Stephanie Herseth Sandlin: “I rise today just as I did almost exactly 14 months ago in strong opposition to the so-called HEALTH Act. Of course…”

“I rise today just as I did almost exactly 14 months ago in strong opposition to the so-called HEALTH Act. Of course, today, we are spending the valuable time and limited resources of the American people debating the HEALTH Act of 2004, which, ironically, is precisely the same--virtually word-for-word--as the HEALTH Act of 2003, legislation this House already passed. Mr. Speaker, it is as if the leadership of this House is being guided by the wisdom of that great American philosopher, Yogi Berra, who once said, ``It's deja vu all over again.'' Apparently, the Republican leadership of the House is at a loss as to how to fix the very real problems our nation is facing, so we find ourselves here in the People's House deliberating legislation that we have already considered and passed. I don't know about the rest of the Members of this House, but I am pretty confident that my constituents in East Texas would consider our action on this flawed legislation to be a profound waste of time and money even in the best of times. However, Mr. Speaker, these are not the best of times for our Nation.”