Tom Vilsack Quotes

Single payer means something different to everyone. The way I define it is that health care is a right and not a privilege.

Everyone should have health insurance? I say everyone should have health care. I'm not selling insurance.

If the government didn't try to guarantee that everybody should have access to decent health care, it wouldn't happen.

The United States of America is the only country on Earth that does not guarantee health care to all of its people as a right.

We are the only major country in the world that does not guarentee health care to its citizens as a right.

Republicans and others who are in anguish over the possibility of socialized medicine ought to have to explain their ideology to a mother with a sick newborn. They ought to have to explain how this nation can debate health care and not mention how abysmal ours is.

The basic right to quality and affordable health care is under assault by Donald Trump and Republicans in Washington.

Seven presidents before him - Democrats and Republicans - tried to expand health care to all Americans. President Obama got it done.

I mean, the fight for a health care bill to cover all Americans and leave none behind is attacked as being a race appeal, which is not true, but then it's put out in the media as true.

We have a country that wants to believe it is the best in everything, but until all of us embrace the idea that health care should be a right, not a privilege, our system cannot be glibly described as, quote, 'the best in the world.'

My personal feeling, if I can interject a political note, is that I don't think it is right that basic health care is a privilege. It shouldn't be. It should be a right of all human beings. And certainly in the richest country in the world.

Health care is not a privilege. It's a right. It's a right as fundamental as civil rights. It's a right as fundamental as giving every child a chance to get a public education.

Health insurance should be a given for every citizen.

When I ran for Congress I promised to help make health care affordable again.

I've laid down my set of principles, so I will not force government-run health care on anyone.

We want to repeal the ObamaCare tax. We want to save middle class families from European health care. And that's what we're going to do as a party and that's what Mitt Romney will do on day one.

I worked with President Obama on the Affordable Care Act and getting health coverage to all Americans. It was my legislation that said insurance companies can no longer deny coverage for kids with preexisting conditions.

I entered the health care debate in response to a statement in the United States press in summer 2009 which claimed the National Health Service in Great Britain would have killed me off, were I a British citizen. I felt compelled to make a statement to explain the error.

We're the only western country that doesn't have a national health care ID.

Health care for all Americans is the most pressing domestic issue today. It's far past time for the President and Congress to deliver health care to everyone.

Because of the president's leadership, every American will have access to affordable, quality health care.

My legacy is going to be in affordable health care. I am willing to invest in developing that model and the policies around it.

If the health insurance plan members of Congress have is good enough for them, why isn’t it good enough for every American.

I don’t think that anyone should gain a competitive advantage by providing or not providing health care insurance. This is an area where government must get involved.

After decades of false starts, we must make this our most urgent priority, giving every American health security, health care that can never be taken away, health care that is always there.