David Thomas: “we wanted to continue our effort with the freshmen focus to bring to the Senate some of the views that from time to time…”

“we wanted to continue our effort with the freshmen focus to bring to the Senate some of the views that from time to time may be unique because we are freshmen, unique because this is the first term we have served here, I suppose unique because, perhaps, we are a little impatient to move forward. Of course, all of us have great respect for the traditions, but sometimes it is a little discouraging to say, ``Gee, we ought to be doing something a little different,'' and to hear, ``Well, it's the way we've done it for 200 years,'' you know. And there is some merit to the 200 years thing. I want to talk a little bit this morning--and I will be joined by a number of my colleagues--about health care and about the issues that surround health care. I suppose, in a broader sense, we are talking about choices, talking about issues, and the choices we have among issues, the choices that we have as to the ways in which we can accomplish the things that all of us want to accomplish. I do not think there is a soul in here who does not want to move forward with health care. There is no one in the Congress, there is no one in the country who does not want to create a program in which there are greater opportunities for American families to have access to superior health care. Nobody quarrels with that. The quarrel, of course, comes in, how do you do it? There are legitimately different views as to how you accomplish the things that we want to accomplish.”