Political Quotes

“just 2 days ago I came to the floor and introduced a bipartisan resolution, the resolution cosponsored by myself, Senator Mark Dayton, Senator Norm Coleman, Senator Tom Harkin, and others. What did the resolution say? It said that we would recognize that we are about to observe the fourth anniversary of the death of our former colleague, Paul Wellstone, who died in an airplane crash during his campaign for reelection to the U.S. Senate for Minnesota. It speaks of his service to Minnesota, the fact that he was a loving father and husband, that he dedicated his life to public service and to education, and that he worked tirelessly to advance mental health parity for all citizens of the United States. This, of course, goes on to explain, in the course of this resolution, that Paul Wellstone died before he could pass the most important bill on this subject, the mental health parity bill. So I resolved that: [O]n the fourth anniversary of his passing, Senator Paul Wellstone should be remembered for his compassion and leadership on social issues throughout his career; Congress should act to help citizens of the United States who live with a mental illness by enacting legislation to provide for equal coverage of mental health benefits with respect to health insurance coverage unless comparable limits are imposed on medical or surgical benefits. . . . That language in this resolution is directly from the Domenici- Wellstone bill on mental health parity.”