Topics in the News: Tort Reform
Mike Pence on Health Care
: Mar 21, 2010
ObamaCare is a government takeover of health care
Q: On ObamaCare, what is left for Republicans to do?PENCE: We are going to use every means at our disposal to oppose this government takeover of health care. I think the American people see a headlong rush to confront the very real challenges that we
have in health care with more government instead of more freedom. Republicans have been offering solutions from the beginning. Let people purchase health insurance across state lines, pass malpractice reform, cover preexisting conditions. All of that
can be done without a massive, trillion-dollar expansion of the federal government and burdening future generations with more deficits and more debt.
Q: But the reality is that you don't have the votes to stop it politically.
PENCE: A minority in
Congress plus the American people equals a majority. The American people don't want this government takeover of health care. And I don't know if they have the votes today, but I guarantee you, the American people know they have the votes in America.
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Source: CNN 2010 "State of the Union" interview with Candy Crowley
Barack Obama on Health Care
: Jan 29, 2010
High-risk pool for uninsured, now in plan, was GOP idea
I know how bitter and contentious the issue of health insurance reform has become. And I will eagerly look at the ideas and better solutions on the health care front. From the start, I sought out and supported ideas from Republicans. I even talked about
an issue that has been a holy grail for a lot of you, which was tort reform, and said that I'd be willing to work together as part of a comprehensive package to deal with it. I just didn't get a lot of nibbles.Creating a high-risk pool for uninsured
folks with preexisting conditions, that wasn't my idea, it was Senator McCain's. And I supported it, and it got incorporated into our approach. Allowing insurance companies to sell coverage across state lines to add choice and competition--that's a
[GOP] idea that was incorporated into our package. And I support it, provided that we do it hand in hand with broader reforms. So when you say I ought to be willing to accept Republican ideas on health care, let's be clear: I have.
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Source: Obama Q&A at 2010 House Republican retreat in Baltimore
Barack Obama on Health Care
: Jan 29, 2010
Tort reform only saves $5B per year; not enough to matter
Rep. PRICE: Our bill, HR3400, has more co-sponsors than any health care bill in the House--it is a bill that would provide health coverage for all Americans; would correct the significant insurance challenges of affordability and preexisting; would solve
the lawsuit abuse issue, which isn't addressed significantly in the other proposals that went through the House; and does all of that without raising taxes by a penny.Pres. OBAMA: I am willing to work with you tort reform, but the CBO says, at best,
this could reduce health care costs relative to where they're growing by a couple of percent, or save $5 billion a year, and it will not bend the cost curve long term or reduce premiums significantly. If we're going to do multi-state insurance so that
people can go across state lines, I've got to be able to go to an independent health care expert, who can tell me that this won't result in cherry-picking and the least healthy being worse off. I've read your legislation, and the good ideas we take.
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Source: Obama Q&A at 2010 House Republican retreat in Baltimore
Joe Biden on Corporations
: Nov 11, 2007
OpEd: beholden to corporations because so many based in DE
Like all mainstream candidates, Biden is beholden to corporate interests who support his campaigns or dominate his state; in Biden’s case, he cast a noteworthy vote in favor of the controversial
2005 bankruptcy bill, which was a boon to credit card lenders, many of which are based in Delaware due to lax state regulations. Biden’s biggest single bloc of support is trial lawyers, who like his strong position against tort reform.
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Source: The Contenders, by Laura Flanders, p.180
Joe Biden on Jobs
: Mar 14, 2007
Bush tries to strip away 100 years of labor progress
Bush is waging a war on labor. There is a middle class in America for only one reason: organized labor. If not for organized labor, where would you find a job where you had some sense that you had a shot of leaving behind something better than you
inherited? This administration is lined up 10 deep to strip away 100 years of labor progress. They focus on tort reform, court reform, and labor reform--the only three things that stand between the giants & average people. It’s time to say “no more.”
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Source: 2007 IAFF Presidential Forum in Washington DC
Page last updated: Apr 16, 2019