Byron Dorgan: “there has been an interesting discussion, and an energetic discussion, I might say, in this Chamber this morning. Early…”

“there has been an interesting discussion, and an energetic discussion, I might say, in this Chamber this morning. Early on this morning, beginning I believe at 9:30 for 1\1/2\ hours we had a team come to the floor of the Senate, and it is a disciplined team, all headed the same direction, all pulling in the same harness, to tell the country that the problem with the health care bill, the so-called Kassebaum-Kennedy bill that has been addressed this morning, is that the Democrats are holding it up because of something called MSA's, or medical savings accounts. In truth, of course, the Kassebaum-Kennedy bill, which is a very important bill, is being held hostage by people who voted for it; 100 to nothing it passed this Chamber, by those who insist that they want to add something to it, and if they cannot add something to it they will not let it pass. Let me describe briefly what this bill is. Most of it has been described. Let me go back a bit, if I can, to put it in perspective. I come from a small town, 300 people, in southwestern North Dakota, down near farming and ranching country, and we had one doctor in my hometown. He was a wonderful doctor named Dr. Simon Hill. He came to my hometown in the early 1900's, and he practiced medicine until he was nearly 80 years old. When he was practicing medicine in my hometown in the mid 1900's, there was no Medicare Program. A fair number of people had no insurance.”