Frank Pallone Jr.

I just wish that you would stop this obstruction, work with us on trying to make this a better system.

Did the Democrats get up and say, oh, Medicare Part D is terrible, let's repeal it or defund it? No. We said, let's work hard to make it better.

Let the goal here be to fix it, not nix it.

I have great respect for the gentleman from Pennsylvania, but, you know, here we go again, another cynical effort by the Republicans to delay, defund or ultimately repeal the Affordable Care Act.

If we want this law to work, we've got to make it right, we've got to fix it; not what the Republicans have been trying to do, nix it and repeal it.

We need to start listening to our people who sent us to Congress. They don't want the government shut down.

Improving and strengthening Medicare so that the program can serve as a reliable resource for seniors and the disabled for years to come is critically important.

But with more than 20,000 deaths occurring each year due to the misuse and abuse of prescription drugs, we must ensure that our research, education, and prevention efforts are addressing this major public health and safety concern.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, prescription drug abuse is an epidemic.

Let us face the realities at hand and not myths.

The Medicaid program operates with efficiency. Medicaid costs are nearly four times lower than average private plans.

I fought hard to make sure that the expansion of Medicaid was included in the Affordable Care Act.

Providing affordable health coverage is crucial not only to protect the vulnerable population but also to keep health care costs down.

It just seems to me that what you are proposing sounds nice in theory, but I think much of the testimony seems to indicate it doesn't work out practically.

If patients are to have confidence in the safety and quality of these drugs, we must ensure that compounders meet safety and quality standards.

Access to compounding drugs is crucial for patients who have unique medical needs.

I urge my colleagues to use this as an opportunity to move forward to determine what changes are needed rather than looking back and casting blame.

I am pleased that we are having this hearing today because drug distribution security is critical to public health and safety.

I am disappointed that the funding proposal for the Children's Hospital Graduate Medical Education program is only $88 million, a two-thirds cut from the fiscal year 2012 level.

It is time to focus more attention on improving mental health services to make sure troubled kids don't fall through the cracks.

I regret that my State, New Jersey, is one of the 26 States that will rely on federal exchanges rather than run its own.

This constant notion that the priority is to repeal the ACA... makes it very difficult for us to sit down on a bipartisan level.

It is going to be very difficult in that poisoned atmosphere to talk about constructive reforms.

The Affordable Care Act begins those improvements. It reduces Medicare spending, extends solvency, and brings growth in per-patient costs to record lows.

It is no exaggeration to say that Medicare alone is the most successful health care and anti-poverty program ever.