Tina Smith: “As I rise today to speak before my colleagues in the 108th session of the US Congress, I have a sense of deja vu. While…”

“As I rise today to speak before my colleagues in the 108th session of the US Congress, I have a sense of deja vu. While I have only been a member of the Senate since 1997, I have already seen the issues of prescription drugs for seniors and health care for the uninsured come and go--unresolved--a number of times. And while we continue to discuss the issues to death, people are dying. According to a recent report by the Institute of Medicine, an estimated 18,000 people die every year because they don't have health insurance, and don't get the care they need in a timely fashion. Eighteen thousand deaths a year. And millions more people suffer unnecessarily due to delays in care, or lack of access to care. We need to do something substantial, and we need to do it now. We have all heard the numbers, but they are so staggering that I have to mention them again. Today--right now as I speak--41 million Americans are living, working, and going to school without health insurance.”