Political Quotes

“before I make a unanimous request on this important bipartisan, bicameral bill, I wish to talk for a moment about why it is so critical that the Senate pass this urgently needed legislation. For hundreds of thousands of Americans and their families waiting for a transplant, this is not an abstract issue. We are talking about life and death. More than 100,000 people are on the waiting list to receive a transplant, and, on average, 17 people die each day waiting for an organ transplant. In the first half of this year alone, more than 2,200 Americans have died while waiting for a transplant. The inadequacies of the current system are especially harmful to minority populations who are disproportionately represented on the organ transplant waitlist, yet, on average, wait longer for a transplant and are at a higher risk of death while waiting. I would just say to my colleagues that this is morally repugnant, and this legislation begins, finally, to root out this bias against our minority communities. For the last 40 years, the same contractor has had a stronghold on this contract. The lack of competition has not been in the best interest of patients, and this fall the contract will be up for renewal. In last year's bipartisan investigation, the Finance Committee found shocking failures with the current contractor who oversees the entire system: long wait times for patients on transplant lists, viable organs being lost or damaged in transit.…”