Political Quotes

“I don't wish to take much of the Senate's time, but I want to emphasize and echo the comments made by the Senator from Tennessee. He and his ranking member, Patty Murray of Washington, have done a magnificent job. What I want to emphasize is not necessarily the content of the bill, which he has outlined expertly, but the process by which this bill has come to the U.S. Senate. To me, it is an example of how this place can and should work. There were a series of essentially four all-day hearings. There were workshops to which all Senators were invited, and I think at least half of the Senate attended several of those workshops. We had a bipartisan witness list. We had Governors. We had insurance commissioners. We had experts on the health services industry from around the country. The result was a piece of negotiated, compromised but thoroughly worked through, and important legislation that can do exactly what the Senator from Tennessee outlined: Lower premiums, end the chaos in the individual market, save the Federal Government money over the period of the next 10 or 20 years, and really make a difference for the people of Maine. I particularly want to compliment and express my appreciation to Senator Alexander and Senator Rounds for the work they have done to bring the issue to this point. I deeply hope, as the Senator from Tennessee, Mr.…”