Political Quotes

“It appears very clear that we don't have time to do all the things that need to be done. Those issues about which we felt so strongly prior to September 11 are issues that are still important to the American people: Senior citizens, and the cost of medicine. The cost of health care is going up. Prescription drug costs are going up. People are literally having to make decisions whether they are going to eat or get drugs. I have talked to them. People are supposed to take one pill a day. They break the pill in half. They take one-half of a pill each day. That isn't good for them. But it is better than nothing. We have people simply making the choice of whether they are going to eat this week or whether they are going to buy their medicine. We know there are important issues dealing with education that we haven't talked about for weeks. We know there are things we need to do about people who are working. We have a lot of minimum-wage jobs around the country. These are not people who are working at McDonald's flipping hamburgers. Sixty percent of the people who draw minimum wage are women. That is the only money they get for them and their families. Do we need a minimum wage adjustment? You bet we do. Things such as the Patients' Bill of Rights--that is just as important today as it was prior to September 11. What about campaign finance reform? That is important. But these are issues we have pushed way back on the calendar.”