On the recordJanuary 19, 2011
I am very, very sorry that my Republican friends have chosen to put this repeal bill through. In light of the events in Tucson, we all say we are going to work together. The American people want us to work together. This is not the way to do it. If there's a problem with the bill, we should tweak it or change it. We shouldn't repeal it. If there is a problem and things need to be changed, we should put our heads together and try to do it. The Republicans say that they want to cut costs in government. The CBO says that this bill will save us $230 billion over 10 years and $1.2 trillion over 20 years; and the first thing the Republicans bring up is to repeal this bill, which will add to the deficit. This is political theater. It's a charade. This isn't going to be repealed. Let us put our heads together and figure out what makes sense. I'm willing to change the bill, but repealing it is the absolutely wrong way to do it. The American people understand that right now, if they have a preexisting condition, they cannot be denied coverage.
