Political Quotes

“Mr. President, let's revisit recent history. Four weeks ago, my Republican colleagues were meeting secretly in this building, in a hallway that the press was not allowed in because they didn't want to have the press see them sneaking in and sneaking out of this completely undemocratic process--13 Republican men crafting a healthcare plan to destroy healthcare for 22 million Americans. That is where we were 4 weeks ago. We made a big deal out of the fact that is not the way a Congress is supposed to operate. You are supposed to have committee hearings. You are supposed to have committee debate and invite experts in. You are supposed to have time to consult with your constituents back home, but none of that was happening. No, we had the Republican zero-zero-zero process: Zero committee meetings. How does that compare to more than 100 committee meetings and roundtables and walkthroughs from 8 years ago? Zero committee amendments. How does that compare to more than 400 amendments that were considered 8 years ago and more than 100 minority amendments, Republican amendments, that were adopted in this process? Zero exposure of the bill to the folks back home and to the healthcare stakeholders. Then, 2 weeks ago, we had a draft, and we had a chance to circulate that draft and get a few folks from home to weigh in on what it looked like. We received a CBO analysis. Yes, it looked a lot like the House bill.…”