Political Quotes

On the recordDecember 5, 2013
I am not surprised that the majority leader wants to talk about health care, because much of that legislation he has talked about then, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46 times that the Republican Party has tried to repeal health care. My view, I want to make it very clear, is that this bill is substantively a very positive bill for the American people. A bill to which the gentleman referred that Republicans offered in 2009 covered less than 3 million people of the 30 to 40 million people that had no insurance in America. So less than 10 percent were covered by the Republican bill. Tens of millions of people, I predict, by the middle of next year, are going to be having coverage and having health care assurance because we passed this health care insurance bill. He is right, the rollout was terrible. We are all disappointed with that, the President is disappointed with that, and it is being worked on. Now he doesn't recall, of course, perhaps, or he hasn't mentioned the rollout of the prescription drug bill, which wasn't too smooth, either. And, of course, the health care bill is broader even than that. He may not recall that Medicare had a tough rollout for a couple of years. But there is nobody on this floor who is saying, I am not saying that they don't believe it because I think there are people who believe we ought not to have Medicare. As a matter of fact, a former majority leader, not this majority leader, said we shouldn't have Medicare in a free society.…
Said by
Steny Hoyer
Democratic · Maryland
Source
govinfo.gov
Dec 5, 2013

Share

More from Steny Hoyer

Jul 27, 2026

Today, I join in celebrating the thirty-sixth anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) – pivotal legislation that reshaped the lives of millions of Americans living with disabilities, guaranteeing them equal access and…

hoyer.house.gov
Aug 14, 2026

“I look forward to working with my colleagues to reach agreement and pass robust and bipartisan sanctions legislation. We must send the strongest possible message of American support as Ukraine defends democracy against despotism.”

hoyer.house.gov
Jul 19, 2026

The proposed Regulation for Federal Financial Assistance represents a threat to every one of those efforts to better American lives, strengthen our economy, and keep our country competitive.

hoyer.house.gov
Jul 23, 2026

Hardworking civilian federal employees at the Defense Department are no less deserving of an annual raise than their compatriots in uniform.

hoyer.house.gov

Other voices in this conversation