Thomas Daschle: “Before we left for the August recess, Democrats made it very clear that it is essential that we not leave here before…”

“Before we left for the August recess, Democrats made it very clear that it is essential that we not leave here before the end of the year without having taken up and passed the Patients' Bill of Rights. I think it is very clear, given the extraordinary degree of interest in the issue on both sides of the aisle, that there is an opportunity for us to complete our work on that bill. I hope we can do it sooner rather than later. I see no reason why we cannot do it within the course of the next couple of weeks. But I must say, for Democrats, that there cannot be a more important issue than the complete and successful conclusion of the debate on managed care and the Patients' Bill of Rights. We now have over 170 different organizations that have said they join us in supporting this legislation and recognize the importance of passing it before we leave. All we have left is 6 weeks.”