Political Quotes

“I rise to sustain the point of order against the proposal of the Senator from North Dakota for three reasons. No. 1, our trust funds need to be strengthened by combining the hospital trust fund with the physician trust funds. That is Medicare. You need physicians and hospitals. The real question is, What do we do with the surplus on the hospital side? Medicare has a deficit. I think we should not tell taxpayers we are going to take that money and use it to pay down the debt. We ought to reassure them that we can take that money forward and use it to modernize Medicare, strengthen it, eliminate the redtape, and install tools in our Medicare system that explain and get rid of the fact that an aspirin may cost $2. That makes our seniors mad. Third, and last, every nickel that the taxpayer pays today will go for Medicare, will be used for Medicare. The President has said it. The underlying amendment by the Senator from New Mexico also will guarantee that every nickel paid in will be used for Medicare. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from North Dakota has 1 minute 41 seconds remaining.”