William Tauzin: “I want to start this discussion by laying something on the table that I think ought to be a predicate to all the…”

“I want to start this discussion by laying something on the table that I think ought to be a predicate to all the discussions we have, a precedent. The first thing I think we ought to put on the table for everyone to consider is that no Democrat, no Republican, has a greater claim to loving their parents and their grandparents than anyone else in this body. No one can credibly make an argument that because they are a member of one party or the other, they love their parents or grandparents more than a member of the other party. This is not about parties. We should love our parents and grandparents enough to make sure that the Medicare system is not only solvent for the next 7 years but is solvent for as long as we can possibly see into the future. It is that important. My mother is a cancer survivor twice, survived breast cancer surgery in 1961, survived lung cancer surgery in 1980. She is a miracle, a product of the miracles of medicine. I consider her my miracle mom. She is still around. She is celebrating her birthday this week at the Senior Olympics in Baton Rouge, in her two favorite categories, shot put and javelin, believe it or not. She is doing great. She is one of the incredible success stories of our Medicare program, of our health care system.”