Thomas Mott Osborne: “I have heard that the Republicans are out to destroy Medicare, been bought off by the drug companies, went to expensive…”

“I have heard that the Republicans are out to destroy Medicare, been bought off by the drug companies, went to expensive banquets. I am a member of the majority. I have not heard from anyone in the drug companies. I have not taken a dime from anybody in drug companies, and I really wonder how many people on both sides of the aisle can say exactly the same thing. This is something I would be very interested in hearing. I am really interested in basic fairness. That is something that I think in my former life usually we felt we saw. There is a significant difference between the two plans. The main difference, which I did not hear discussed here this evening, is that one plan costs between $800 billion and $1 trillion, and no one knows exactly how much. The other plan spends $350 billion. So the Democrat plan is three times, roughly, as expensive. Now, if we spend three times as much money, we can probably just about provide anything that anybody wanted. But at some point, we have to pay for it; and $350 billion was budgeted more than a year ago for Medicare and prescription drugs. The Republican bill fits within that $350 billion frame.”