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From the inbox:
STATEMENT OF SENATOR EDWARD M. KENNEDY ON BAUCUS WHITE PAPERWASHINGTON, DC—Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, today released the following statement regarding Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus’s white paper on comprehensive health care reform“Senator Baucus’s white paper is a major contribution to the debate on health reform. It provides an important analysis of the urgent need for significant improvements in our health care system, and thoughtful recommendations for reform. I look forward to working with Senator Baucus, our colleagues in Congress on both sides of the aisle, and the Obama Administration to see that we at last achieve the goal of quality, affordable health care for all Americans. Senator Baucus's white paper brings us closer to that goal."Baucus also addressed Kennedy directly in his opening statements:
The fact is I did not write an actual bill that is legislation because I want to work with Senator Kennedy, the HELP committee, and senators on both sides of the aisle. I've spoken with Senator Kennedy three times over the last few weeks about this, and we're very much on the same page.This all strikes me as semantics on some level -- Baucus didn't write a bill because it's too early for that, rather, he wrote something meant to allow him to define the debate -- but it's encouraging that Baucus and Kennedy are going out of their way to praise each other at this juncture.
