Political Quotes

“I tire of going through this history lesson every time we come down to the floor, but may I remind you that when the now-Affordable Care Act was passed into law, this was a bill that came over to the House from the Senate. Sure enough, the House had sent the bill over to the Senate in July of 2009, H.R. 3590. It was a bill that dealt with housing. The bill that dealt with housing was amended. The amendment read, ``Strike all after the enacting clause and insert,'' and the health care language, which was de novo, the health care language was inserted. Now, to be sure, the House had considered a health care reform bill, H.R. 3200. H.R. 3200 has gone to the ether of history. H.R. 3590 passed in the Senate, a 60-vote margin on Christmas Eve in 2009, and then was thrown over to the House of Representatives. Did we have a hearing on H.R. 3590 in the Committee on Energy and Commerce? No, we did not. Did they have a hearing in the appropriate subcommittee of Ways and Means on H.R. 3590, as amended? No, they did not. The bill came to the Rules Committee. It came to the Rules Committee. I attempted to offer amendments. I was told, No, thank you. The bill was perfect the way it is, doesn't need any changes. This bill that affects every man, woman, and child in this country for the next three decades in a very unfavorable way was passed without any input from the then-minority, the Republicans in the House of Representatives.…”