Nita Lowey: “But it is that kind of attitude that is amazing. When you think about it, it really is extraordinary that elected…”

“But it is that kind of attitude that is amazing. When you think about it, it really is extraordinary that elected representatives would do that. Mr. Speaker, I have been in Congress now for about 8 years. We have had differences of opinion among Republicans and Democrats, among Democrats and Democrats. But eventually you sit down, you discuss it, you come up with something that is common sense, that makes sense. The gentleman mentioned the kinds of reforms and changes that we have been talking about all along. We had the 30th anniversary of Medicare this year. We talked about various ways to improve the program, to make it better, ways that we can root out real fraud and abuse. We know that. But we have been talking all these years, not about getting rid of it. The American people had one revolution. They do not want another one. We have been talking about how we make it better, whether it is Medicare, Medicaid, or even Social Security. We know that women, for example, who are the majority of the poor elderly in this country have been penalized for the years that they took off from work to raise their children. We have been working together to improve these programs so that women will not be penalized if they stay home.”