Frank Lautenberg: “I regret this is among the last opportunities we will have to meet on the floor with our distinguished colleague from…”

“I regret this is among the last opportunities we will have to meet on the floor with our distinguished colleague from Minnesota, who has always been forthright on the issues, sticking up for what he believes, no matter what the penalty. I want to respond to these challenges that I hear on television about where are the-- essentially, and I will inject the word; they don't use it, but they say--cowards who won't come down on the floor to defend their position? Who are they? Challenge me on cowardice? You have to look at my record before they start that stuff. I was an original cosponsor of the Ryan White CARE Act. That was back in 1990. I have been an active supporter of this legislation for many years now. So I do not appreciate some of the lectures I have been hearing from people who claim that this is a principled issue with them and that we are being cruel and unfair and all kinds of things. It is nonsense. Let's discuss the issue rationally and see where they have been all these years when we have had practically flat funding on this critical issue for some 4 years now, not even meeting the growth in inflation.”