[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 148 (2002), Part 9]
[House]
[Page 11754]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                HOUSE DIVIDED ON PRESCRIPTION DRUG PLAN

  (Mr. CROWLEY asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. CROWLEY. Mr. Speaker, 9 months ago I stood on this floor and 
talked about the attack upon my great city, the City of New York. Never 
before in my 4 years in this Congress had I felt this House and this 
country more united than at that moment.
  The pundits began to speak, and they began to ask questions like, how 
long would it last; how long would this House stay united; and would it 
be the Democrats or the Republicans who would blink first? 
Unfortunately, it has been the Republicans.
  Today, they offer a prescription drug plan without giving the 
opportunity for this side of the aisle to present our plan, without 
having a fair vote up and down on both. They know the Democratic side 
would win. This bill, our bill, would win the day.
  It appears in the middle of the night that there was an election 
held, that there are now 436 Members of Congress. Robert Ingram, I do 
not know which State he is from, but he has already proven himself to 
be a great fund-raiser for the Republican side of the aisle. He has 
raised $250,000 from GlaxoSmithKline, apparently his former company; 
from Pfizer, $150,000; from Merck, $150,000. The money is where this 
bill follows, and the American people are going to know about it.
  This House has been brought asunder not by the Democrats but by the 
Republicans today, by their actions. It is intolerable, and the 
American people should know about it and know fully what happens today.

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