Political Quotes

“Mr. President, this debate should commence with one fundamental truth: The Medicaid Program for the last 30 years has been a great American success. The Medicaid Program has been a great American success. Let me give you a few examples of that success. In the early 1980's, in many parts of this country--I can speak specifically for the American South--the rate of infant mortality was a disgrace, rates of infant mortality that were close to those that would be found in some of the less-developed nations of the world. In that period, leaders in the South decided that they wanted to have a different legacy for the future. So under the leadership of Governors such as Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, Bill Clinton of Arkansas, Governor Dick Riley of South Carolina, who was designated to be the chair of a task force in the South on the children of the South, Governor Riley made a series of recommendations which were adopted by most of the Southern States. But the keystone recommendation was that the South should take steps to reduce its infant mortality by substantial increases in its commitment to appropriate prenatal care, care for pregnant women, care for infants, and care for children in those critical early days of life.”