Madam President, I can't say with any certainty anything about the critics of the government's affordable health care plan, except one thing: Each of the critics on the Republican side of the aisle of what they call government-administered health insurance--every single Senate Republican critic is currently protecting his or her family with government-administered health care. In other words, what is good enough for their families should not be good enough for the rest of America. As a show of good faith, I think the Republican Senators should come to the floor today and say: Not only are we going to vote for repeal of health care reform, we are going to show our personal commitment by walking away from the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program, a government-administered health insurance program. I would admire them so much if their actions as Senators reflected their speeches on the floor. But they don't. They are denying to the rest of America what every single Member of Congress has available today to protect their families. That, to me, is indefensible. A judge in Florida this week decided that this Affordable Health Care Act was unconstitutional. Before we get carried away with that decision, step back. This law has been challenged 16 times in Federal courts. Twelve courts have dismissed the challenges on procedural grounds, saying the person who filed the suit didn't have standing in court. Four of the Federal courts decided it on the merits.…
On the recordFebruary 2, 2011
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