Political Quotes

“I would hope that the gentlewoman would realize that this amendment scores points for the 75 percent of the people who were subject to the penalty who made less than $50,000 a year. That is what happens when we have the mandate. And it is Federal policy now, Federal policy, that holds that people should not be punished if they can't afford to purchase health insurance. They certainly shouldn't be punished by having their property seized. And if it is only a few people, as the gentlewoman says, I would wonder why she is opposed to this amendment. This is the Federal city. It is Federal policy that people should not be so punished. President Obama, when he was running for President in 2008, was pretty clear. He knew what would happen. He observed what was going on with the Massachusetts mandate. He said: Now, Massachusetts has a mandate right now. They have exempted 20 percent of the uninsured because they've concluded that that 20 percent can't afford it. In some cases, there are people who are paying fines and still can't afford it. So now they are worse off than they were. They don't have health insurance and they're paying a fine. And in order for you to force people to get health insurance, you have to have a very harsh, stiff penalty. President Obama understood that. He understood, as a candidate, that it would be wrong to seize property.…”