[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 112 (Wednesday, September 20, 2000)]
[House]
[Page H7901]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[[Page H7901]]
         VICE PRESIDENT SHOULD STICK TO FACTS WHEN CAMPAIGNING

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Florida (Mr. Foley) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. FOLEY. Mr. Speaker, the Vice President last week in my home State 
in Tallahassee decided that he needed to make an example of the high 
cost of prescription drugs. The Vice President used statistics compiled 
by the Democratic National Committee relative to cost for either human 
consumption or animal consumption. But the Vice President did not just 
stop there. He decided to embellish the story. It has been in all the 
major papers. He decided to create a story about his mother-in-law and 
his pet. He went on to describe how they are taking arthritis 
medication for their conditions and how the disparity of price between 
what the dog takes and what the mother-in-law takes was so startling 
and so outrageous.
  Now, of course, in Florida we have a lot of seniors. In fact, I am 
probably the seventh oldest Medicare district in America. So when it 
comes to prescription drugs, a subject I know something about that we 
have been working on in the Committee on Ways and Means, I take strong 
offense to the fact that he would not only create false statements and 
mislead the public, not only embellish the story, but create it out of 
sheer nonsense. And so my seniors, who are waiting for some relief from 
the high cost of prescription drugs, scratched their heads and wondered 
why somebody who has been in office so long would not just stick to the 
facts. Why would they have to create stories involving their own 
family?
  During the same week, the Vice President was saying that we need 
medical privacy; that the United States Congress should strive to make 
certain that every person's medical record is protected; that they 
cannot be exposed to public scrutiny; that they cannot be used against 
them. But we might want to ask him a little more about that privacy 
issue before we release any of our details to the government, because 
he seems to relate a lot of private medical information for the sheer 
sake of politics. His mother-in-law now has all her neighbors knowing 
what medications she takes. She may or may not have agreed to that 
release; we just do not know. We do not even know if she takes the 
medication to this date. They have not been forthcoming with the facts.
  I think the Vice President owes the American public an explanation. 
Does his dog take the medication? Do the Federal taxpayers pay for his 
dog's medication? Does Mrs. Gore or the Vice President drive to the 
veterinarian and get the prescription or is its supplied by somebody 
there at the Naval Observatory?
  We have also heard over the recent weeks about his condemnation of 
Hollywood and the movie industry. Yet just last night he is there 
saying to everybody, ``Don't worry, I am only making statements. I 
don't want to alarm you. I still want your campaign contributions. I 
still want to be your friend, but I am going to blast you in public and 
make sinners of all of you.'' He takes the money; throws darts. Takes 
the money; makes accusations.
  ``I created the Internet.'' That was a statement he made a few weeks 
ago, or a few months ago. He discovered Love Canal; he was the subject 
of Love Story. Yet today he is virtually absent when we are talking 
about high energy prices.
  We talked about the soccer moms in the 1996 election and how 
important they are. And I hope they will all reflect when they fill up 
their Chrysler minivans or SUVs that the cost of fuel is now about 
$1.75, the highest it has been in 10 years, and certainly the highest 
it has been during this administration. So filling up the minivan is 
now a costly chore for mothers and fathers as they proceed to work and 
take their kids to soccer practice. But there is no one there taking 
credit for the oil policy of this administration.
  Today, the stock market is down 200 points, largely because of energy 
prices; and I do not hear anybody taking credit for that. The 
administration has the Energy Department. One would think they would 
figure out a response. Yet they can only accuse the other side of the 
aisle and our presidential nominee, that they are tied to big oil. 
Maybe they should stand up and say at least we can figure out an energy 
policy that will be good for America; that may bring down the cost of 
fuel for the consumers of America.
  This robust economy that we understand that they have taken full 
credit for for the last 8 years may in fact be in a decline because of 
energy prices. It is insidious. It affects transportation; it affects 
heating bills. Wait until this winter, when we talk about the political 
dynamics of choosing food and medicine. We now have to choose between 
food, medicine and fuel, heating oil for our homes.
  So I would just like it, if we are going to start embellishing 
rhetoric, creating facts, making up names, inserting foot in mouth, 
that at least somebody come to this floor and address the voters and 
taxpayers of this Nation as to where we are going with our energy 
policy. It is getting very difficult because those who are making the 
energy policy do not fill up their own tanks, so they do not feel the 
pain. They do not feel the pain when we reach into our wallets each 
week and pull out those precious dollars in order to keep our lives 
going forward and filling our vehicles with gasoline.
  So, today, as we proceed to continue discussing appropriations items 
and the future of this Congress and the direction of our Nation, I do 
again urge the Vice President to please at least stick to the script 
and stick to the straight facts. I would hope he would not create and 
embellish names and drugs that are being taken by his family, which may 
or may not be true.
  The American public deserves the truth. They deserve to know the 
facts. They need to know exactly where we are going on a prescription 
drug policy. We do not need to bring in Fido and the rest of the family 
to make a point. It was fraudulent, it was false, it was demeaning, it 
was misleading, and it was done in Florida, in a State where seniors 
are looking for honesty and decisions rather than fraudulent 
statements.

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