Thomas Daschle: “there is great concern about unattended legislation, legislation having to do with health care, education, meaningful…”

“there is great concern about unattended legislation, legislation having to do with health care, education, meaningful gun safety, and minimum wage. There is no legitimate reason we could not have accomplished something on each of the issues I have mentioned and many more. There is no legitimate reason this Congress couldn't have passed a real Patients' Bill of Rights long before this. There is no good reason we couldn't have added a voluntary Medicare prescription drug benefit. There is no reason we couldn't have agreed by now to strengthen our children's schools. We have had many opportunities. There are those who say that passing bills is hard work. If you want to see real hard work, go to Murdo, South Dakota some day. Talk to Cathy Cheney and the five other members of her volunteer ambulance squad. They are on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week. When a call comes in--even if it's in the middle of the night--they drop whatever they're doing, leave their jobs and families, and go. Most times, they are not back for at least 3 hours. When they're not answering calls, they're studying for certification tests. And they don't get paid a dime for any of it. That is hard work, Mr. President. And it is not just South Dakotans who face challenges like this.…”