Political Quotes

“Just a couple of quick thank-yous, and then I want to let my colleague wrap up for our side. It is pretty clear, Mr. President, that a bill of this magnitude does not happen by osmosis. It comes about because of scores of hearings, roundtables, briefings, and countless hours of staff time. I am just going to take a couple of minutes to thank some people who did so much to make this possible. First, I thank Leader Reid and his very capable health care staffer Kate Leone. When there is a big health care issue before the Senate, Kate Leone is the person you want to have in the trenches with you. I want to thank Senator Reid, because during the short tenure in which I was the chair of the Senate Finance Committee, we started working closely together on reforming the Medicare reimbursement system, and his leadership is very much a part of the success of this evening. Second, there was staff at the various congressional support agencies who provided technical assistance. We are talking about CMS, the Congressional Budget Office, the Congressional Research Service, legislative counsel, and the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission. I would also like to note the efforts made by Ira Burney, Anne Scott, and Jennifer Druckman in the CMS Office of Legislation and Tom Bradley and Lori Housman of the Congressional Budget Office. I would also like to recognize Chairman Hatch and his very capable and dedicated staff.…”