Bob Corker

But it jeopardizes everyone who does have a medical necessity for one of these, and I appreciate all of you being here.

What was the impetus to create this new pilot program that you're now putting in place?

I think if most Americans realized that we had agencies of government that continued year after year after year to deal with people that had an 80 percent error rate, and we had in their contract solely that they were supposed to help us…

But isn't an 80 percent rate almost beyond belief, even for the Federal Government?

Well, I think taxpayers all across our country have seen abuse probably of these, and at the same time I think they realize that they may have a loved one at some point in time that really does need one.

I know this was really to be about the demonstration program.

What we understood as far as the settlement that took place is it wasn't done voluntarily, that CMS threatened to cancel your ability to deal with them.

Instead of reading my opening statement, I'll start by saying that some time ago, I don't watch a great deal of television, but I would see ads on television regarding all kinds of mobility devices.

For me, as I listened to the testimony today, there is either a--I want to use this word not in a definitive term, but there's almost a fraud that's being put on the American people because of the way the system is set up.

One of our panelists later on is part of Blue Cross of Tennessee, and they have a managed care plan, a Medicare Advantage plan that has a negligible improper payment rate, negligible.

For what it's worth, I am so glad they did.

I don't think that you can put them into a template.

I think it's this lack of alarm, lack of concern, lack of people hitting the roof over an 80 percent error rate that probably drives the American people crazy and causes them to lose trust in the U.S. Government, and I would say rightly so.

this is a great Nation. I was interested to hear the comments of our two leaders today, and I am saddened, as are all of us here, regarding the news of Ambassador Stevens and three other hard-working public servants who represent us. We…

I do think there is a dilemma here. There is a risk. We support the resistance, the opposition. The opposition, when it begins to win, is probably going to itself perpetuate some atrocities.

I think the time has come to consider that and pick those groups that we think are most consistent with our interests and our vision for the future and begin to advantage them in terms of the internal politics by providing assistance…

I do not understand why we are protecting them exactly the way that we are right now.

If we are serious about economic development then we should understand that CCDBG is one of the best economic development programs the Federal Government has out there.

I do think it's a very, very important issue. As I travel around the country and my own State, I worry about people being prepared for retirement, especially women, who in many cases, for lots of reasons, haven't focused as much on it as…

I think there is bipartisan support for something like that, and I appreciate your bringing it up.

One of the most responsible things that we could do here is actually do those things to make Social Security solvent for the long haul.

I thank you for your help as advocates in making that happen.

My frustration really is the hypocrisy around all of this.

I think you can see now why so many of us thought that was a really terrible idea to have the consumer agency separate from the prudential lenders.

I think all of us know the real problem we need to consider are the rising cost of college tuition and the amount of Federal student loans students are borrowing.