Richard Burr: “I thank Senator Grassley for, as a key member of the Finance Committee, acknowledging the fact that it is time we treat…”

“I thank Senator Grassley for, as a key member of the Finance Committee, acknowledging the fact that it is time we treat all Americans the same; that if you give a tax break on one side, you should give a tax break on the other side; that you should treat everybody alike. I think we approach this in a bipartisan way with Senator Wyden and Senator Bennett, and though we disagree about exactly how to implement it, this is tremendous progress. As the chairman described the difficulty we have today and the challenge in front of us, I think all of us say: When are we going to fix it? Today, we are on the floor talking about an expansion for uninsured children. What we are attempting to do is to take care of the whole uninsured population. Through refundable tax credits, which I believe reach all Americans--not some and not just those with incomes that have tax deductibility at the end of a calendar year but all Americans--I think we accomplish that commitment to say we want to go out and make sure every American has coverage. We want to make sure they have the resources to go in the private marketplace and negotiate coverage that reflects their age, their income, their health condition. We want health care to be portable so you are no longer locked to an employer because of health care. We want individuals to have the capacity to take it with them, regardless of where they work.”