Political Quotes

“I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, Thomas Jefferson once opined: The cornerstone of democracy rests on the foundation of an educated electorate. Whenever the people are well-informed, they can be trusted with their own government. Jefferson's vision for our democracy was premised on the notion that individuals are intelligent enough to determine the best choices for their lives, their families, and their communities, and not some monolithic, paternalistic government. A prerequisite to being well-informed, however, is to ensure that the American people have adequate information about how Federal policies and decisions made in Washington will or are impacting their lives. That is why transparency is so vital to our system of government: it provides the necessary information to educate or our on which our democracy depends. Laws and their impacts should not be shrouded in secrecy. Congress and the administration need to be fostering a culture of openness and transparency when legislating and making decisions here in Washington. That is what this legislation is all about: providing more transparency to the American people about their health care, specifically Medicare Advantage coverage. H.R. 2505, the Medicare Advantage Coverage Transparency Act, is a bill to do just that. With passage of H.R. 2505, CMS will be required to provide additional information on Medicare Advantage enrollment based on ZIP Code, congressional district, and State.…”