[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 7]
[House]
[Page 10279]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                          PART D DOUGHNUT HOLE

  (Mr. COHEN asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, there's great news for seniors, and I think 
that they'll be receiving it in the mail soon. The notorious doughnut 
hole is going to be closed. And starting this week, the part D doughnut 
hole where seniors have to pay for their drugs at an immense amount 
that hurts them will start to be filled because of the health care bill 
we passed in this House without a single Republican vote that made it 
law. The Democrats did it.
  And $250 one-time rebate checks will go out as early as this week to 
seniors who are in the doughnut hole. They will start to be mailed out 
tomorrow, June 10. Seniors who fall into that hole can expect a $250 
tax rebate check in their mailbox to help them cover those costs, part 
of the Democratic bill that reformed health care that didn't have a 
single Republican vote to help it become law. There were 217, 218 
Democratic votes up to make that law.
  Eventually, the doughnut hole will be eliminated, but we start with 
these $250 checks. And I am proud to have voted for it, proud to have 
supported it, and pleased to give seniors relief from drug bills that 
are hurting them every day.

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