[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 13]
[House]
[Page 18610]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



         SUPPORT THE PRESCRIPTION DRUG FAIRNESS FOR SENIORS ACT

  (Mr. SHOWS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. SHOWS. Mr. Speaker, I stand before the American people today to 
talk about the high costs of prescription drugs. I have had the 
opportunity to visit with many of my constituents to address this 
burdensome problem. Studies prove that senior citizens in Mississippi 
pay outrageous amounts of money for much needed prescription drugs. For 
an example, a Mrs. Bruce lives in Federation Towers in Clinton, 
Mississippi. She enjoyed all the freedoms that should come along with 
being a senior citizen until the cost of her prescription medicine 
forced her to move out of her house, into her home with her daughter. 
She pays $200 a month for prescription medicine on a fixed income.
  Mrs. Bruce told me that without her daughter she could not stay 
healthy. She wonders what happens to the other seniors in this country 
who do not have the family support that she does.
  Mr. Speaker, I cannot think of any other issue that deserves being 
addressed more than the cost of medicine for our seniors. That is why I 
cosponsored the Prescription Drug Fairness Act for seniors. It is time 
to do right by our seniors and make them favorite customers, just like 
the large HMOs in the Federal Government.
  Mr. Speaker, folks like Mrs. Bruce need us.

                          ____________________