Jim McDermott

So it would be--you would have to have some kind of regulatory system to make sure that insurance companies would sell a policy to an 85-year-old who had had several cancers.

And when you look at it from the two standpoints of the government and the senior citizen, the government cost would go down if we had a voucher system; is that correct?

So if Mr. Ryan and the Republicans succeed in moving to a voucher system--that is, we hand 5,700 or 6,300 or whatever amount to seniors every month--how will that administrative cost on the insurance companies, will that be an added cost…

The point of that is that the Republicans believe that seniors need to put more skin in the game.

Seniors already spend one third of their income on health care. They can't afford any more skin in the game.

This is a stage being set to get rid of Medicare. The Republicans have never liked Medicare.

Your solution for the unemployed is hold your breath until we pass a VAT in the United States Congress?

While our first priority must be pursuing the policies that encourage job creation, this subcommittee's immediate responsibilities focus more on what to do in the meantime for the many Americans who, through no fault of their own, have…

I don't believe in the blame-the-victim approach.

I believe that the problem is unemployment, not the unemployed.

Can you think of any reason why a small business man or woman could not find a way for health care, if they're making money?

So it really is political theater, hyperbole, to make it seem like this bill kills jobs.

The National Business Group on Health, a collection of nearly 500 big employers, opposes repeal.

Republicans, like Mr. Holtz-Eakin, have taken to dismissing any non-partisan assessments they don't like.

This hearing is really just a press event for the Republicans to twist the facts of the health care law and attempt to further scare and polarize the American public.

So it is saying we are really going to make these tax cuts and the only place we will get the money is by borrowing it internationally to continue the level of services that we have in this country.

Talks about the history of taxation and that we establish progressive taxation along the Greek lines because we realize the people at the top got most of the benefits, so they ought to pay most of the taxes.

On the surface, what's going on with tax policy in Washington right now seems crazy.

I have been working on legislation to provide for increasing the level of mentors throughout the United States by offering loan forgiveness in some way through college to get those folks of adult college years to mentor to younger…

Thank you very much.

Help us pass health care.

I would hope that Mr. McDermott would afford us parents the opportunity to defend ourselves and our children against the abuses...

Children in foster care cannot wait for a time when reform is convenient.

Represents the best of Congress. It shows what can be achieved when both sides come together to work in good faith to address a problem.

We will be back on this issue. There are still some issues that are not resolved.