[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 148 (2002), Part 8]
[House]
[Page 11355]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




      DEFEAT REPUBLICAN SHAM PRIVATIZATION PRESCRIPTION DRUG BILL

  (Mr. TIERNEY asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. TIERNEY. Mr. Speaker, Republicans appear addicted to drug company 
money. Why else would they try to fool the American people with a plan 
written with the drug companies that fails to cover over 90 percent of 
seniors, that insurance companies say they will not participate in 
because it is good only for the wealthiest seniors with the highest 
drug costs, that would have seniors pay out of pocket $3,800 per year, 
and that does nothing to lower the cost of prescription drugs? In fact, 
the Republican bill so distrusts the President's Secretary of Health 
and Human Services that it forbids him to negotiate lower prices for 
seniors.
  Mr. Speaker, the Republican sham bill is just an attempt to privatize 
prescription drug coverage in the same way they tried to privatize 
Social Security. It will not help most seniors, and it will not work.
  So while Republicans are busy cutting taxes for less than 1 percent 
of the wealthiest estates in America, they trade off real prescription 
drug coverage, saying it is too expensive; and they offer a sham bill.
  The Democrats have a plan to cover seniors. It is affordable, it is 
accessible to all seniors, it allows the Secretary to negotiate lower 
and fairer prices, and it is real.
  Mr. Speaker, let us defeat the Republican sham privatization bill and 
pass the Democrats' real deal for seniors.

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