[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 16]
[Senate]
[Pages 21037-21039]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         MOVING AMERICA FORWARD

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I welcome my colleagues back to the Senate 
after an August work period that saw passionate and profound sadness 
across our country. Each of us has heard from our constituents over the 
past few weeks. In Nevada, I heard from citizens across my State who 
are ready for us to pick up where we left off. They are ready for us to 
get back to the hard work of legislating. They are ready for us to move 
forward on one of the most critical issues of our time and the life's 
cause of our late colleague, Senator Ted Kennedy, making it easier to 
afford a healthy life in America.


    Moment of Silence in Honor of the Late Senator Edward M. Kennedy

  I ask unanimous consent that the Senate now observe a moment of 
silence in memory of our friend and departed colleague, the late 
Senator Edward Kennedy.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.
  [Moment of silence.]
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I have to acknowledge that as I came into 
the Chamber this afternoon, I came upon Senator Kennedy's desk, which 
is covered with the traditional black velvet, with the flowers and his 
favorite poem on the desk. I read the poem and a tear came to my eye.
  I cherish the time that I can spend with the people of Nevada when I 
go home and talk with them and learn from them. The people in Nevada 
care about the volatility of our turbulent economy.
  Nevadans see as clearly as anyone in America that we are going 
forward. In fact, we are getting back on our feet after long years of 
neglect. They watched as Wall Street went wild, foreclosures reached 
record highs, and jobs vanished into thin air. But thanks to the 
leadership of President Obama, the hard work of the Congress, and the 
unwavering determination of our constituents, they now are seeing these 
wounds beginning to heal.
  This Senate has risen to the challenges we inherited. In the face of 
unprecedented conditions, we responded with the most significant 
collection of accomplishments in recent history. We are proud of our 
important efforts to revive our economy, strengthen our national 
security, protect our environment, demand accountability, and promote 
equality and ensure progress.
  In the first months of this year, we passed an economic recovery plan 
that is creating jobs as we speak, strengthening the middle class, and 
investing in

[[Page 21038]]

our future. Just last week, the Wall Street Journal acknowledged that 
the plan we passed is helping us recover from the recession faster than 
expected.
  We also put people ahead of big business by protecting credit card 
users, cracking down on mortgage scams, and rooting out corporate 
fraud.
  We helped millions of children stay healthy by making it easier for 
them to get the care they need; that is, the CHIP program, Children's 
Health Insurance Program, and by making it harder for tobacco companies 
to prey on our kids.
  We made it easier for Americans to serve their country like our 
heroes of generations past, and we protected our public lands for 
generations to come.
  We passed overdue appropriations bills, new appropriations bills, and 
an honest, responsible budget that makes sound investments in every 
part of our country.
  This Congress also made history by pursuing justice and ensuring 
equality for every single American. We stood up for those who are 
victims of violence because of race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and 
for those who are targets of discrimination in the workplace because of 
gender or background--Lilly Ledbetter.
  The Senate confirmed President Obama's outstanding nominee for the 
Supreme Court. Sonia Sotomayor will become the first Hispanic and only 
the third woman to sit on the highest bench in the land. I think 
tomorrow the first argument she will participate in will take place.
  This is an impressive record for any Congress. I am particularly 
proud that we have accomplished all of this in little more than 6 
months.
  How did we get there? We did each of these critical things because we 
found ourselves in exceptional circumstances. We faced daunting tests 
and unparalleled problems.
  As in any emergency, it is important to understand how we got here. I 
am not interested in looking backward to place blame on others or 
pointing fingers. But it is important to learn from past mistakes so we 
don't repeat them. As I see it, there are two primary reasons we found 
ourselves in such a deep hole. The first is that for far too long we 
have put off today's problems until tomorrow. Second is that too many 
focus only on where we differ, not where we agree. We no longer have 
the luxury of doing either. Only by working together--not as Democrats 
or Republicans but as Americans, not as partisans but as partners--can 
we put the jobless back to work, make sure everyone can afford to stay 
healthy, and create a new clean energy economy for this new century.
  Health care. Learning those two lessons--that we can no longer put 
off today's problems until tomorrow and that we cannot afford to focus 
only on where we disagree--will be the difference between reforming 
health insurance in a meaningful way or letting the status quo and 
scare tactics hold us back.
  Thanks to Chairman Baucus and Senator Dodd, we have made progress 
toward passing comprehensive health reform. Four out of five 
congressional committees responsible for this issue have reported 
bills, and we will soon see the same from the Finance Committee.
  While many important choices remain, we are as committed as ever to a 
plan that will protect what works, fix what doesn't, and help the 
middle class get ahead. We will stabilize health insurance for those 
who have it and secure it for those who do not. We will keep the 
insurance industry honest and lower costs to ensure that every American 
can afford to stay healthy. And we are determined to pass a good, 
bipartisan bill this year.
  I have listened to hard-working Nevadans across my State who know the 
difference between fact and fiction. They know the difference between 
the misinformation spread by opponents of progress and the reality that 
our vision of reform means patients and their doctors should be the 
only ones making decisions about their medical care. Those decisions 
belong to the people, not to the insurance industry or to government 
bureaucrats.
  The American people know our vision of reform means keeping insurance 
companies honest and not letting them deny you care because you have a 
preexisting condition. The way things are now, if you have anything 
from heart disease to high cholesterol to hay fever, you might be out 
of luck. That is not right.
  They know our vision of reform means not allowing health insurance 
companies to drop your coverage if you become seriously ill. It means 
ensuring that if you change or lose your job, you will have affordable 
options to cover your family.
  They know we are fighting for reform that will make quality, 
affordable care available to every single American citizen.
  It is easy to focus only on the part of the road we have yet to go, 
but it is essential to remember the great distance we have traveled to 
get to this point, and the common ground we already share.
  We have heard a lot from opponents of progress. One of their main 
arguments is that they think we cannot afford health insurance reform. 
My response is simply this: We cannot afford not to make it easier to 
live a healthy life in America.
  The American people have rejected those who pretend things are fine 
the way they are. They know that unless we get this done, they could 
lose their health care, and so much more along with it. They know 
America has no place for those who hope for failure.
  Inaction is not an option. We have already seen what happens when we 
do nothing. Over the past 8 years of inaction, the costs of health care 
rose to record levels and the number of Americans who cannot afford 
insurance has done the same.
  For the millions of families who file foreclosure because they cannot 
afford both their house and their health care, not acting is not an 
option.
  For the millions of Americans who file for bankruptcy because their 
medical bills grow higher and higher, not acting is not an option.
  For the millions of Americans who skip doctor visits or treatments 
they need to stay healthy or who never fill the prescriptions their 
doctor gives them because health care is simply too expensive, not 
acting is not an option.
  Our health care system is not healthy. Americans' physical health and 
America's fiscal health are at stake, and not acting is not an option. 
We have to work in good faith. This past April, I sent my Republican 
counterpart a letter outlining our priorities for the health care 
debate. I wrote, of course, that Democrats are committed to lowering 
health care costs, expanding access, and improving the quality of care. 
I said in that letter we looked forward to a dialog about how to 
prevent disease, reduce health disparities, and encourage early 
detection and effective treatments that save lives.
  But in the letter of more than 4 months ago, I also said that in 
order to help struggling Americans, we cannot drown in distractions and 
distortions.
  I made clear bipartisanship depended on Republicans demonstrating a 
sincere interest in legislating, offering concrete and constructive 
proposals, and working together in our common interest rather than 
against each other and against the interests of the American people.
  I stand by that assessment as strongly today as I did this spring, 4 
months ago. It is painfully clear to everyone who heard this debate's 
disturbing turns and dishonest tactics that, more than ever, we now 
need people willing to work together in good faith.
  Today is the first day since January 2, 1953, that a man named 
Kennedy does not have a desk on the floor of the Senate or in the Oval 
Office at the White House.
  When I think of all the groundbreaking progress we have made over 
those 56\1/2\ years--in civil rights, education, health care, America's 
global leadership--I know we have no choice but to keep going. Now is 
no time to let up.
  Tomorrow night, the President of the United States will stand on the 
other side of the Capitol and tell a joint session of Congress his 
vision for the

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 health care debate that is ensuing. He will do that, and then over the 
coming weeks and months, we will contemplate and think about what he 
said.
  It is not insignificant that President Obama will be speaking to such 
a gathering. We will come together in a joint session because we share 
a joint future and a joint destiny. We are all in this together--
Republicans, Democrats, and Independents, every American citizen and 
each of their representatives here, Members of Congress, Senators, and 
the President of the United States.
  Senator Ted Kennedy said last December, just months ago:

       We know the future will outlast all of us, but I believe 
     that all of us will live on in the future we make.

  This is a historic moment. This is our time to shape our future. We 
stand closer to real health insurance reform than ever before. We are 
closer than ever to getting this right. We will not give up. We will 
not bet on failure. We will not let fear obscure the facts. We will not 
let the priorities of the partisan overpower those of the people.
  We have goal lines ahead of us. I say to the Presiding Officer, a 
member of the Finance Committee, we have to do everything we can to 
join together to do health care reform that is meaningful to this 
country. I think I speak for everyone in Nevada and I think I speak for 
everyone on this side of the aisle and I am confident my friend, the 
distinguished Republican leader, agrees with me.

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