I think it actually ought to be revenue increasing to help deal with this problem, but that is a non-negotiable position in the administration.

If you look at the work the Fiscal Commission did, one of the places where I think they made a real contribution was in having a conversation about spending on both the revenue and direct spending side.

That is the longer-term goal. But in the short-term goal, it has become increasingly apparent when you cut through all of their repeal rhetoric that what they are really presenting to seniors and individuals with disabilities is a plan to…

I want to agree with the expression of concern that Chairman Ryan has made concerning the growth of our debt...

We will just agree to disagree.

that ought to give seniors not only lower health care costs but more choice than they have ever enjoyed in the history of Medicare

the average individual who would reach this donut hole gap in coverage... will get a little over $500 in benefits under existing law

And so if we repeal that guarantee of no copayment, seniors will have to pay more for those services. Their health care costs under the Republican plan will increase, will they not?

We know that an earlier generation of Republicans fought Lyndon Johnson in getting Medicare created in the first place with the same fervor that our Republican colleagues are fighting health insurance reform today.

what the Republicans are proposing in repealing that law is to hike the cost for prescription drugs to seniors in America this year by over $2 billion

I think that kind of reversal would be very troubling.