Political Quotes

“I thank the gentleman very much for yielding. We have the wealthiest country in the world, we have the healthcare system that is the most expensive in the world, and we have more costs and more people not covered than is at all necessary. The fact is, we have had as a goal in this country, since the Presidency of Harry Truman, a goal that all our citizens be covered and have access to healthcare. And that dream made a solid step forward when Lyndon Baines Johnson was the President and Congress, on a bipartisan basis, passed Medicare, which provided healthcare protection for all Americans 65 and older and provided Medicaid for low-income children and families. We made a second step forward, unfortunately not on a bipartisan basis, with the passage during the Obama administration of the Affordable Care Act. That extended coverage to millions of Americans who otherwise never would have had access to care. It also made some significant improvements in how we deliver care. We are continuing with that battle. Those are two solid steps forward. Medicare and Medicaid passed in the Johnson administration and the Affordable Care Act during the Obama administration. Yet we are still spending the most on healthcare with outcomes that are not the best and, in fact, in many cases, are not even in the top ten. So we are spending the most and getting the least.…”