[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 12]
[House]
[Pages 16271-16272]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        REPUBLICAN MEDICARE BILL

  (Ms. LORETTA SANCHEZ of California asked and was given permission to 
address the House for 1 minute.)
  Ms. LORETTA SANCHEZ of California. Madam Speaker, I heard a strange 
rumor last night that the Republican Party was going to change its 
mascot from the elephant to the night owl. This would be fitting since 
most legislation these days is being discussed by Republicans in the 
dark of

[[Page 16272]]

night behind closed doors without giving Democrats a fair chance to 
debate it here on the House floor.
  Today we are going to vote on legislation that will provide the most 
significant reform in Medicare since its creation in 1965. This 
legislation will impact millions of seniors across the Nation, yet many 
of the Representatives in Congress will not have seen this legislation 
until today. Would someone sign their name on a long-term mortgage for 
their home if they had never stepped inside that house?
  Moreover, many well thought out amendments today will not be debated. 
For example, my simple, cost effective proposal for a Medicare 
prescription drug benefit, they did not allow us to bring it to the 
floor to discuss it. The night owls have yet again ruined a perfect 
opportunity on what should really be bipartisan legislation. Ain't that 
a hoot.

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