Charles Rangel: “My friends, this is almost an historic occasion because, like the President of the United States said, it is our…”

“My friends, this is almost an historic occasion because, like the President of the United States said, it is our intention to extend health care to cover 10 million kids. I don't care how you cut it. You can call it socialized medicine. You can say it's outside of the budget. But when you go home, the question basically is going to be were you with the kids or were you not? It is not just the human and right thing to do, but from a fiscal point of view, how many billions of dollars do we save by providing preventative care to these youngsters? And certainly from a tax writer's point of view, how many of these kids are going to grow to be productive workers so that they can pay taxes and make a contribution to this great Republic? I don't know how you're going to explain how the kids can go to emergency wards if they get ill, as the President of the United States has indicated; but I know one thing, those of us who have kids and grandkids want the very best for them, and we do have this occasion now.”