[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 11]
[House]
[Page 15179]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




     SENIORS AND DISABLED DESERVE BETTER PRESCRIPTION DRUG COVERAGE

  (Mrs. CAPPS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Mrs. CAPPS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today on behalf of millions of 
American seniors who deserve lower prescription drug prices. And when I 
say lower drug prices, I mean real discounts and real drug coverage, 
not meaningless discount cards.
  Congress has before it legislation that requires the Federal 
Government to negotiate real discount prices on prescription medicine 
for seniors. The VA, the Veterans Administration, already uses a system 
like this and obtains prices significantly lower than current plans, 
sometimes as much as 50 percent lower. But this bill, which would make 
such a difference, has not been allowed to come to the floor.
  The same forces withholding this floor vote are the forces lauding 
the current Medicare law, the new law that does nothing to actually 
lower the cost of prescription medicines, that prohibits Medicare from 
using the bargaining power of Americans, 40 million seniors, to 
negotiate lower prices.
  Our current Medicare law tells seniors to buy drug discount cards 
which do not give discounts for all drugs at all pharmacies. Seniors 
and the disabled deserve better than this. Let us do what is right on 
their behalf.

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