Political Quotes

“I want to very briefly continue a discussion that was held earlier on the floor today addressing an issue that means not only a great deal to me but also to about 35 million seniors in this country as well as 5 million individuals with disabilities. That is the issue of Medicare. Our obligation, I believe, is to modernize Medicare and give those seniors and those individuals with disabilities what they deserve; that is, health care security as we know it is or should be in the year 2000, not the sort of health care security that was appropriate for 1956, back when Medicare began. The challenge before us today as a body and the challenge before the American people is really pretty clear; that is, how to best implement a real plan for real people, those seniors and those individuals with disabilities--not just a piece of legislation but a real plan that will modernize Medicare in a way that will give them real health care security. A lot of individuals with disabilities and a lot of seniors out there don't really realize how antiquated and out of date the current Medicare system is. I would like to make several points. First of all, I believe modernization of Medicare today where it can truly offer health care security is really a moral obligation that we have to our seniors.”