[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 21 (Wednesday, March 1, 2000)]
[House]
[Page H579]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       PRESCRIPTION DRUG BENEFIT

  (Ms. WOOLSEY asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. WOOLSEY. Mr. Speaker, in just 25 years the number of seniors in 
California will nearly double, from 3.4 million to 6.4 million, but the 
limited prescription drug benefit that the Republicans have proposed 
would leave nearly half of those seniors behind.
  Low-income drug benefit plans include seniors who are considered 
middle class if they earn between $15,000 and $50,000 a year. These 
plans ignore the fact that due to the high costs of prescription drugs, 
many seniors must choose between buying food and buying medicine. That 
is not right.
  Mr. Speaker, in the case of Ivera and Roy Cobb, residents of my 
district, paying for medications that they both need is absolutely 
impossible. Roy goes without some of his prescription drugs so that 
Ivera can have her medications.
  The Republican leadership must stop dragging its feet and must enact 
a meaningful prescription drug benefit that will eliminate price 
discrimination against our seniors.

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