[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 179 (Friday, December 4, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Pages S12355-S12356]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           HEALTH CARE REFORM

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, the amendment process continues to crawl 
forward, and this historic health reform bill continues to evolve and 
improve. This is a good bill. It saves lives, saves money, and saves 
Medicare. It makes health insurance more affordable, makes health 
insurance companies more accountable, and makes our economy stronger. 
The Democrats know we can make it even better. This is happening 
because of the dedicated hard work from throughout the Democratic 
caucus--from veteran Senators and newer Senators, by the hands of men 
and women from diverse parts of the country and good public servants 
from all points of the political spectrum.
  Senator Mikulski of Maryland, who for decades has been a champion for 
women's health, made it better by making sure women can get the 
mammograms, the checkups and preventive care they need to stay healthy 
and get them at no cost.
  Senator Bennet of Colorado, who has served skillfully in this body 
for less than a year, made it better by reaffirming our commitment to 
Medicare. He made it better by ensuring seniors get the care they need 
and the quality of life they deserve.
  That positive trend will continue today. Senator Whitehouse of Rhode 
Island, who came to Congress with a class of Senators elected with a 
strong mandate to change the way Washington works, has proposed an 
amendment based on common sense and accountability. It says the money 
dedicated to the health care of American seniors and of people with 
disabilities should be used only for those precise purposes.

[[Page S12356]]

  Unfortunately, Senate Republicans are less interested in solving 
problems than they are in creating them. The day before this floor 
debate began, the assistant Republican leader--the junior Senator from 
Arizona--said: ``There is no way to fix this bill.'' Of course, that is 
absolutely totally wrong.
  All Senators know there is a reliable way to improve legislation--to 
improve this bill. It has been in use for 220 years. It is called the 
legislative process. It is called doing our job.
  As this bill continues to improve, I, once again, remind my 
colleagues not to lose sight of the bigger picture. As we delve into 
the details and debate the fine print, let us not forget why we are 
here. Our goal remains the same it was the day we began this debate 
many months ago. It remains the same as it was a year and a half ago, 
when Senate Finance Committee chairman Max Baucus first held a series 
of hearings that led to the legislation that is now before us.
  Our goal remains the same as it was last November when the American 
people called in a loud and clear voice for change. It remains the same 
as it did 31 years ago, when Senator Ted Kennedy called it shameful 
that ``in our unbelievably rich land, the quality of health care 
available to many of our people is unbelievably poor, and the cost is 
unbelievably high.''
  It remains the same as it did the day President Truman sounded a call 
to action to ensure that American families are protected from what he 
called ``the economic effects of sickness.'' That was more than 64 
years ago, and more than half of today's Senators weren't even born 
then. That constant goal has been and remains this: We must make it 
possible for every American--each and every American--to afford to live 
a healthy life.
  Each moment in this fight is historic. No bill to put health care 
decisions in the hands of the people has ever come this far. But the 
most historic days of the journey lie ahead. We can only seize that 
opportunity if this debate is about facts, not about fear.
  I remind my colleagues that if we are to truly help the American 
people and the American economy, if we are to sincerely do the work our 
neighbors sent us to do, if we are to leave our children and 
grandchildren a better inheritance than a deep deficit and a broken 
health care system--if we are to do any of these things--we must work 
together and not against each other. We must work as partners, not as 
partisans.
  This is not the first time I have asked my Republican friends to 
think of the real families across this Nation who face real problems--
families with real diseases, real sicknesses, real medical bills, and 
real fears. It is not the first time I have warned that America has no 
place for those who hope for failure.
  This is not the first time I have extended my hand across the aisle 
and asked my Republican friends to abandon their shortsighted strategy 
to bring the Senate to a screeching halt; for example, issuing an 
informational guide on how to stop and slow things. That doesn't work. 
We need a strategy that says we can win because that will mean the 
American people do not lose.
  So I hope that, for the first time, we will have people of good will 
on the Republican side of this Chamber who will walk over and say: 
Let's work together to get some things done. I have had a couple good 
conversations the last few days with some of my colleagues on the other 
side of the aisle. I hope we can move forward. This is a bill that 
doesn't look at a person who is sick or hurt or afraid as being a 
Democrat or a Republican or an Independent. They are Americans. They 
are from Virginia, Montana, Nevada and from all over America and they 
are people who are calling upon us to do the right thing.

                          ____________________