[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 61 (Wednesday, May 17, 2000)]
[House]
[Page H3184]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           FOOD OR MEDICINE?

  (Mr. GIBBONS asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. GIBBONS. Mr. Speaker, after a lifetime of hard work, our senior 
citizens should be able to enjoy their golden years. But unfortunately, 
instead of enjoying their retirement, the rising cost of prescription 
drugs forces many seniors to choose between putting food on the table 
or buying lifesaving medications. Forcing seniors into this type of 
decision is wrong and it must stop.
  The Republicans have brought forward a responsible, common sense 
prescription drug plan that provides our seniors access to affordable 
prescription drugs. Under the Republican proposal, seniors will have 
the power to choose prescription drug plans that best fit their needs 
instead of being forced into the Democrats' inefficient, dangerous, 
big-government, price control scheme. The Republican plan assures that 
no senior citizen or disabled American will have to choose between food 
and medicine again.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the administration's dangerous one-size-
fits-all, government-dictated drug scheme which fails to meet the needs 
of our seniors.

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