Political Quotes

“Thank you, Madam President. I come to the floor--I know my colleague from Indiana, Senator Donnelly, is going to be down here to talk a little bit about his motion, and I want to support him in that, along with the Senator from Pennsylvania, Mr. Casey, because we are here to say we need to stop this war on Medicaid. Throughout this healthcare process, it has been very clear that there are many on the other side of the aisle who just want to cut or gut Medicaid. What we are saying is, if you are serious about protecting Medicaid and stopping the war on Medicaid, then you should support the Donnelly-Cantwell-Casey amendment, which would recommit the bill to the Finance Committee with instructions to strike the language about Medicaid. It would make sure a state can expand Medicaid Program, and it would say: Don't cost-shift to the States. With this motion, we are saying to our Republican colleagues: We don't want to cut people off of Medicaid. We want the committee to do exactly what the Republican Governors are saying, which is, quit beating up on Medicaid and focus instead on fixing the individual market. The individual market is 7 percent of the overall market for health insurance. What we have found with the expansion of Medicaid that has been done by both Democratic and Republican Governors is great success. I hope my Republican colleagues will heed the warnings of our Nation's Republican Governors and Democratic Governors.…”