Senator Franken (D-MN): "Senator Thune had a chart up, he had a chart up and he said, uh, when your taxes'll kick in and when your benefits will kick in. So, I didn't hear the whole speech and I feel bad about that, not having heard his whole speech, and I went up to him, and I said 'I didn't hear your whole speech." and went 'Oh, man, that's too bad.'

"And, uh, but I said "Did you actually happen to mention any of the benefits that DO kick in right away?' and he said "Uh, no."

"Which I think is, you know, again, we are entitled to our own opinions, we are NOT entitled to our own facts. Benefits kick in right away, and if your gonna hold up a chart that says when the, taxes kick in and when benefits kick in you say eighteen hundred days, you better include the benefits that do kick in right away!"

Senator Thune (Blue Cross/Blue Shield-R): "Ask the Senator from Minnesota a question?"

Senator Franken (D-MN): "Absolutely."

Senator Thune (Blue Cross/Blue Shield-R): "Did the Senator, would the Senator from Minnesota, when I was pointing out on the chart, understand the point that I was making? That the TAXES increase start, TAX INCREASES start eighteen days from now and that the benefits, the SPENDING benefits under the bill . . . "

Senator Franken (D-MN): "No, there's, okay . . . "

Senator Thune (Blue Cross/Blue Shield-R): "Which are the premium tax credits and the exchanges that are designed to provide the benefit that;s delivered under this bill don't start until 2014. Did the . . . "

Senator Franken (D-MN): "Does the Senator understand that the spending benefits start right away?"

Senator Thune (Blue Cross/Blue Shield-R): "If the Senator missed the point I can get the cart out again."

Senator Franken (D-MN): "No, I asked you a question, Senator. I yielded to you for a question, I am asking you a question."

Senator Thune (Blue Cross/Blue Shield-R): " Will the Senator from Ohio yield for a question? Will the Senator from Ohio yield for a question?"

Senator Brown (D-OH): "This is, we gave the other side 30 minutes."

Senator Franken (D-MN): "We have our time."

Senator Brown (D-OH): "If Senator Thune wants to sort of monopolize our thirty minutes."

Senator Franken (D-MN): "We have our time, and the Senator from South Dakota JUST SAID that when he gave his presentation, he was saying that NOTHING that we're paying for starts until eighteen hundred days from now. I have a WHOLE LIST of things that start . . . "

Gavel bangs, anonymous woman: "The Senator from Minnesota has the floor, he may engage in a colloquy. He does not have to yield to any further questions."

Senator Franken (D-MN): "The patient protection and affordable care act will prohibit insurance from imposing life time limits on benefits starting day one, starting day one, Senator. He doesn't want to hear it. He doesn't want to hear it. We are entitled to our own opinions, we are NOT entitled to our own facts. The fact is, benefits kick in on day one and the large majority of benefits kick in on day one and we shouldn't be standing up here with charts that say the exact opposite."

"Senator McCain (Maverick-AZ) a week ago said 'facts are stubborn things.' Uh, small business tax credits will kick in immediately. The Senator from South Dakota just said that nothing, no payments, nothing that cots any money will kick in right away. That's not true! We are NOT entitled to our own facts, and I stand here day after day after day and hear my colleagues, my good friends from the other side say things that are not based on facts."

a few minutes later . . .

Senator Franken (D-MN): "We're actually addressing that donut hole that was in the medicare part d bill, we're closing it by half. You know when it starts? Next year."



Anonymous voice: "I thought Senator Thune said . . . "

Senator Franken (D-MN): "Senator Thune DID say that none of the benefits started next year, but, I, he just, I guess, hasn't read the bill. I have so many constituents come to me and say "Read the bill, read the bill, read the bill . . . "

Senator Brown (D-OH): "Will the Gentleman yield. Perhaps, if you're going to vote against it, you don't need to read it, is that, is that the way they think about it?"

Senator Franken (D-MN): "I do find that many of my colleagues who I, I am very friendly with have not read the bill. And, and, and are not very familiar with it. And I think that if you are gonna get on your feet and debate and make assertions, you should really be familiar with the content of the bill. That's what I thought. I've only been here for a while, so maybe I am naive, but I think when you say that none of the benefit are gonna start next year YOU SHOULD BE RIGHT!"