Political Quotes

“Thank you, Mr. Pallone, for your work in opposing these extreme Gingrich Medicare and Medicaid plans. What is amazing, and I want to take one small part out of what you said. The Gingrich plan and what they are trying to do in this body today is not much different from when they shut the government down last year. Medicare cuts, student loan cuts, cuts in the environment, all to pay for tax breaks for the richest people in society. One particular issue that you touched on is what they want to do to nursing home protections. Last year we thought we had won that battle. We thought that they would not try that again. Again, this year in their budget and in our committee, in the Committee on Commerce, and the Health Subcommittee when they are talking about these issues, the Gingrich plan again says let us repeal all the protections for nursing homes that this Congress, with President Reagan, passed 10 years ago. I thought in this society there was a consensus around making sure that there were protections against oversedation, protections against restraints or senior citizens in nursing homes.”