anyone working in the District of Columbia. My wife and I chose Blue Cross Blue Shield; that was our choice. We are paying a monthly premium. Our employer, the Federal Government, is contributing toward that premium like every other family in America where the employer makes a contribution, in this case the Federal Government, and the employee makes a contribution, in this case the Senator and his wife. We are being treated like everyone else. Now he wants to take away the employer contribution not just for the Members of the Senate but also for our staffers. All these poor hard- working people want is health insurance like every other family. The Senator from Louisiana is going to make a statement of principle here: They shouldn't get employer contribution for their health insurance. What a noble and courageous position.…”