Political Quotes

“first I want to say that I respect the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Norwood) and the hard work that he has done; but I also disagree with the language that was agreed to, and I can stand here on this floor and still respect him but disagree with him. The President and the gentleman from Georgia stood last night on the podium and proclaimed they reached a compromise. But it is really not a compromise. It is not a compromise because not everybody was involved. Only one Member was involved in it. The Norwood amendment holds HMOs to different standards than doctors and hospitals. That was the base reason for the bill. We are going to hear lots of Members come up tonight and talk about how this is a great bill, but they were for the Fletcher bill. They were not for a real patients' bill of rights, anyway. So we are going to hear that tonight. Even though HMOs act like doctors if they deny or delay care, they are not held accountable like doctors under this amendment. They are the only health care providers that are shielded. That is what is wrong. What is more troubling about this proposal is that it destroys the important patient protections that we have had in Texas for 4 years. The gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Shadegg) may quote Texas law, but the amendment that the gentleman from Georgia negotiated with the President goes against Texas law. It does not have anything to do with holding an employer who runs the business. That is Texas law.”