Political Quotes

“Mr. President, just speaking briefly again, let me tell my colleague from Tennessee that I have very much enjoyed working with him on various policies here in the Senate. My understanding is that my colleague believes that his State has some ideas for showing that you can essentially meet Medicaid standards for health services for vulnerable people and that the State of Tennessee is interested in trying out some new approaches. I want to assure my colleague that we are interested in hearing more about this. There is a specific waiver provision, for example, in the Affordable Care Act to try out new approaches consistent with these guardrails so that people actually get healthcare coverage. My colleague has said to me that he is interested in pursuing those kinds of ideas. I want him to know that the Finance Democratic staff is available to hear his staff out on this, and I hope we can work it out, and I hope we can move Rebecca Gaston quickly. This is a program that really makes a difference. Prior to Chairman Hatch working with me on this, we had essentially two alternatives for these vulnerable kids, neither of them particularly valuable. One was just sending the kids off to foster care--some of those facilities are good; some of them, not so good--or keeping them at home in a less than desirable situation.…”