Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I come to the floor today, having just returned from spending a wonderful week over the Fourth of July in Wyoming, visiting with people across the Cowboy State at senior centers, Kiwanis clubs, Rotary clubs, and repeatedly the issue came up of this appointment of Dr. Berwick to head Medicare and Medicaid. My colleague who just left the floor talked about the playbook of delay and obstruction. I will tell you that this recess appointment and the overall appointment of Donald Berwick is absolutely a page out of the playbook of the U.S. President of delay and obstruction. Last year I came to this floor and said we should have somebody in charge of Medicare and Medicaid. When this body is talking about cutting $500 billion from our seniors on Medicare, not to save Medicare but to start a whole new government program, there ought to be somebody in charge of Medicare in this country who can answer the questions about what are the impacts going to be. But the President of the United States refused to name anyone. At a time when this body was debating how to handle 16 million more Americans jammed and crammed into Medicaid, a program where half the doctors in the country will not see those patients, it is like giving somebody a bus ticket when a bus isn't coming. Those people may have coverage but they are not able to get care. There should have been somebody in charge of Medicaid. I came to this floor and said: Mr.…”