[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 148 (2002), Part 8]
[House]
[Page 10704]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       PRESCRIPTION DRUG BENEFIT

  (Mr. UDALL of Colorado asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. UDALL of Colorado. Mr. Speaker, not a day goes by without my 
hearing from a senior who is struggling to pay for prescription drugs. 
Recently a senior in the town of Westminister, Colorado, told me how 
she has to visit the food bank once a week so she can afford her 
prescription drugs. Another told me how she plays her own version of 
the lottery. She puts all of her bills in a fish bowl, draws one bill, 
and the one she draws is the one she puts off paying so she can afford 
to take the drugs that the doctor tells her she needs.
  Unfortunately, these women are not alone. Medicare only covers two-
thirds of its enrollees. No senior should be faced with a choice of 
paying for food, paying the electrical bill, or buying critical 
lifesaving medicines. We have an obligation to our Nation's seniors to 
provide them with the lifesaving drugs that they need and deserve.
  Mr. Speaker, when we take up, and we need to take up a prescription 
drug bill next week, we must provide a Medicare drug benefit that is 
affordable and dependable, without gaps or gimmicks in coverage. 
Members of Congress, government employees, employees of major 
corporations have this kind of coverage today. It is time our seniors 
did, too.

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