Ron Wyden: “Senator Bennett of Utah and I have brought to the Senate the first bipartisan universal health care coverage legislation…”

“Senator Bennett of Utah and I have brought to the Senate the first bipartisan universal health care coverage legislation in more than 13 years. I thought today I would open my remarks on health care in something of a light fashion. There is a brand new study that has recently found Americans are no longer the tallest people in the world. Over the past 50 or so years, the U.S. population has lost that status and now ranks among the shortest among industrialized countries. The Netherlands now holds the honor for the tallest nation. The authors of this new study speculate this change may stem from the fact that most other affluent countries have health care systems that cover their entire population and that particularly healthy lifestyles and healthy diets are also significant factors. Senator Bennett is 6 foot 6. I am 6 foot 4. We would like our country to get its rightful position back as the leader among nations in the height department. We think part of what is going to be necessary to do that, in all seriousness, to make our health policies more health focused rather than just spending on health care, is to adopt some fresh policies.”