Q: Madam Speaker, are there any non-negotiable demands that you have for this legislation" And in particular, is a public option that you have long supported one of them?
Speaker Pelosi. Well, what the President said last night is what he has said over and over again. He thinks the public option is the best way to keep the insurance -- well, he said originally at the summit the best way to keep the insurance companies honest, to increase competition so that we can lower cost, improve quality, expand coverage, and retain choice. If you like what you have, you can keep it.
If somebody has a better idea, put it on the table, that's what the President said. Well, in the month of August, while people were complaining about the public option, they only put on the table -- they hit us with their best shot: distortion, misrepresentation, and obstruction.
So, so far, we haven't seen a better idea, but it could be there. So this is about a goal. It's not about provisions. As long as our goal of affordability and accessibility and quality, meeting the four -- which you don't want me to repeat again -- goals that we have in the legislation, then we will go forward with that bill.
Speaker Pelosi. But you never go -- I don't think you ever really go into a negotiation and say that some things are non-negotiable. One of those would be that we not pass a bill, and that seems to be the goal of many here. But as the President said, the status quo is not sustainable.
It's not sustainable for individuals. It's not sustainable for businesses. It's not sustainable for our economy. And it's certainly not sustainable for our budget. And the cost to Medicare and Medicaid and -- and their -- the increased cost will take us so deeply into debt, we must pass a bill that is paid for, at a certain limit, establishing priorities, that bends the curve, that lowers cost as we go into the future.
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