Political Quotes

“I am grateful for this opportunity to speak about health care. I commend our chairman, Senator Baucus, for his great leadership in the Finance Committee and on so many other important issues we have been wrestling with with regard to health care. We have had a chance over many months now--and even as we speak today--to talk about a lot of the policy of the bill the President signed into law, our health care bill we passed here in the Senate, and, of course, the policy contained in the bill we are considering now. But sometimes it is important for us to step back and talk about some--not all--but a few examples of some of the real people out there on whom this legislation will have an impact. I have spoken a number of times about Trisha Urban from Berks County, PA--all the problems she and her family had with their health care: denied coverage because of a preexisting condition, running into problems when the insurance company dropped coverage. Her husband died in the process. And the same day he died, her daughter was born. I have told that story a number of times, and I will tell it again. I also want to highlight what has happened to another family, the Ritter family from Manheim, PA, Lancaster County. The family has two young girls whom I have met. I met them in 2009. As children, these two little girls, Hannah and Madeline Ritter, hit their lifetime cap on their cancer treatment before they completed their course of treatment.”