Steny Hoyer: “Reclaiming my time, very seriously I want to tell the gentleman that any implication that the gentleman from Michigan…”

“Reclaiming my time, very seriously I want to tell the gentleman that any implication that the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Dingell), who has fought for Medicare and health care legislation longer, harder, than any member on this floor from either party, and whose father preceded him in that fight, is somehow not interested in passing a bill is inaccurate, Mr. Speaker. The gentleman made a mistake if that is his premise. I want to advise him, respectfully, that he is wrong. I also believe that Mr. Berry and Mr. Rangel are extraordinarily interested in passing a bill. Now, their perspective may be different. As far as we know, there have been no conference meetings in the sense of the conferees getting together and discussing differences and trying to iron those differences out in the last 2 months.”