[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 84 (Friday, June 21, 2002)]
[House]
[Page H3779]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 NEXT WEEK'S INADEQUATE REPUBLICAN PRESCRIPTION DRUG BENEFIT PLAN FOR 
                                SENIORS

  (Mr. McDERMOTT asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. McDERMOTT. Mr. Speaker, next week is going to be a very 
interesting week. Probably the major issue that faces this Congress, 
that is, what do we do about prescription drugs for senior citizens, 
will be dealt with.
  The Republicans have put a bill out here which is absolutely 
inadequate. Everybody knows it. The newspapers have reported that. It 
is clear to anybody who has looked at the data. Yet when the Democrats 
put something forward, they say that ours costs too much.
  Now, some of us, many of us, said back in March when we passed $1.7 
trillion worth of tax cuts that the day is going to come when we are 
not going to have the money to do this right. So now we have a bill 
which is going to come out here. It will pass, no one here has any 
doubt about that, because we know we have to have the press release: 
House Republicans Deal With Drug Problems for Seniors, or something 
like that.
  But the fact is that the bill will not do what is necessary. It is a 
real shame that Members would rather cut taxes than take care of their 
mothers and fathers.

                          ____________________