Richard Gephardt: “the bill that the Republican leadership has brought to the floor is what happens when they bring a bill that they really…”

“the bill that the Republican leadership has brought to the floor is what happens when they bring a bill that they really do not believe in, when they bring a bill that is really designed to be political cover to address an area they really genuinely do not believe needs to be treated with legislation. It is a fake. It is a fig leaf. It is a sham. It is a subterfuge. It is a charade. It is cosmetic. It is ineffective. And it will not work to solve the real problems and the real concerns that the American people have in this area. If Republicans really believed in their bill and thought that it had merit, they would have had extensive hearings in the committee and allowed doctors and nurses, senior citizens and patients, consumers, health care company officials and others to come and testify and tell us in the Congress their feelings, pro and con, about the bill. If they really believed in their bill and what it did, they would not have been writing it at midnight last night, changing it, trying to shove things into it to try to attract the last few votes on their side to be able to pass the bill. They would have proudly stood for their bill as an effective answer. Mr. Speaker, I just ask Members today to ask themselves one simple question: Where are the doctors and nurses on this piece of legislation?”