Frank Pallone: “I hear constant references to conservativism, even if it is compassionate. I hear references to market forces and the…”

“I hear constant references to conservativism, even if it is compassionate. I hear references to market forces and the private market. They suggest that they are not privatizing and somehow Medicare has been privatized for some time going back to Lyndon Johnson. First of all, it is very important to understand that I personally, and I know this is true about my colleagues, we do not look at this from an ideological perspective. I do not think we really care whether it is conservative or liberal or market or regulatory. We are only interested in providing a prescription drug benefit to senior citizens, and, practically speaking, the best way to do that. My concern about the Republican side is they seem to be ideologically driven: there have to be market forces or this has to be some kind of conservative approach, and the notion that everything has to be privatized or really has been privatized all along. It is just not the case.”