[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 20]
[House]
[Page 27579]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



       MORATORIUM CALLED FOR ON VETERAN PRESCRIPTION DRUG CO-PAYS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Strickland) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. STRICKLAND. Mr. Speaker, I may be the last speaker in this 
Chamber of this particular session of the House of Representatives. I 
rise today to say when it comes to the way we treat our veterans in 
this country, talk is cheap, but actions speak louder than words. Why 
do I say that?
  Mr. Speaker, I have in my hands this afternoon a document from the 
Department of Veterans Affairs entitled, ``Implementation of Medication 
Co-payment Changes.'' It is a document that details the changes that 
will take place in the level of co-payment made available to veterans 
who get their prescription medications at the VA hospitals. What we are 
proposing is outrageous in my judgment.
  Currently, most veterans who go to VA hospitals and receive their 
medications as an outpatient pay a $2 co-pay per prescription. On 
February 4, according to this document, that co-pay will be increased 
from $2 a prescription to $7 a prescription, a whooping 250 percent 
increase. An unacceptable increase. Why is this so outrageous? It is 
outrageous because this House has recently passed a $15 billion bailout 
for the huge airline companies, $15 billion. This House has recently 
passed a bill that would have provided $24 billion in tax rebates going 
all of the way back to 1986, giving profitable companies a give-back of 
all of the taxes they had paid under the alternative minimum tax since 
1986, estimated to be a $24 billion give-back. And yet at the same 
time, we are in the process of increasing the co-pay for veterans' 
medicines from $2 to $7.
  Mr. Speaker, I serve a veterans hospital in southern Ohio, the 
Chillicothe VA Hospital. I have been told by administration there that 
the average veteran who gets prescription drugs at that facility will 
get 10 or more prescriptions per month. If we take a $7 co-pay and 
multiply that by 10, it is $70, a sizable amount of money for a veteran 
living on a fixed income. These veterans frequently get not 1-month 
supply, but a 3-month supply at a time. If we take $70 times 3, it is 
$210. Why is it that we talk so eloquently in this House about our 
concern for our military, we honor our veterans, and yet when it comes 
to taking action, we penalize them at the same time we are willing to 
give huge, huge tax cuts to profitable corporations, many of them 
multi-national corporations.
  A 250 percent increase on our veterans for medicines they need to 
stay healthy or maybe even to stay alive, and we are doing it at a time 
when we are passing out money up here like drunken sailors. We have 
passed so many give-backs and pork barrel spending bills in this 
session of this House of Representatives, and yet we are penalizing our 
veterans. It is no wonder that veterans across this country have a 
right to say when it comes to the actions of this House, talk is cheap, 
but actions speak louder than words.
  On February 4 when veterans go to our VA facilities to get their 
medicines, and they have been used to pay $2 per prescription and they 
are asked to pay $7 for that prescription, I hope they rebel. I hope 
they let those of us in this Chamber know how they feel about this 
outrageous action.
  Mr. Speaker, I have introduced a bill to place a 5-year moratorium on 
any increase for veterans' prescription drugs. My bill is H.R. 2820. I 
currently have 42 cosponsors. I am hopeful that every Member of this 
Chamber will choose to cosponsor this legislation, and as soon as we 
get back here after the first of the year, we will pass this 
legislation so that we will not penalize our veterans and require them 
to pay more than they are currently paying for their needed 
prescription medications.

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