Political Quotes

“So Mr. President, the first assumption that all this money was generated by Medicaid claims is fundamentally inaccurate. The second assumption, which is that unless Washington acts the States will fritter this money away, is a fundamental assault against the principles of Federalism: That we are a Nation in which political power is divided between the States and the Federal Government, and that we have a respectful appreciation of the responsibility of our State partners. In the case of the State of Florida, through the use of the initial tobacco settlement money, 250,000 children who previously did not have financing for health care now have that financing. That was proposed by former Governor Lawton Chiles. Current Governor Jeb Bush has suggested the establishment of an endowment so that these funds would be protected in perpetuity and the interest earnings from that endowment would be used for a variety of children's and seniors' programs. That not only indicates the care with which the States are using, but the fact that it is a bipartisan issue, the appropriate use of these funds. Let us face it, those State officials, those Governors, those State legislators are just as much accountable to the voters as we are. And should they act in a way that the voters consider to be inappropriate, they will suffer the consequences of those actions.”