Harry Reid compares opponents of health reform to supporters of slavery: “When this country belatedly recognized the wrongs of slavery, there were those who dug in their heels and said ’slow down, it’s too early, things aren’t bad enough.’”

“There is no business in America that makes more money than the insurance industry.”

                                                                             — Harry Reid

Soft drinks, energy drinks, sports drinks and sweetened bottled water combined contribute 5.5% of the calories in the average American diet, according to the National Cancer Institute. It’s difficult to understand why the beverages we and others provide are being targeted as the primary cause of weight gain when 94.5% of caloric intake comes from other foods and beverages.

                                    — Muhtar Kent, CEO of the Coca-Cola Company

It’s a human health issue to ensure that pets are provided with better care because of the role they play in our families.

–  Nancy Perry, vice president of government affairs at the Humane Society of the United States

On a bill to allow a tax break of up to $3,500 per person for pet care expenses.

I don’t believe that we can force vulnerable kids into private coverage. That’s what we’d be doing. They’d lose that special kind of defined benefit that comes under Medicaid…You cannot do that. They have requirements that you have to meet and can only be met through Medicaid, not in the exchange, where they’re at the mercy of people that will have them for lunch…

                                            — Sen. Jay Rockefeller

Personally, I think Sen. Rockefeller’s health is also too important to be left to the private marketplace. Let’s enroll him in Medicaid.

Sickness, poverty, and obesity are spun together in a dense web of reciprocal causality. Anyone who’s fat is more likely to be poor and sick. Anyone who’s poor is more likely to be fat and sick. And anyone who’s sick is more likely to be poor and fat.

       — Daniel Engber in Slate

There’s a public option; there’s a public option, and there’s a public option. And we’re gonna look at each of them.

                                                                             — Sen. Harry Reid