[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 1]
[House]
[Page 934]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  2045
              THE REAL COST OF THE PRESCRIPTION DRUG BILL

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Mario Diaz-Balart of Florida.) Under a 
previous order of the House, the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Emanuel) 
is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. EMANUEL. Mr. Speaker, last week we learned that after extensive 
debate we were told that the Medicare bill would cost $400 billion to 
the taxpayers. We learned that the real number, and known all along, 
was $540 billion. Not a single benefit has been accrued to a senior 
citizen. Not a single prescription drug or reduction in cost has been 
accrued to a senior citizen, and yet the taxpayers are being asked to 
foot the bill not for $400 billion but for $540 billion.
  In the last 2 months since this Congress passed the prescription drug 
bill, three things have happened. First, the taxpayers have been asked 
to pay an additional $140 billion. Second, Mr. Scully, who is over at 
Health and Human Services and negotiated this bill, got a huge lobbying 
contract and became a lobbyist. And in today's Wall Street Journal, 
there was an article about Delphi gets boost in new drug law where they 
are able to write off $500 million in costs for health care for their 
seniors and retirees, and yet not a single new benefit from the 
Medicare bill. So we have one individual becoming a lobbyist, the 
taxpayers getting an additional bill of $140 billion, and corporate 
America gets to write off more of their health care costs. Not 
necessarily a bad thing, but seniors have to wait until 2006 to see any 
benefit at all, if there is one, from this legislation.
  That to me is exactly what was wrong with this bill is that we have 
HMOs and pharmaceutical companies getting huge dollars and huge 
investments of taxpayer-paid benefits, and no money, no resources 
towards our senior citizens.
  This article talks about Delphi's benefit but Caterpillar, GM, Lucent 
Technologies, all with a number of their retirees who have health care 
plans as retirees, will now be able to accelerate the write-off on 
their bottom line. The Delphi article talks about them being able to 
accelerate a $500 million write-off, and yet no new benefit in 
prescription drug benefit has been delivered to a single senior 
citizen.
  I will say one thing. The pharmaceutical industry, the insurance 
industry, and other special interests have surely gotten their money's 
worth out of this Congress, and so I applaud them for their hard work.
  A number of my colleagues on the other side always talk about how 
they would like government to start emulating and working like a 
business. There was a bipartisan group that talked about how to make 
the government, and specifically prescription drugs, operate like a 
business, creating in Medicare a Sam's Club entity, 41 million seniors 
would be pulled together, the purchasing power of the seniors. We could 
save hundreds of billions of dollars by negotiating bulk prices, just 
like Sam's Club does, just like private insurers do. But the 
legislation that was passed in this Congress at the behest of the 
pharmaceutical industry prohibits Medicare from doing what private 
industry does, what Sam's Club does or private insurance companies do, 
what even the Veterans Administration does, negotiate on behalf of who 
they represent, using the leverage power of a quantity of people. In 
this case it would be 41 million seniors.
  Another way of reducing the price and delivering the prescription 
drugs would be allowing people to buy their drugs in Canada and Europe, 
again proving we pay 40 percent more here in the United States than 
anywhere else in the world. People are allowed to use competition in 
choice to buy their medications. We would have lower prices here in the 
United States, save our senior citizens dollars and our taxpayers 
dollars, but both attempts to get the government to operate like a 
business, to save money, to be more efficient, wring out synergies, has 
been prevented.
  I have found in the last 2 weeks one of the most incredible news on 
this legislation.
  First of all, I believe if we had known the true number and not been 
lied to or not told the truth or denied the access to the truth, and we 
had been told that the number was $540 billion, the legislation never 
would have passed. But that information was consciously, specifically 
denied access in the public debate, as has been in the past for cases 
where the administration has refused to share information. Now we know 
the true number, and the taxpayers are going to be asked to pay an 
additional $140 billion on top of the $400 billion, and we do not have 
the money to do it. Yet we are asking them to do it, and not a single 
benefit.
  Mr. Scully, nothing against that, has negotiated himself a wonderful 
contract to be a lobbyist on the prescription drug benefit, and 
companies like Delphi will now be eligible to accelerate and write down 
$500 million on their taxes, and yet not a single benefit has been 
given for seniors. Everybody sat here and talked about what we were 
doing for seniors, and this year the prices of prescription drugs will 
go up 15 percent. They are projected to go up another 15 to 18 percent 
the following year, and we have done nothing to affect the price.
  After this type of behavior in this Congress and the actions taken by 
this Congress, I am surprised that anybody wonders why people are 
cynical about politics. We have done a great job out of this 
institution, taking care of the special interests. Hopefully we will 
return and look at this legislation and once again think about how we 
can save our seniors money and our taxpayers.

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