Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I served on the Ways and Means Committee when the ACA was passed, and I recall then-minority ranking member Dave Camp from Michigan, who went on to become the chairman later, offered an alternative to the ACA. He inquired of then-chairman Rangel: When are we going to get to the Republican alternative? When are we going to get to the Republican alternative? I remember this because I was sitting--I think I had the same seat that Mr. Higgins from New York has--down in front on the left side of the dais. Charlie Rangel evoked an old gospel song. He said: Soon and very soon, which is why I remember. Now, soon and very soon never came for that amendment. Soon and very soon never came for the Republican alternative to be considered in the Ways and Means Committee. Now what we are dealing with is the reality of the Affordable Care Act. Mr. Speaker, what we are proposing is to say: Look, we have got some suggestions; we think we can make this better. Is this reckless? I think not. I fundamentally reject that. When you accept the entire premise of the current structure of the Affordable Care Act, and you take something that pre-existed within the Affordable Care Act, that is health savings accounts, and you attach it and you expand it, where is the defensiveness? This is what is amazing to me about this debate. This is why our country is stuck.…”