Senate Proceeding on Oct 22nd, 2009 :: 8:43:20 to 8:45:50
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8:43:05 to 8:43:26( Edit History Discussion )

Sherrod Brown: is open late at night at the insurance mr. brown: well, and we know, we know what they say about why they are against the public option. we know what conservatives over here, many of whom have been close allies of the insurance industry and their campaigns and their efforts for years. we know what they say. they say government takeover, they say government can't do

8:43:20 to 8:45:50( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Sherrod Brown

8:43:27 to 8:43:47( Edit History Discussion )

Sherrod Brown: anything right. they say government ironically will run them out of business. but we know the real reason that the insunce industry is fighting against the public option. it's these numbers. they have had a 428% increase in profits over seven years as they've gotten bigger and bigger and squeezed smaller insurance companies out. they don't -- they know the public option will mean no more -- no more huge profits.

8:43:48 to 8:44:08( Edit History Discussion )

Sherrod Brown: they'll still make profits. know the insurance industry is going to contie to make profits because they're smart. they're -- sometimes they are well run. they have been around a long time. they are still going to have all kinds of marketplace advantages. we know that c.e.o.'s have made an average -- at the c.e.o.'s of the ten largest companies made an average of $11 million, and that means a lot of vice

8:44:09 to 8:44:29( Edit History Discussion )

Sherrod Brown: presidents are making $3 million and $5 million and $6 million, and they like that gravy train. so of course the people making the decisions at the companies, the people doing t lobbying, hiring the lobbyists, hiring the p.r. firms, the people making the decisions to run television ads, these are all people that want this to continue. that's why there there was an article in "time"

8:44:30 to 8:44:53( Edit History Discussion )

Sherrod Brown: magazine i believe coming out today -- it came out today or coming out tomorrow that every member of congress in both houses has an average of, in someense, 2.3 industry lobbyists. that may just be the drug companies. that puts the drug and insurance companies together. but there ar lobbyists around here to protect health industries, health insurance profits to make sure

8:44:54 to 8:45:14( Edit History Discussion )

Sherrod Brown: these top making $6 million, up to aetna's c.e.o. $24 million a year. they have a lot at stake in this, but we have a lot more at stake. what we have at stake people that we can read from that when we come to this floor, a lot of us day after day read letters from people who have pre-existing conditions or lost their insurance or have a 24-year-old student, a

8:45:15 to 8:45:35( Edit History Discussion )

Sherrod Brown: 24-year-old that just graduated from college, just came back from the military and can't get insurance because they had a pre-existing -- they had asthma like my wife does when they were 12 years old and they can't get insurance or their mother got really sick and the insurance company practiced -- what is it called, senator whitehouse? rescission, rescission. that's a fancy

8:45:36 to 8:45:50( Edit History Discussion )

Sherrod Brown: dumping you off your insurance because you cost us too much money. it goes back to what you both were saying, the business model. the business model is we don't want to insure sick people or people who might get sick. if we do insure them, we want to find ways not to honor their