lyndon bainls johnson signed in not ewes medicare, but medicade. i care about medicade. not only because i care about the people who are on medicade, but it is also the type of social contract that america has made as a commitment that doesn't involve republicans or democrats. it is a bipartisan commitment. it is a moral obligation. i have to say that because medicade so often gets painted as a democratic program, and it is not. it is an american program, and it is worth improving and worth protecting, and that is what my amendment is about. i know the chairman agrees. when he issued his health care reform white paper several months ago, he included significant improvements of the medicade program. as is often the case during intense negotiations, many of the provisions were lost. and the final mark actually includes provisions that will harm people who depend on medicade for health care, which is what we are here for. i believe, if i could have the attention of my colleagues -- i believe that people who like the medicade and the chip coverage they have today should be a