Political Quotes

“The State of New York said: We want to cover families up to $83,000; it is more expensive to live in New York than it might be in some other State. But ultimately it was a decision to be made by the President. The President had to give them permission, and he denied it. Under this bill, the President still has that authority to deny States permission to go beyond $62,000 a year. So he still has that authority. Arguing $83,000 makes no sense. He turned it down. We didn't change that in this bill. The President still has the authority to stop any program that would expand in that direction. In my State and others, I concede, we have been trying to find every way we can to insure people. Our Governor, the general assembly, and other people have tried to find ways to work with the Federal Government to cover people who don't have health insurance. As a reminder--I know the Senator from North Dakota is well aware-- the poorest children in America are covered by Medicaid. The poorest children have health insurance. The children who are fortunate enough to have parents with health insurance aren't the ones we are talking about. We are talking about the group of children who belong to families who go to work every single day and have no health insurance. That is a lot of Americans and a lot of kids. I have had several press conferences during the break at hospitals with doctors and nurses. They tell the story of these children.…”