Jim McDermott Quotes (18 Quotes)

You could call him at any time if there was any urgency. He was very direct and gave pragmatic advice for new mothers.

We have a president who wants to go to war. There is no question about it. He denies it all over the place, but everything points to it. That's the point - a regime change. It's not inspectors. They don't care down at the White House about whether we have disarmament or not, they want to go to war.

I have stood on the front lines of the health care system as a doctor, patient and concerned parent. Those experiences have served as my guideposts throughout the struggle to reform America's health care system. And it's those same experiences that tell me that fear and election hysteria should not overshadow the reality of reform.

I'm not giving the president a blank check, period.

Medicare would just become for old, sick people at the end of life. And I don't think that's a good system ... I don't think that's the way I want to treat seniors in this country.

The leadership eventually has to put some controls on us. Leadership and restraint by the members of the Appropriations Committee are the most important things.

I think ... the real threat to the United States is his arms, so let's take those away through inspections, ... Then we don't have to argue about this regime-change business.

There's nothing wrong with the free-enterprise system. But it has to have some compassion.

He didn't forget them in death, just as they are special in life.

We pretended there was no problem with Agent Orange after Vietnam and later the Pentagon recanted, after untold suffering by veterans.

Premium support is nothing but a voucher system, ... Unless there's a guarantee that every plan gives the same benefit package to anybody who buys it, and that you and I get it at the same price, this is going to be bad for the sick elderly.

We have squeezed providers and we have made savings and we have kept the system basically functioning for 30-some years.

I think it's a trial balloon to see what happens, and I'm not impressed with it.

We went to Iraq because we care what happens to Americans -- what happens to American soldiers, what happens to American people.

People are angry and making that known that is the only way we're going to make this stop. If their ratings are down, they'll have to sit up and listen.

This day feels to me like we're taking a step down the road to becoming a political lynch mob. We're in so much hurry to get this done so it can be in the SaturdaySunday news cycle and have our mint juleps at five o'clock, we are going to find a rope, find a tree, and ask a bunch of questions later. It will be too late for fairness,

We're essentially saying to every senior citizen, 'Here's a voucher. Go find yourself an insurance company.' Now, if you're 65 and in good health, no problem. If you're 89, like my mother, and you've got some problems, maybe you can't buy what you need,

But beyond the hysteria of phantom death panels, where is the abomination? Show me the provisions that will hurt consumers, because if you think a $110 billion a year tax break for working-class Americans to buy private health insurance is a government takeover, I welcome the debate.