David Price: “this bill before us today is a truly bipartisan achievement, a vast improvement on the budget bill approved in this…”

“this bill before us today is a truly bipartisan achievement, a vast improvement on the budget bill approved in this Chamber a month ago, one that we can vote for with great confidence. I want to applaud colleagues on both sides of the aisle who have brought us to this day. This agreement includes $24 billion for our Nation's children. Five million American children who are not now covered will have health insurance protection because of this agreement. The agreement also protects our veterans, ensuring that any shortfalls in medical care collections do not translate into less health care for those who have fought for our country. Finally, this agreement protects the elderly of this country. It expands Medicare coverage for diagnostic and preventive health care services. It extends the life of the Medicare trust fund for another 10 years. And it establishes a commission to ensure the long-term solvency of the trust fund so our Nation's senior citizens are not continually put at the mercy of budget negotiators. I want to thank my colleagues, whose tenacity enabled us to reach a solid bipartisan budget agreement, and I urge all my colleagues to support it.”