Political Quotes

“Thank you, Mr. President. In response to what the majority whip mentioned, the fact is that we had the opportunity and the time. The motion that I offered with respect to the Medicare-provided give-back legislation and the prescription drug benefit is including further amendments and debate. That is all we are asking, to have the opportunity to debate and amend a package on the floor of the Senate that gives our Nation's seniors the option of having a prescription drug benefit in the Medicare program. It is not a question of whether I protest too much. I can assure you, our Nation's seniors will protest when they learn about the failure of this institution to pass any prescription drug benefit. We were close to working out our differences on the few issues that really did separate us on the two packages that were before the Senate back in July. It really came down to several different issues. We had ongoing negotiations, even including additional Members who had been working on this issue before, because we were reaching out. We were close to reaching an agreement, whether it was on the cost or the fallback, to ensure every senior had the option and the access to a prescription drug benefit that was designed in that program, regardless of where they lived in America, so no one would be denied. We were close to reaching that consensus. But for some unexplainable reason, further negotiations were suspended.”