[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 140 (Monday, October 30, 2000)]
[House]
[Page H11535]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    PROVIDING HEALTH CARE ASSISTANCE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 19, 1999, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Green) is recognized 
during morning hour debates for 5 minutes.
  Mr. GREEN of Texas. Madam Speaker, let me follow my colleague. It is 
interesting though if our armed services are in such bad shape, they 
have received more funding every year, and it has passed 
overwhelmingly. In fact, we have a lot of appropriations bills that 
have not been sent to the President yet, but the Department of Defense 
was the first one and has had the big plus-up every year compared to 
other Federal agencies.
  Madam Speaker, after sitting here and listening to my colleagues this 
morning talk about it, I heard that the Department of Education could 
not be audited. Well, when is the last time the Department of Defense 
was audited successfully?
  Madam Speaker, I think that is a good topic for debate, but this 
House and this Senate and the President signed the Department of 
Defense appropriations bill, the first one, and it is there, and it 
passed overwhelmingly on both sides. So I do not think the United 
States is going to hell in a handbasket on the Department of Defense, 
because we make sure we try to provide that funding.
  Here we are October 30, and Congress is still in session, and we have 
heard my colleagues blame the President or blame different folks, 
Republicans. But it is interesting, because next Tuesday the voters all 
over the country will go to the polls and make some decisions.
  Now, they will look at lots of issues, but one of the ones I wanted 
to talk about this morning, one of the most major issues, is providing 
prescription drugs for our senior citizens under Medicare.
  Prescription drugs have always been a problem, not just for seniors, 
but for everyone. When those of us go buy pharmaceuticals for ourselves 
or our children, we realize how high the cost is. But it seems like in 
the last 3 years, it has gone up dramatically.
  I know senior citizens do not always have the choices we have. 
Sometimes, if we are working, we can earn more overtime, we can cut 
some other areas, we can actually increase our income. But seniors do 
not have that option. Seniors do not have that option, if they are 
required to take so many prescriptions and they just cannot go out and 
work more overtime.
  I was worried earlier this year, and I am glad the House passed it, 
that between 65 and 70, I was cosponsor of the bill, let seniors work 
for those years. I was worried that was only going to be our effort 
this session, let seniors be able to go out and work and pay for their 
prescription drugs that are not covered under Medicare.
  I know this is my fourth term and in 1993, 1994 and 1995 at our town 
hall meetings and community meetings, we have dozens every year, we 
would have one or two people come up and talk about prescription drugs. 
But in the last 2 or 3 years, it seems like I cannot have a town hall 
meeting or community meeting without either a senior citizen or someone 
my age saying, my parents cannot afford it, or even someone my 
children's age saying, my grandparents cannot afford their prescription 
drugs.
  So, you know, in the early nineties you would only hear one or two, 
but in the last 2 or 3 years, because it seems like the cost of 
escalation has been so much, and it hits seniors so much more than it 
does anyone else.
  We asked 2 years ago, and our Committee on Government Reform staff, 
the minority staff, actually conducted studies around the country for a 
lot of members of Congress. One of them they did in my own district in 
Houston, and we did three of them starting about 2 years ago.
  One, we compared prices for large purchasers, for example, whether it 
is Blue Cross-Blue Shield or the Veterans, what can they do if the 
average citizen goes down compared to what the larger purchaser can do. 
We found out the large purchasers actually save about half of what my 
seniors going to their local drugstore would pay as compared if they 
could get it through some large purchaser.
  We also, because I am in Houston, Texas, and it is a 6\1/2\ hour 
drive to Mexico, what it would be for seniors who can drive to Mexico, 
who can both lower their prices by bulk purchasing, but they have also 
price controls. So we found out that people can drive from Houston to 
Mexico and save half, at least, on their prescription drugs. These are 
studies conducted not by my office, but by the minority office of the 
Committee on Government Reform. So, again, seniors could save half.
  The last thing we did this last spring is we picked out certain 
pharmaceuticals that are also used for animals. I remember very well in 
East End Houston at the magnolia Multipurpose Center, we had a good 
crowd of seniors there, and we had a young lady, I guess in her early 
20's, and she had a beautiful German shepherd.
  She had that dog, and we started listing pharmaceuticals that my 
seniors in Houston take, like seniors all over the country, and animals 
take. Well, it just so happened this dog, this German shepherd, also 
had asthma, and so did one of my seniors. She talked about how it was 
tough.
  I looked at that dog and I thought it was a purebred German shepherd, 
Madam Speaker, but it turned out she got it real cheap at the SPCA, and 
it was a beautiful animal.
  But this senior citizen came up and said, I know this dog has asthma, 
and this is what I pay for my asthma medicine, and it was outrageous. 
Again, it was more than double for seniors as compared to what we do 
for our own animals.
  That is why it was frustrating that this House has not addressed it, 
except for one bill that passed earlier. We compare the House plan and 
the Democratic plan and Governor Bush's plan and the House plan, and it 
just looks like it is giving more money to insurance companies who, 
under our current HMO system are not even covering seniors.
  Madam Speaker, I know next Tuesday a lot of people, no matter what 
their age, will go to the polls. I know prescription drugs are 
important, and I hope they look at the Democratic plan.

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