Political Quotes

“While it is imperative that we reduce the Federal deficit, balancing the budget on the backs of our Nation's disadvantaged children and senior citizens is neither responsible nor equitable. I believe in an America that protects the young and the elderly. But the Republican budget attacks the important safeguards for children and the disadvantaged, replacing Medicaid with vastly limited monetary grants to the States, forcing them to either reduce benefits to lower-income families or reduce the number of eligible families. Currently, 34 million children receive health care through Medicaid. From 1997 to 2009, the percentage of children without health insurance as a result dropped from 13.9 percent to 8.2. The Republican budget's attacks on Medicaid will imperil the health insurance for 24,100 children and reduce benefits for 6,100 seniors in my district, the 11th District of Virginia. Unfortunately, the Republican attacks on our seniors don't end with Medicaid. Imagine a world where half of all seniors lack health insurance. Imagine a world where the rising costs of health care threaten retirees' ability to afford essential medicine their doctor prescribed. Imagine a world where more than one out of every three seniors lives in poverty and the choice for the day is between food and their drugs. This isn't a dystopian nightmare--it was the United States in 1965 before we passed Medicare.…”