[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 6 (Thursday, January 11, 2007)]
[House]
[Page H347]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                              {time}  1015
    VOTE ``NO'' ON MEDICARE PRESCRIPTION DRUG PRICE NEGOTIATION ACT

  (Mrs. BLACKBURN asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in opposition to H.R. 4, 
the Big Government Prescription Drug Price Negotiation Act. This bill 
is politically driven, and it will result in a one-size-fits-all 
program that gives us higher drug prices, less consumer choice, and 
will certainly not uphold some of the access that has been made 
available through Medicare part D. And we know that seniors want 
choice. We hear that from them. They want to preserve the doctor-
patient relationship, and they want access to prescriptions in their 
local communities.
  What H.R. 4 does is to open the door for Big Government to decide 
what medicines patients receive instead of their doctors.
  Unfortunately, the Democrats are rushing the bill to the floor to 
undo the hard work of Medicare part D. We know from survey after survey 
that over three-fourths of seniors are satisfied with this program.
  There have been no discussions, no hearings, no analysis on how this 
proposal will impact the access of seniors. I urge my colleagues to 
vote ``no.''

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