Political Quotes

“Well, just in closing, because I think this is important, the first day we have actually had votes, other than a rollcall vote last week, the HMO reform bill is literally the top priority for us. Sure, we have to deal with the budget and we need to deal with medical mistakes, and there are hearings in the Senate going on, because access is important; but let us deal with one issue at a time. I think the American people understand that if someone is opposed to something and they do not really want to oppose it, they will throw up something else. It is kind of like juggling balls. If I throw the red one over here, maybe my colleague will look at that instead of what I am really doing. That is what concerns me after the debate today. I would hope that that conference committee would meet. I am concerned because of the number of members on it who did not vote for the bill that passed the House. And there were lots of Republican Members who voted for the bill, but, again, it looks like it is stacked and it is weighted against a real HMO reform bill, particularly when we look at what the Senate passed and what the Senate side will be doing. But I hope the American people understand that we will continue to talk about this over the next few months unless we have a vote. And even if we have a vote, if they come back with a weak milquetoast piece of legislation, and next year let us pass something that sounds good, then I will be up here saying, no, it is not good.”