Political Quotes

“We have a serious challenge here. We have people who need long-term care. We have very serious fiscal constraints. And the question before us really is, do we repeal the program altogether when there is a serious long-term program, as if by legislative magic a repeal suddenly makes the serious and acute problem vanish altogether. We know that doesn't happen. It may address a fiscal issue, but it doesn't solve the fiscal issue and enormous emotional pain that individuals who are trying to take care of their senior parents will face. So the problem doesn't go away if this legislation is passed. It simply means the pain will continue and probably intensify. So the real challenge for Congress is that when there is a problem that we acknowledge is real and rising for the American people, and the folks who need long-term care are in red States and blue States, they're in your district and they're in mine, the real question is whether we address that as actively and as aggressively as we can, taking responsible steps to make certain that we can pay for what we promise. The worst thing that we can do in my view is pass legislation that has almost as its predicate the notion that by repealing the commitment that this Congress made 2 years ago, the problem doesn't exist. It does, and we all know that. You've heard the statistics--10 million Americans currently need long-term care. That is a tough challenge for those families. Over the next decade, that is going to rise to 15 million.…”