Frank Pallone: “some of the comments that are being made by my colleagues on the other side, both on the floor and in the Committee on…”

“some of the comments that are being made by my colleagues on the other side, both on the floor and in the Committee on Rules, have been very upsetting to me. I rise in opposition to the rule, but I heard the gentlewoman from Virginia just say that the rule was fair because it allows an up-or-down vote on what is the only good bill dealing with prescription drugs. That is not what fairness is about. That is not what democracy is about. I asked this morning in the Committee on Rules that the Democratic substitute and three other amendments that would lead to price reductions and another amendment that would provide a guaranteed Medicare benefit be placed in order. All were denied. My colleague may not agree with me, but the gentlewoman from Virginia should not suggest that the only thing that should be considered is what they think is the right thing. That is not the way a democracy operates. The other thing that upset me was that I heard the gentlewoman from Connecticut say that we should just read the bill. Let me tell my colleague, I read the bill. We have not had a lot of time to read the Republican bill, but I read it. There is nothing in it. It is not a Medicare benefit. It does not guarantee any benefit. It does not tell us what the premium is going to be. It does not tell us what the deductible is going to be. It does not tell us anything about whether it is going to be available anywhere, and there is no price reduction.”