Political Quotes

“I oppose the managers' amendment because of an amendment that is in the managers' amendment, the Corzine amendment which provides three States the opportunity to basically opt out of the Medicare Program for prescription drugs and have an entitlement flow of funding going to the States for the States to develop their own stand-alone drug benefit. As a result of that, States like mine and two others will not have the advantage of an integrated drug benefit which I fought very strongly for on this floor and which I believe will also lead potentially to this unlimited entitlement flow of funds to the States because of the way this language is drafted, the potential for lots of mischief in respect to double dipping, inter-government transfers, disproportionate share payments. We could be opening a virtual Pandora's box. Yes. For my States and two others. But I think, frankly, it is not good policy and does not do the kind of improvement of the overall Medicare program which my State should participate in as well as the other States represented here. There is no Federal oversight by the Secretary of Health and Human Services for this plan. There are a host of other problems with this amendment.”