Bill Pascrell: “I have got to say this to Chairman Brady and to our leader, Mr. Levin: you guys did a great job in keeping us together…”

“I have got to say this to Chairman Brady and to our leader, Mr. Levin: you guys did a great job in keeping us together, and I think the words that I will take away are what Dr. Burgess said about this being a collaborative effort. Mr. Speaker, if someone came down from Mars today into this Chamber, he would be shocked by the camaraderie. This is great. This is a good feeling. You have got to admit it is a good feeling. I know it is before Palm Sunday, but I have got a good feeling today, on Thursday. This effort, I think, establishes a very good precedent for revitalizing the integrity of this Congress, of this institution. We here, Mr. Brady and Mr. Levin, got out of our echo chambers. We love to hear ourselves. You know that. It is part of the DNA of being a Congressperson. We got out of those echo chambers, and we actually listened to each other. That is shocking. If we can rise above our own attempts to be ideologues, we can accomplish a hell of a lot here for the people of the United States. They deserve no less. The repeal and the replacement of SGR ends the constant looming of deep payment cuts to Medicare physicians, which, as we have heard, jeopardizes the participation in the program and jeopardizes seniors' access to their doctors. As a result of this law, our Medicare payment system will finally be rooted in the quality of services provided as opposed to the quantity, results rather than fee for service. I must say, Mr.…”