Political Quotes

“Suffice it to say my displeasure with the way the rule has been handled in its substance and the way the rights of the minority have been constrained remain. I observe also that those constraints affect the ability of this House to legislate well, as they affect the rights of the people who look to us to see to it that their concerns are properly protected in the consideration of legislation. I will speak, rather, Mr. Chairman, of the substitute which will be offered by the gentleman from California [Mr. Waxman], and I point out that this substitute is a reasonable alternative. It permits Members to support an extension of the program and an expansion of the program while providing very important consumer protections. First, the substitute differs from the newly-drafted underlying bill in three particulars. It expands the Medicare Select Program to all 50 States for a 5-year period, just like the bill reported out of the Committee on Commerce. Five years permits an ample opportunity to execute the program, to evaluate it, and to permit the Congress to come back and to extend the period, if necessary, or to make whatever changes might appear appropriate at the conclusion of 5 years. Second, it bans attained age rating that lets insurance companies raise rates on elderly people as they age.”