Bill Lee: “I respectfully, most vehemently disagree with the characterization made by my distinguished colleague, the Senator from…”

“I respectfully, most vehemently disagree with the characterization made by my distinguished colleague, the Senator from Rhode Island. This is not, with all due respect, an instance of ``we can't help anyone until we help everyone.'' That is a blatant mischaracterization of the facts. We have already 233 conditions that qualify for the compassionate allowance category. If you look through those, they are full of debilitating, life- threatening conditions. Those categories already do receive expedited treatment. They already are in a category where they have to be reviewed and a decision has to be made within a set period of time--I believe, within the range of 5 months. That is a good thing, but it is simply not accurate. In fact, it is blatantly misleading to suggest that my argument here boils down to the notion that we cannot help anyone until we help everyone. That is not true. It is the point here that unless or until we can make a distinction between this condition and the other 233 conditions that are on that list, I see no valid basis--other than the fact that this one has more political support and, perhaps, more financial backing--to draw that distinction here. I think it is unfair to those who benefit from and will need to invoke the need for Social Security disability insurance to put it in an even less sustainable posture moving forward. Yes, in an ideal world we would like to say no waiting period for anyone.…”