Senate Proceeding 04-28-09 on Apr 28th, 2009 :: 0:27:10 to 0:34:15
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0:27:06 to 0:27:11( Edit History Discussion )

Jon Kyl: sometimes people joke about it.

0:27:10 to 0:34:15( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Ron Wyden

0:27:12 to 0:27:32( Edit History Discussion )

Ron Wyden: we can put it in the pledge of a a -- pledge of allegiance. it is vitally important to keep the coverage people have. the second factor that is so important is to make sure that people who have coverage have opons to save some money on their health care in the future. they want to contain costs because they know that right now they're not even getting an

0:27:33 to 0:27:54( Edit History Discussion )

Ron Wyden: increase in take home pay because health care gobbles up everything if sight so let's make them process and say if you want to have one of the additional choices -- the private sector choices that are offered in

0:27:55 to 0:28:16( Edit History Discussion )

Ron Wyden: money by choosing one of those choices, you get to keep the difference. that is something, i think, will be attractive to those who coverage. the third area we ought to zero in on is making sure tha with coverage have the opportunity to be healthier. i think that much of american health care is more sick care than

0:28:17 to 0:28:37( Edit History Discussion )

Ron Wyden: health care so let's get some incentives i place so that everybody has a if yo has a new focus on wellness. i would like to see those in medicare lowering their pressure and cholesterol get reduced premiums. let's give them a lower premium

0:28:38 to 0:28:58( Edit History Discussion )

Ron Wyden: when they lower their blood pressure and cholesterol. when you have a parent in colorado or oregon or across the country who enrolls youngsters in a wellness pgram, give the parent a reduction in their premium, again, to reward prevention. so we let people keep the coverage they have.

0:28:59 to 0:29:19( Edit History Discussion )

Ron Wyden: they will be wealthier. and they will be healthier. and, finally, one last big challenge for those who have coverage. if an individual wants to leave their job or their job leaves them let's make sure that their coverage is portable. that they can take it from place

0:29:20 to 0:29:45( Edit History Discussion )

Ron Wyden: to place to place. i think economy is real different than what we had in the 1940's. when somebody went to work somewhere then, they stayed put for 30 yea until you gave them a gold watch and retirement dinner. the typical person in the western states now changes their job 11 times by the time they're

0:29:46 to 0:30:07( Edit History Discussion )

Ron Wyden: 40 years old and they need portable health care coverage. so make sure coverage fits the modern economy. again, consistent with an approach that lets you keep what you have and puts more money i your pocket and gives you the opportunity to be healthier. now, i think that's a vision for bipartisan health reform. it certainly has been largely

0:30:08 to 0:30:29( Edit History Discussion )

Ron Wyden: shared by chairman and senator grassley and senator bennett and i have talked about it in our efforts, as well. but it's going to take somebody with the kind of talent that bob dole just described in the words that i once again before the senate finance committ

0:30:30 to 0:30:51( Edit History Discussion )

Ron Wyden: there's a reason that after 60 years of debate about health care reform in america that it hasn't actually got done. this is hard work in trillions of i put six years of my life into just the most recent effort and have visited with most of the united states senate on it.

0:30:52 to 0:31:13( Edit History Discussion )

Ron Wyden: so i think there's a clear desire, given the respose to our economy. the fact is, mr. president, you cannot fix the economy unless you "fix" american health care. most of the that a lot of these budgets that the various bailouts, those bailouts are going to lock like

0:31:14 to 0:31:35( Edit History Discussion )

Ron Wyden: a rounding error compared to american health care if we don't get on top of these escalating costs. so it's get to be done both in terms of fixing the economy, ensuring quality of life for our people and because now the country is looking to the congress to work in a bipartisan

0:31:36 to 0:31:57( Edit History Discussion )

Ron Wyden: way. they've watched a lot of the past squabbles. they watched a lot of the bickering over issues in the past. and here's senator dole has described, of having a person who wants to work if a bipartisan way around a number of the requests that i

0:31:58 to 0:32:19( Edit History Discussion )

Ron Wyden: have mentioned this -- a number of the ideas that i have mentioned this afternoon. i hope colleagues will suprt governor sebelius. and i hope they reflect on the words of senator dole because i think he said it best when he came before us on the senate finance committee. i think there is an opportunity

0:32:20 to 0:32:40( Edit History Discussion )

Ron Wyden: now for the senate country, and country that's legitimately skeptical about washington's ability to tackle big issues. the senate's now got an opportun health care democrats and republicans can come together. we're going to come together with individuals, leaders, like

0:32:41 to 0:33:02( Edit History Discussion )

Ron Wyden: governor sebelius who showed the talent to work in a bipartisan fashion. i particularly, having listened to many of our republican colleagues on the floor today talking about the sebelius nomination, want to assure them that i agree with much of what

0:33:03 to 0:33:23( Edit History Discussion )

Ron Wyden: they have said. that is, with respect to the need to avoid approaches that are partisan and jam one side or anher. in fact, i've devoted much of the last six years to making those kinds of approaches irrelevant; making reconciliation irrelevant. and i think governor sebelius

0:33:24 to 0:33:44( Edit History Discussion )

Ron Wyden: will work with us in a constructive way toward exactly that kind of work. and bob dole has spoken of her ability to do that before the finance committee and i hope this nomination will be approved expeditiously and democrats and

0:33:45 to 0:34:04( Edit History Discussion )

Ron Wyden: republicans can get to work together tackling the domestic issue of our time, fixing american health care. with that, i yield the flo i note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll.