Senate Proceeding on Jul 28th, 2009 :: 1:53:25 to 2:02:00
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1:53:21 to 1:53:43( Edit History Discussion )

Tom Udall: my expectation is we would be able to clear this at some point after lunch madam president, i make of order that present. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll.

1:53:25 to 2:02:00( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Tom Udall

1:53:44 to 1:54:05( Edit History Discussion )

Tom Udall: a senator: madam president? i ask -- madam president, -- the presiding officer: the senator from new mexico. a senator: that the quorum call be the presiding officer: without objection. mr. udall: madam president, i ask consent to speak a

1:54:06 to 1:54:27( Edit History Discussion )

Tom Udall: morning business for ten minute the presiding officer: without objection. mr. udall: the bill before congress, and i heard the senator mention los alamos national library. i want to thank him for mention laboratories in my state, both los alamos and sandia. the road runner computer is a very important computer for dealing with issues like climate

1:54:28 to 1:54:48( Edit History Discussion )

Tom Udall: change, national security, other scientific research. and i applaud his efforts in moving us forward ranking member bennett. i applaud them both for their leadership. if you follow the debate in washington about health reform, it's easy to get the wrong idea.

1:54:49 to 1:55:10( Edit History Discussion )

Tom Udall: the press like we're doing out here as if it's a game of chess. one side wins by passing health care reform. the other side wins by blocking it. i understand that somebody will disagree with whatever plan we produce to reform health care. that's democracy. some members of this body might

1:55:11 to 1:55:31( Edit History Discussion )

Tom Udall: decide that they have to vote "no" on health reform. but let's be clear on one thing. if we fail to pass health reform plan, nobody wins. if we keep the status quo, all worse off. the health care debate can get complicated. both sides have a list of

1:55:32 to 1:55:52( Edit History Discussion )

Tom Udall: numbers a mile long that are supposed to explain the problem and the possible solutions. but these numbers don't tell the whole story. for example, we know that 22,000 americans die each year because they don't have health insurance. but that is only part of the story because every one of those

1:55:53 to 1:56:14( Edit History Discussion )

Tom Udall: 22,000 is a unique and irreplaceable individual. somebody's mother, somebody's son. numbers cannot convey the injustice of it needless pain for families and friend. every year this country produces 22,000 unnecessary stories of loss and suffering. 22,000 stories that could go

1:56:15 to 1:56:38( Edit History Discussion )

Tom Udall: unwritten if we act now. look, if we look. last week i got a short note from a man in pina blanca, new mexico. the man wrote -- and i quote -- "we never made enough money. my wife and i have been self-employed craftsmen for 25 years. we never made enough money for health insurance.

1:56:39 to 1:57:00( Edit History Discussion )

Tom Udall: my wife now has terminal colon cancer. if she could have had a colonoscopy at 50 years old, she would not be dying at 54. my heart is broken." all this woman needed was the simple preventive care that should be available to every american, care that costs little and saves lives. but our system didn't provide

1:57:01 to 1:57:21( Edit History Discussion )

Tom Udall: that, and now she is if we don't get health care legislation passed, thousands of women like my constituent in pina blanca won't get their colonoscopies and thousands more hearts will be broken like her husband's. i don't care where you stand in this body, that's not a victory

1:57:22 to 1:57:42( Edit History Discussion )

Tom Udall: for anybody. another thing we talk about in washington is preexisting conditions reform. it sounds like it should be something complicated, something most americans don't quite understand. but my constituents know exactly what a preexisting condition is. it's the haert attack from ten years -- it's the heart attack

1:57:43 to 1:58:03( Edit History Discussion )

Tom Udall: from ten years ago that prevents dad from getting insurance through his job. it's mom age. it's the fact that sarah from down the street might get pregnant, a fact that forces her to pay more for insurance than her male coworkers. i've held a number of town on health care reform in new mexico, and everywhere i go, i hear stories.

1:58:04 to 1:58:25( Edit History Discussion )

Tom Udall: a couple of weeks ago i heard a story about a constituent who had come to my office for some casework a few years ago. this is one of those people who you would expect to do great things. he works an incredibly technical job at los alamos national laboratory, and he thought his knowledge and his hard work would get him through any crisis.

1:58:26 to 1:58:47( Edit History Discussion )

Tom Udall: then john began suffering from a host of unexplained neurological problems. the problems got so bad that he was actually relieved when a doctor told him about a his brain. he chuck also when -- he chuckles when he remembers that day. he was so relieved to know what was wrong with him, and his doctor said that something could be done.

1:58:48 to 1:59:08( Edit History Discussion )

Tom Udall: but john's insurance company had other ideas. months went by, and john approved for the operation his doctor recommended. only just recently was he approved for needs, but now he has other problems. his medical leave is about to run out, and he doesn't know what to do. if he loses his job, he loses

1:59:09 to 1:59:29( Edit History Discussion )

Tom Udall: his insurance. and if he loses that, he could lose everything. he will become just another american whose preexisting condition prevents him from getting health care. the lucky ones before -- before he began having problem he assumed he was one of the 55% of

1:59:30 to 1:59:51( Edit History Discussion )

Tom Udall: new mexicans who have adequate health insurance. but john was just one illness away from the edge, and he is not alone. if we do not act, millions of americans will fall off the edge in the coming years. i don't care how you feel about the president's health care plan, that is not a victory. because john cannot work, he