Jim Inhofe: “I am sure the occupant of the chair would agree because he was one of the rare Democrats who stood up and said we should…”

“I am sure the occupant of the chair would agree because he was one of the rare Democrats who stood up and said we should repeal that unfair tax on money that has already been spent. Also, with the farm crisis we have had out West in my State, I have yet to find one person out there who wasn't more concerned about losing his farm because of the very unfair death tax than even the farm bill. But that is not what we are here to talk about. I think something the Senator from Texas, Mr. Gramm, said has to be repeated over and over; that is, this Hagel-Ensign bill is a lot less expensive and does a better job, but there is one major reason. We have a saying out in Oklahoma that 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it.' That is exactly what the situation is. We have a lot of people who don't need additional coverage now. If they don't need it, why provide it? Why get into some very large program? Now, we have had two programs that have been rejected today. The first would not do for seniors what it said it would do, and it would have cost a lot more than we can afford, and it would not have included a lot of the drugs the seniors need.”