November 21, 2009

Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) delivered the following remarks tonight on the Senate floor just before a historic vote on health care reform legislation.

The full text of Dodd’s remarks, as prepared for delivery, is below.

“Mr. President, I rise in support of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

I want to thank some of my colleagues who are here tonight who have been instrumental in bringing us to this historic moment.

Majority Leader Reid and Chairman Baucus have shown remarkable leadership, and it has been an honor to work with them to bring this bill to the floor. I want to commend my friends on the Senate HELP Committee who did such heroic work during the writing of our bill: Chairman Harkin, Senator Mikulski, Senator Bingaman, and Senator Murray.

I also want to recognize a colleague who is here with us tonight only in spirit: Teddy Kennedy. Much has been said and written about his lifelong quest to ensure that every American has decent health care. Tonight, we pay him the highest compliment by taking a step towards fulfilling that quest.

I’d like to speak, if I could, to the American people who might just be tuning in to this debate.

Why does this matter? Why are we here on a Saturday night? And, for that matter, why are you watching C-SPAN on a Saturday night?

Well, it’s true that health care represents one-sixth of our economy and affects 100 percent of our population. It’s true that skyrocketing health care costs are the single biggest threat to the financial future of American families.

But the reason tonight’s vote is so historic is that never before has this body – elected to serve the American people – confronted directly this simple truth.

Nothing matters more to you and your family than your ability to get the health care you need from the doctor you choose at a price you can afford – and for too long, our health care system has failed us.

Health care is our most basic need. Health care is the most basic commitment we make to each other. No matter what your family finances, no matter what your hopes and dreams, no matter who you are or where you live or what your job is – in America, you should be able to get the care you need.

But for too many American families – perhaps for your family – health care has become your most basic fear. If you don’t have health insurance, you go to bed every night knowing that if you wake up sick, or if your kid wakes up sick, you might not be able to see a doctor.

But even if you do have health insurance, you’re paying more and more in premiums – and getting less and less coverage for your money. Millions of Americans are seeing their premiums skyrocket, and yet they lie awake at night wondering: What if I lose my job? What if I get sick and find out that my policy doesn’t cover the care I need, or, even worse, my insurance company cancels my policy altogether? What if I run out of benefits and have to pay out of pocket?

I wish I could say these are irrational fears. But they’re not.

Insurance doesn’t allow you to be sure of anything these days. Our system is broken. People are losing their homes because they get sick. People are dying because they can’t afford care.

That is just not acceptable in America. And that’s why we’re here on a Saturday night.

If you’ve watched the news over the past few months, you’ve probably noticed that there is a wide range of opinions on how we should fix things.

And that’s okay. We need all the good ideas we can get.

But if you’ve watched the debate here in the Senate over the past few days, you’ve probably noticed something else – nobody has stood up and said that they’re okay with doing nothing. In the weeks ahead, we’ll have a full and open debate about every provision of this bill. But tonight’s vote is nothing more than a choice between doing something and doing nothing.

Make no mistake: Those who vote “no,” even though they have stood on this floor and said that the status quo is unacceptable, are voting to do nothing, to put health care reform aside for another year, to let more families – maybe your family – fall through the cracks.

But tonight’s vote is historic because tonight, for the first time, the status quo will not win.

Tonight, for the first time, the Senate will vote to take on health care reform.

Tonight, with this vote, the American people will finally have their voices heard on this most basic issue.

In my view, that’s not arrogance. That’s doing what we were elected here to do.

I yield the floor.”

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