Political Quotes

“I wish to say a word in response to my earlier objections and note the bill related to Medicare, presented by the Senator from Kentucky, the Republican minority leader, failed to include critical provisions that we had in our earlier legislation. Our legislation would have provided financial assistance to low-income Medicare beneficiaries who cannot afford Medicare premiums and it would have finally moved us forward on the issue of mental health parity. This is an issue that is long overdue. There are millions of American families who are struggling with mental health issues. They understand that the high copayments for mental health services in effect deny service to a lot of those who cannot afford them. We wanted to address that in the bill. We thought it was a priority. The Senator from Kentucky in his measure they brought before us did not include that, and that is unfortunate. I say to the Senator from Kentucky, I believe in the battle of ideas on the floor of the Senate.”