Frank Lautenberg: “I will not at this point accept a question. I want to make my remarks just as the Senator from Oklahoma had a chance to…”

“I will not at this point accept a question. I want to make my remarks just as the Senator from Oklahoma had a chance to make his remarks. Perhaps when we are finished I will be able to accommodate the Senator. Why are we not focused on soaring gasoline prices and the toll it takes on family budgets? People who plan their lives in my area, New Jersey--a very crowded area--have had to buy their houses some distance from their jobs because they couldn't afford the housing. They calculated the fact they would have to drive an hour each way--not unusual--10 hours a week behind the wheel of the car. Now, with gas prices as they are, the advantage they had by buying a home at a distance is evaporating in front of them. Why aren't we talking about that? Why aren't we talking about 46 million Americans without health insurance, every one of them worried about whether the next sickness is going to deprive them of their job, deprive them of their ability to feed and clothe their children and take care of them? Why aren't we talking about those things? Why aren't we talking about extending stem cell research? I don't know whether other Senators have had the same experience that I have. Families come in with children who are sick with juvenile diabetes. If you ask those children what they want out of life, they say: I want to stop having to stick my finger all the time with a needle. I want to be able to do things just like other children.…”