On the recordMarch 25, 2010
I have good news, and I thank the gentlewoman from New York. While my colleagues are talking about process, which has been approved by our Parliamentarians, and while profanity reigns on our phones, we are saving lives: 45,000 who have died every year because they have not had insurance. No doctors' offices have closed. The hospitals are open. And the attorney generals are filing frivolous lawsuits, because if they would look at what the bill stands for and the present bill, they will know that the seniors' doughnut hole will be closed, that the special deals have been taken out, that community health centers that will allow you to come out of your house, walk down the street, and go to a physician's office is expanded by $11 billion. They will understand that Medicaid has been expanded and right now individuals, 133 percent or 400 percent of poverty, can actually go and see a doctor. Maybe the mother who has insurance that only covers the emergency rooms can now get her children preventative care. Vote for this reconciliation bill to save lives.
