[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 148 (2002), Part 8]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 10987]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




      REGARDING THE INTRODUCTION OF CERTAIN MEDICARE-RELATED BILLS

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. W.J. (BILLY) TAUZIN

                              of louisiana

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 20, 2002

  Mr. TAUZIN. Mr. Speaker, as you know, the Energy and Commerce 
Committee is marking up prescription drug and other Medicare-related 
legislation this week. The foundation for our markup is H.R. 4954, the 
Medicare Modernization and Prescription Drug Act of 2002, introduced by 
my colleagues, Representatives Johnson and Bilirakis on June 18, 2002.
  To ensure an orderly process in my Committee, I made the decision to 
divide H.R. 4954 into a number of Committee Prints for our markup. In 
doing so, however, I of course want the Committee's good work to be 
reflected through full-fledged Committee reports on the various titles. 
Accordingly, I have already introduced two bills (H.R. 4961 and H.R. 
4962), and will continue to introduce free-standing bills that are the 
exact text of the prints we have marked up and ordered reported. Taken 
together, these bills will represent my Committee's position on the 
vital Medicare legislation we are considering.
  During House floor debate on the prescription drug legislation, which 
should take place next week, I will provide the House with a complete 
guide to the legislative history of the Energy and Commerce Committee's 
work in this area.

                          ____________________