[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 148 (2002), Part 8]
[House]
[Page 10841]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                    MEDICARE PRESCRIPTION DRUG BILL

  (Ms. BALDWIN asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. BALDWIN. Mr. Speaker, what are the priorities of this Congress? 
Recently, it seems that the primary concern of the majority is passing 
tax cuts costing trillions of dollars that benefit the very wealthy and 
do not even go into effect for 10 years from now.
  Next week, the majority will finally bring to the floor a bill that 
is the ultimate concern of thousands of seniors in the United States, 
the Medicare prescription drug bill. Unfortunately, the Republican bill 
is such a sham that it will not even stand up to the scrutiny of a 
truth-in-advertising law.
  If we put the concerns of seniors who desperately need help in paying 
for their prescriptions first, then we must pass a benefit that is 
affordable.
  I recently received a letter from Donna O'Keefe, a retiree who lives 
in Baraboo, Wisconsin. Her drug bills total $400 a month, and she 
receives only $640 a month from Social Security. Seniors like Donna 
need a comprehensive prescription drug benefit that has no gaps and no 
gimmicks. They need real drug coverage under Medicare.

                          ____________________