[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 17]
[House]
[Page 21923]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




  DEMOCRATS WANT TO HELP LOWER PRESCRIPTION DRUG PRICES FOR AMERICA'S 
                                SENIORS

  (Mr. FILNER asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. FILNER. Madam Speaker, millions of American seniors are trying to 
make the best of the Medicare prescription drug plan that congressional 
Republicans and President Bush signed into law 3 years ago.
  Today, seniors are demanding changes in this program. They want a 
plan that does not create a giant gap in coverage, where they can lose 
coverage for months on end and where they still must pay their monthly 
payments.
  The giant doughnut hole, as we call it, leaves many seniors in the 
predicament of paying for groceries, paying their rent or the drugs 
they need to live healthier and longer lives. They may cut their pills 
into two or take them every second or third day. That is a recipe for 
disaster, and this is not a decision that seniors should have to make 
in America today.
  Democrats have long opposed this doughnut hole, and one of our top 
priorities next year is to eliminate it by making prescription drugs 
cheaper. How are we going to do this? It is simple. We are going to do 
the same thing the Veterans Administration does today, and that is, 
give the Secretary of Health and Human Services the ability to 
negotiate on behalf of all seniors for lower drug prices.
  Today, American veterans pay 42 percent less for their drugs because 
of this negotiating authority. If we make prescription drugs cheaper, 
we can fill in the doughnut hole so seniors no longer fall into it. 
This is one of our top priorities as we become the majority party in 
Congress next year.

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