Political Quotes

“I rise for a few moments because I know there are other people in this Chamber who have worked for many years on this bill who wish to speak. Senator Kennedy is here. I wish to take a few moments to rebut what was said about a half an hour ago. Our colleague from Oklahoma was making some arguments, and I want to rebut some of them. I know this has been a long debate, but it is important. He and others have made the claim about government-run health insurance over and over, and I think that is a White House talking point. I understand where they get the line. This is a program which uses private insurance carriers to provide the services especially to do the administration. So that argument really does not make a lot of sense. Secondly, he talked about shifting costs and people paying more taxes. It is very clear, just as the argument of our colleague from Kentucky made clear, that the increase in this program, the $35 billion to cover 4 million more children, comes from tobacco tax increases. We can have debates about whether it is right or wrong, but most people in America support an increase in the tobacco tax to pay for this legislation. We are not talking about an income tax or any other kind of tax. Thirdly, fiscal responsibility. We heard people talk about that issue today. No one on this side of the aisle needs a lecture from that side of the aisle or anywhere else about fiscal responsibility.”