[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 3]
[House]
[Page 4117]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




          EXTEND THE MEDICARE PRESCRIPTION DRUG PLAN DEADLINE

  (Mr. PALLONE asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, as this calendar shows, the countdown 
continues to an outrageous tax congressional Republicans and the Bush 
administration plan to inflict on American seniors.
  If Washington does not act before May 15, millions of seniors who 
have yet to choose a prescription drug plan will face a 1 percent tax 
that will be added onto their drug premiums for every month that they 
wait to sign up.
  So if a senior, for example, does not choose to sign up for a plan 
until September, that senior would be forced to pay a 5 percent tax on 
top of their monthly premium every single month for the rest of their 
lives.
  President Bush has already admitted that his prescription drug plan 
is complicated and confusing, and yet the President refuses to give 
seniors more time to sign up for a drug plan without facing a penalty. 
If the President refuses to act, Congress must step in.
  Congressional Democrats want to extend the deadline until the end of 
the year, giving seniors 7 additional months to navigate the 
complexities of the plan.
  As we mark off another day on the calendar, Mr. Speaker, time is 
running out for congressional Republicans to join us in supporting this 
extension. America's seniors cannot afford a Bush prescription drug 
tax.

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