[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 9]
[House]
[Page 11393]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




 THE IMPORTANCE OF INFORMING SENIORS ABOUT MEDICARE PRESCRIPTION DRUG 
                                BENEFIT

  (Mr. PENCE asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. PENCE. Mr. Speaker, as many know, for deeply held philosophical 
reasons, I opposed the creation of a prescription drug entitlement in 
Medicare. But I never opposed helping low-income seniors or using the 
private sector to give seniors more buying power to save money on their 
prescription drugs, which is exactly what became available this week 
with the new Medicare drug discount card and the $600 credit for low-
income seniors. In fact, I hosted five Medicare discount drug fairs 
across my district, speaking to more than 1,000 of my constituents.
  While many have made speeches on this floor and across the country 
creating anxiety about this new bill, I found it instructive to spend 
time with seniors. Despite my opposition to a drug entitlement, I felt 
I had a moral obligation to explain to seniors, particularly low-income 
seniors, what is available as of this week in the new Medicare drug 
discount card benefit.
  I urge all of my colleagues, regardless of your view of this 
legislation, to view what is available in this law and to discharge 
your duty to your constituents to make knowledge available of the new 
drug discount card and the low-income assistance for seniors.

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