[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 83 (Thursday, June 20, 2002)]
[House]
[Page H3727]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 DEMOCRATS MISLEADING AMERICANS ON DEBATE ON PRESCRIPTION DRUG COVERAGE

  (Mr. FLETCHER asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. FLETCHER. Mr. Speaker, the Democrats are misleading the American 
public over the debate on prescription drug coverage for our seniors, 
and I am very disappointed to see our friends on the other side of the 
aisle once again employing the politics of demagoguery and fear.
  To illustrate to my Democratic friends how our plan will help States, 
in Kentucky, which has 615,000 Medicare beneficiaries, a half of those 
seniors live at 175 percent below the poverty level. In Kentucky, HHS 
estimates that the State savings under our plan would be $549 million 
in the fiscal years 2005 through 2012.
  In a time when seniors and State governments are experiencing 
financial difficulties, our plan provides seniors with an affordable 
benefit to Medicare and immediate savings. States also benefit by 
saving about $40 billion estimated over the next several years.
  Our plan is the only fiscally responsible choice for both seniors and 
government and should be supported next week as we bring it to the 
House floor. The Democrat plan, it remains an $800 billion pie-in-the-
sky boondoggle which misleads seniors and would require higher and 
higher taxes.
  So in a time when seniors deserve honesty and transparency, I 
encourage them to join our efforts to provide a responsible, 
reasonable, and double relief for our seniors' prescription drug needs 
now.

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