Ron Wyden: “this bipartisan measure will be voted on tomorrow. My sense is that because the day will be very hectic, having to vote…”

“this bipartisan measure will be voted on tomorrow. My sense is that because the day will be very hectic, having to vote on many amendments, that there will not be much time for explanation of this measure. Senator Snowe, Senator Stabenow, and others who spent so much time on this issue are going to want to speak. I will tell the Senate tonight this is one of the most important issues to come up in a long time. This program will be one of the biggest, if not the biggest, expansions of Federal entitlement policy we have ever seen. Why we wouldn't want to go about this right and make the Government a smart shopper, a savvy shopper, why we wouldn't want to do that is beyond me. What we have is an error of commission. What you saw is, in this legislation, very powerful special interests said we want a unique set of rules to apply to us: We shouldn't have to negotiate, even though everybody else negotiates with the Government and the private sector; give us a free ride; restrict, as a matter of law, the ability of the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make sure that seniors and taxpayers got a square deal. That is not right. This is about common sense. This is about the Federal Government being a smart shopper. This is about standing up for taxpayers and seniors. I would like to wrap up tonight by reading a bit from the AARP letter of endorsement for the legislation. Mr.…”