[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 57 (Thursday, April 29, 2004)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4631-S4632]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            FILING DEADLINE

  Mr. ENZI. I ask unanimous consent that the filing deadline under 
cloture rules for second-degree amendments to the Daschle amendment 
occur at 11:30 a.m. today.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection? Without objection, it is 
so ordered.
  Mr. ENZI. Madam President, I am a little disturbed at some of the 
words I heard on the Senate floor this morning. The minority is trying 
to take the President apart at the cost of our troops, and we cannot 
stand for that. We have people fighting in Iraq. Two weeks ago I was in 
Germany, and I met with some of the wounded troops. We thought we would 
have to pump them up, but they pumped us up. Their message to us was: 
How come everything sounds so bad back home when it is improving in 
Iraq? They said the people of Iraq appreciate what we are doing. We are 
making a difference. Let us do our job.
  Then we hear this rhetoric which is just based on a Presidential 
election. It has nothing to do with the true feelings in Iraq or the 
protection of our troops. In much the same way, I hear people on that 
side of the aisle trying to scare seniors about Medicare.

[[Page S4632]]

  Seniors are about to get the best advantage they have ever had since 
the founding of Medicare, and that is the new prescription drug 
program.
  Next week, we will take the first step in the history of Medicare 
toward providing seniors with the help they need to pay for their 
prescription drugs. We made improvements to Medicare in a three-stage 
parcel so that it can be done right. What begins next week is that 
people begin to get information so they can select a prescription drug 
card where they will get 10- to 20-percent discounts on the drugs they 
are taking now. They can do it easily. They can go online and make a 
comparison, or they can call 1-800-MEDICARE and talk to live people, 
tell them what their drugs are, and get some help in gathering 
information. But they do not have to make the decision right now. That 
is just a telephone call to find out what the best possibility is right 
now.
  So seniors can begin to run options through their minds and make the 
best selection for the drugs they take to get the biggest discount they 
possibly can.
  This is an historic new benefit for seniors, and I am sorry there has 
been so much rhetoric surrounding the new law. There are some people 
who would prefer to have had an issue instead of a solution. But 
President Bush said we are going to have a prescription drug plan, and 
because he put the effort behind it, and because people here believed 
in it, we got a solution.

  The solution comes in three parts: By June 1, seniors can get the 
drug card. That is the 2004 benefit. In 2005, for the first time 
seniors under Medicare will be able to get a physical, part of 
preventive medicine. We think that it is important that people find out 
what their medical problems are early and solve them. Preventive 
medicine is proven to be the most beneficial for the patient and 
absolutely the best from a pain standpoint, and it does prevent 
problems from happening, which is also a huge cost saver.
  So get on the phone or get on the Internet. Seniors should call in, 
find out how the drug benefit works, and they will receive up to 10 to 
20 percent off the prices they are paying now for their drugs. And if 
they happen to be a low-income senior who signs up for the card, they 
will receive an extra $600 in credit in 2004 and 2005 to help pay for 
their prescriptions.
  A number of the pharmaceutical companies also have agreed to provide 
their brands of drugs free of charge to seniors who exhaust their $600 
credit. That is going to cost the companies quite a bit of money.
  Some people who say we didn't do anything, that there is a donut hole 
in the benefit. My response is, before we did the Medicare bill there 
was not even a donut. Now there is only a donut hole.
  So in 2006, there will be more extensive and comprehensive coverage 
of prescription drugs, and a maximum out-of-pocket spending of $3,600 
per person on drugs before catastrophic coverage kicks in.
  There has been a tremendous benefit that has been delivered, but 
seniors have to participate if they are under Medicare. They have to do 
the research to find out what the best discount card for them would be.
  There are two ways to do that. One is on the Internet at 
Medicare.gov. The other is by telephone at 1-800-MEDICARE. There will 
be live people on the phone to help seniors gather the information by 
June 1. Seniors do not have to sign up until June 1, but they should do 
the research and watch what happens to the price as competition kicks 
in. That is what this is, a number of companies vying for the business 
of seniors, all seniors, because all seniors will have help with their 
drug benefit--up to 10 to 20 percent, in some cases higher with the 
discount cards, but $600 if they are low income, and some other 
benefits beyond that.
  I hope we can end some of the rhetoric that is coming from the other 
side of the aisle about what this does and does not do, and we can get 
on board and help seniors to take advantage of what has been done. We 
talked about doing a benefit for years, and it did not get done. The 
President got behind it, pushed it, said we will have it done, and it 
is done. The reality is now that seniors have access to new benefits 
under Medicare, they can sign up for that with a drug discount card 
beginning next week. They do not have to sign up until June 1 with no 
penalty if they wait until then.
  So let us do what is right by seniors and put politics aside for a 
moment. There will be plenty of time later for debating and 
campaigning. The great majority of seniors will benefit from the new 
Medicare discount cards.
  Let me recap again what this bill does.
  Next month, seniors can begin signing up for a Medicare-endorsed drug 
discount card that will save them 10 to 20 percent, at least, off 
retail drug prices. Seniors with low incomes will also get up to $600 
in credit to help them pay for their prescriptions.
  Next year, Medicare will cover new preventive benefits, including a 
``Welcome to Medicare'' physical exam for all Americans when they turn 
65.
  And in 2006, Medicare will offer voluntary, comprehensive drug 
coverage, with special benefits for seniors with low incomes and 
seniors with high drug bills.
  The new drug benefit will be voluntary. It will offer the most help 
to those who need the help most. And it will provide much-needed 
security and peace of mind to seniors who worry about losing their life 
savings in the event of a devastating illness.
  Despite all of these good things, there are still some who insist on 
``talking down'' this new Medicare drug benefit. There are some who are 
trying to convince seniors and their families that this is somehow a 
raw deal, a sham, or worse.
  I hear that, and I know that other Members who voted for the Medicare 
bill from both sides of the aisle hear these things. And then I review 
again what the bill actually does, and I wonder what the problem is.
  I think I have finally figured out the problem.
  The problem is that this new Medicare drug benefit does not fit the 
tired old storyline about Republicans and healthcare.
  We Republicans know the story all too well. I am surprised someone 
has not turned it into a children's book yet, so that kids can hear it 
when they are very young. Or maybe someone has.
  The tired old story changes over time, but the main points are always 
the same.
  The tired old story is that Republicans do not care about healthcare; 
they do not care if healthcare is affordable or available to everyone; 
they do not care if people with low incomes can get care when they need 
it; they do not care about seniors and their drug bills.
  And the problem for the storytellers is that the facts on the 
Medicare drug benefit do not support their story.
  Nevertheless, the storytellers persist in peddling this tale. It is 
so bad right now that some of the storytellers are trying to undo this 
important legislation before it even gets off the ground. In fact, some 
are completely reversing their longstanding positions on this issue, in 
an attempt to remove parts of the new Medicare law that are nearly 
identical to sections of their bills from recent years.
  I understand why some in the minority are upset with the new Medicare 
law. They are upset because Republicans campaigned 2 years ago on a 
promise to pass a meaningful drug benefit for seniors, and we delivered 
on that promise.
  But the reality is that now seniors have access to new benefits under 
Medicare, and they can sign up for the first new benefit--the drug 
discount card--beginning next week.
  So let's do right by seniors and put politics aside for a moment. 
There will be plenty of time later for debating and campaigning.
  The great majority of seniors will benefit from the new Medicare drug 
discount cards. Our job should be to work together to help seniors make 
the best decisions about their own healthcare and their own finances. 
Let's give them the right information so they can decide whether to 
sign up, and which card to choose. Let's do this now, because seniors 
deserve nothing less.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Missouri.

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