Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008--Veto Message from the President of the United States

MEDICARE IMPROVEMENTS FOR PATIENTS AND PROVIDERS ACT OF 2008--VETO MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES (H. DOC. NO. 110-131) -- (House of Representatives - July 15, 2008)

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Mrs. JONES of Ohio. I thank the gentleman for yielding.

I know sometimes we stand on this floor and we talk about health care for seniors in isolation. I stand here among my colleagues with many like me who have lost both of their parents. And but for Medicare and the services they received, their last health care probably would not have been as good or as great. We can stand here and talk about, well, the President didn't want to hurt anybody by overriding the veto. And we can stand here and talk about long-term policy down the line. But what we can't talk about is the health disparities that exist in our country and the study that was recently released that talked about minorities have more amputations than any other group of folks in America. And it doesn't talk about the issue of diabetes that overrides the minority communities across this country. Come on, y'all, let's get a life. Let's wake up, and let's help these seniors by overriding this veto.

And if we want to talk about better health care, better policy down the line, then let's do it. But let's not do it on the backs of the seniors who have worked all of their lives in order for us to be here to even be in Congress. Thank God I had a mom and a dad.

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