[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2005, Book II)]
[July 22, 2005]
[Pages 1264-1276]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]
Remarks in a Discussion on Senior Security in Atlanta
July 22, 2005
The President. Thank you all. Thank you all very much. Please be
seated. Thank you. I'm proud--thank you. Thank you all. We got work to
do here. Thanks for the warm welcome. I know you're really cheering for
Mother.
I'm really thrilled to be back in Atlanta. We're going to talk about
Medicare and Social Security. Thanks for letting me come by to discuss
these two really important programs with you. I think you're going to
find it interesting.
I want to thank the Atlanta Chamber for sponsoring this event. I
think it's a good use for the Chamber's time to let us come. I say
``us'' because there's going to be more than one speaker--you'll be
happy to hear--to talk about things that are important for our senior
citizens. This is an educational experience for people. And I can't
thank you enough for sponsoring this. So to all the Chamber folks, Tom
Bell and Sam Williams and the members of the Chamber, thanks a lot for letting
us come by.
I want to thank my friend Sonny Perdue. You
know, I saw Sonny at the airport. He and Mary
kindly came by, and I said, ``Sonny, how is your budget?'' He said, ``We
got a surplus.'' I said, ``Congratulations. That's a sign of
leadership.'' And I want to thank you, Sonny, for serving your State.
I want to thank very much Jim Wagner,
the president at Emory. We have just come from a Medicare education
seminar at--on the campus of that fantastic university. It is a special
place. Thanks for letting us come by. I appreciate you very much for
letting us--for coming today as well.
It turns out when you fly from Washington on Air Force One, people
sometimes like to get a ride. [Laughter] So I was honored to have coffee
today on Air Force One with some really great members of the Georgia
congressional delegation, starting with the United States Senator, Saxby
Chambliss. And Johnny Isakson is with us too. I appreciate you, Johnny. And we flew
down with Congressman Jack Kingston,
Congressman John Linder, and Congressman Lynn
Westmoreland, three Members of the
House.
I want to thank the members of the statehouse who are here, Eric
Johnson, Bill Stephens, Jerry Keen. I appreciate you all
serving in the senate and the house of representatives here in the State
of Georgia.
I want to thank my friend Julie Gerberding. She is the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention. Where are you, Julie? Somewhere. Thanks for coming. Oh,
there you are. It's a really important agency, and she's doing a really
fine job. I'm proud of your service
[[Page 1265]]
to the country, and it's great to see you again.
Today Mom and I met Bill and Nina
Hartman. They came out to the airport. They are
volunteers with the Clayton County Retired and Senior Volunteer Program.
The reason I bring them up is they are like thousands of other people
around our country who have heard the call to volunteer. They've heard
the call to serve our country by becoming a volunteer. These good folks
help senior citizens stay healthy and active by working in a fitness
center. In other words, they're taking time out of their life to help
somebody else. And the reason I bring volunteering up is that if you
want to serve America, a great way to do so is to feed the hungry, find
shelter for the homeless, help those who need help.
Yesterday in the Oval Office, I had an extraordinary experience. A
young man from Ghana who was born lame
was basically adopted by a faith-based program here in America, and he
got a prosthesis. He's now a bicycler and a triathlete. He set an
example for others in his country that just because you're lame, doesn't
mean you're a second-class citizen.
As well, a fellow came to the Oval Office
who had as a dream of providing wheelchairs for those who are disabled
all around the world. He wants to lift their spirits by giving them a
chance to be mobile, other than--so that they're not stuck on the street
corners of their cities. He realized wheelchairs were too expensive. So
he designed one that will be available at a reasonable price all
throughout the--I said, ``Why are you doing it?'' He said, ``I heard a
call.'' See, thousands of people make up the great strength of the
country. And the strength of this country is the hearts and souls of our
citizens. If you want to serve, volunteer. Make somebody's life better.
Surround somebody who hurts with love, and you'll be doing your country
a great service. I want to thank Bill and
Nina for the example they've set.
How am I doing?
Former First Lady Barbara Bush. Okay.
[Laughter]
The President. I want to make a couple of points before we get to
retirement security for our seniors. First thing is, is the people of
Great Britain must understand how strongly America stands with them
during these trying times. I'm confident, like our country, the citizens
of that country will not be intimidated by thugs and assassins. They
understand what we know. They understand what the citizens of this
country understand, is that we will hold true to our principles of human
rights and human dignity and the freedom to worship. We're not going to
let anybody frighten us from our great love of freedom.
For those of you who have got a loved one who has joined the war on
terror, I want to to ask you a favor: Send them an e-mail and tell them
the Commander in Chief is incredibly proud, and the United States of
America stands squarely with them.
We're engaged in a global war on terror, and we're facing an enemy
that has got an ideology based upon hate. If you're trying to figure out
their ideology, just think the opposite of America. We believe in
religious tolerance. We believe in equal rights for women. We believe in
human rights and human dignity and minority rights. We believe people
ought to be able to live in a free society and express themselves the
way they see fit.
These folks believe in a dark vision of the world where there's no
such thing as dissent or religious liberty. All you got to do is think
about the Taliban in Afghanistan, where if you spoke your mind, you were
whipped in the public square, and young girls weren't given an
education. That's what they think, and they have designs. They have
goals. They want to topple governments. They want us to retreat from the
world so they can spread their ideology of hate.
[[Page 1266]]
The only way to protect America is a dual strategy: One, stay on the
offense, bring these people to justice before they hurt us, and at the
same time, spread an ideology that competes with their ideology, and
that's an ideology of democracy and freedom. [Applause] Thank you.
We are laying--I just want you to know, for those of you who have
got children and grandchildren, I firmly believe that the actions we're
taking today to defend ourselves, by taking those actions, we're laying
the foundation of peace for generations to come.
I want to talk about one other decision I've made recently, and then
we'll get on to Medicare and Social Security. One of my most solemn
duties is to find good, honorable, decent people to serve on our courts,
and I did. And I had the opportunity, as you know, upon the retirement
of Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, to find
such a person. And I looked hard, and I consulted with the Senate and
interviewed quite a few people and came to the conclusion that Judge
John Roberts will make a great Supreme
Court Justice.
I came to that conclusion after analyzing his record and having a
good, extensive chat with him. He's a
man who loves our country. He's a man who loves his family. He's a
person who understands what it means to be a strict constructionist,
somebody who looks at the words of the Constitution for what they are,
somebody who will not legislate from the bench.
I want to thank your United States
Senators for setting the right tone. I urge
Senators from both political parties to rise above needless partisanship
and give this good man a fair hearing
and a vote as quickly as possible, so he can be seated on the bench
prior to the reconvening of the Supreme Court.
It is really important that your Government constantly make--
analyzes programs to make sure they work. And one of the programs that I
was concerned about was Medicare, and a program I am concerned about is
Social Security. I say ``was concerned about Medicare'' because, working
with Republicans and Democrats, we have modernized the Medicare program.
And today I want to spend a little time talking to you about our
strategy to make sure seniors get the word that there's a modernized
Medicare program now available for them.
I say modernized because if you really think about it--let me put it
to you this way--Medicare would pay for heart surgery but not for the
drugs that could prevent the heart surgery from being needed in the
first place. That didn't make any sense. You know, you pay $100,000 for
a surgery, but not $1,000, or whatever it cost, to prevent the surgery
from being needed. In other words, the system was old. It worked well
for a lot of seniors, but it was bureaucratic in nature. And it wasn't
working well for a current generation of seniors. And so I called upon
the Congress to change this. Let's do something smart on behalf of our
seniors. And today I want to talk about the bill.
First thing that Medicare has done is it says that if you're--when
you join Medicare, you get preventative screenings. Put it in Texas
terms: In order to solve something, you got to diagnose it. And it makes
sense to diagnose something early, before it gets too late. That's what
we're now saying to today's seniors. That seems to make sense. If you're
a taxpayer, you want to make sure the Medicare system diagnoses problems
so we can solve them quicker. Secondly, we've now got people covered for
screenings that can catch illnesses from diabetes to heart disease.
We're beginning to change the system. We've provided drug discount cards
for our seniors, and it has made a big difference for a lot of seniors.
About 6 million seniors have used those cards, and it has been great
savings for them.
Now, what's going to change--and this is a voluntary program, by the
way. This a program that says, ``If you're happy with
[[Page 1267]]
the way things are in Medicare, don't change. But there's going to be
some new options available for you, some new choices.'' I happen to
believe the more choices consumers get, the better off the consumers
are. And so what we've done with Medicare is we've said that we've now
got a prescription drug benefit available for you. Starting on October
the 1st, beneficiaries will start receiving information about the
available plans that you can choose from. On November 15th, the
enrollment opens; January 1st, prescription coverage--prescription drug
coverage begins. So that's the timetable.
I got my man Mark McClellan here. His
job is to make sure that seniors get the information necessary to meet
the timetable. Part of making sure seniors have got the information
necessary to meet the timetable is, Mother and
I have come--this is educational. We're trying to get on the TV screens
so people understand there's something new coming in Medicare. And we're
stimulating a grassroots effort. We're going to hear from two good folks
who are involved with spreading the word to our seniors.
I say this is a good deal, and I really, truly believe it is,
because, first of all, on average, beneficiaries receive over $1,300 of
Federal assistance to pay for prescription drugs. Medicare will cover 95
percent of prescription costs after a senior has spent $3,600. So in
other words, you got a catastrophic plan now part of Medicare. Think how
important that is for a senior. You sign up--you decide to look at this
option. There's an option now available so that you can rest assured
that you're not going to go broke because of major medical costs,
because of pharmaceuticals. In other words, the Federal Government is
saying, ``We're going to help you, and we're going to also make sure
that there's a catastrophic plan. And we want to help you have surety
and comfort as you get older, knowing that you can't get wiped out
because of prescription drug bills.'' I think this is a very important
added benefit that will be available for our seniors.
Low-income seniors--about a third of our seniors will be eligible
for a drug benefit that includes little or no premium, low deductibles,
and no gaps in coverage. On the average, Medicare will pay over 95
percent of the prescription drug cost for these low-income
beneficiaries. It's a good deal. This isn't--we're not here to promote a
political party. We're here to promote a good deal for our seniors. And
I urge you, if you're a son or a daughter, find out what I'm talking
about and talk to your mom or dad or talk to your grandparents. If you
want to be involved through your church or through a community
organization, find out about what we're talking about. And it's not
hard. We've got all kinds of--1-800-MEDICARE. That's not that hard to
figure out how to call that--1-800-MEDICARE or medicare.gov on the
Internet. But find out what we're talking about. Verify, and then go out
and help a senior make a right decision, the decision best for them.
To receive assistance, low-income beneficiaries need to fill out a
simple application. I know you hear Government say simple application--
there's no such thing. [Laughter] Actually, this is simple.
McClellan will tell you how simple it is
in a minute. I'm just telling you it's four pages--[laughter]--but the
print is big. [Laughter]
And so we'll talk a little bit about Medicare today. It's changing
for the good. Seniors will have more options from which to choose from,
and that's always good. Anytime consumers get better options, it means
there's going to be a better response to your needs. And again, I
repeat, if you're happy the way you are--listen, I understand a lot of
seniors simply don't want to change. They're pretty well happy the way
things are. They shouldn't be forced to change, and they're not going to
be. I'm just saying there's something else available if you're
interested. And our job is
[[Page 1268]]
to make sure there's enough information out there to show you that it's
worthwhile taking a look. So we'll discuss that.
I also want to talk about Social Security. The first thing I want to
say on Social Security is, Franklin Roosevelt did a good thing when it
came to Social Security. Social Security has been a really important
program, and therefore, people who are receiving Social Security today
must hear this loud and clear: Nothing is going to change for you.
I understand the politics of Social Security all too well. When I
ran for President, they said, ``If George W. gets in there, they're
going to take away your checks.'' Well, I got in, and you're still
getting your checks. And what I'm here to tell you, you're still going
to get your checks. I don't care what the rhetoric is. Seniors have
nothing to worry about when it comes to Social Security. What you better
worry about is whether or not your grandchildren are going to get any
checks.
Here's the problem: First of all, Social Security is a pay-as-you-go
system. In other words, there's not a trust. Some people think, well,
Social Security is the kind of deal where the Government takes your
money and holds it for you and then gives it back to you when you
retire. No, the Government takes your money and spends it. [Laughter]
It's called pay-as-you-go. You pay, and we go ahead and spend.
[Laughter] And what's left is a file cabinet full of IOUs to future
generations. I know firsthand about the file cabinets. I went to West
Virginia and looked at them. [Laughter] You'll be happy they're there.
[Laughter] But there's not real assets in them. It's paper.
And so you got a system based upon that, and the strains on the
system is this: Baby boomers like me--[laughter]--are getting ready to
retire. There's about 40-odd-million people who are receiving benefits
today. By the time my generation retires, there's going to be over 70
million people. A lot of us are getting ready to retire, and we're
living longer. And interestingly enough, we've been promised greater
benefits than the previous generation. So think about that. You got a
lot of people who will living longer getting greater benefits. And to
compound the problem, for the people sitting here today, particularly
the young workers, there's fewer of you paying into the system.
In 1950, there was about 16 workers for every beneficiary. Today,
there's 3.3 workers for every beneficiary. Soon there's going to be two
workers for every beneficiary. That means the pay-as-you-go system is
fixing to go into the red, when you think about it. Fewer people paying
for a lot of people like me. And it starts in 2017--the system starts
paying out more benefits than it collects.
People receiving benefits today have no problem. You got plenty of
time and plenty of money that you're going to get what you--what you've
been promised. But I'm here to talk to--who I'm here to talk to are the
younger folks. I want you to know I cannot in good conscience, as your
President, know that the system is going broke and knowing a lot of
people are working hard to put payroll taxes into a broke system. And so
I called upon--[applause].
And I think--I'm thinking about you. Now is the time to act on this.
And I understand some in Washington don't want to deal with the issue.
It's too politically sensitive. Well, that's fine for someone to think
that way, but in my judgment, when it costs 600 billion a year, every
year you wait in order to fix the system--ultimately fix it, there's
nothing too sensitive. I mean, we're talking about a very important
program for a lot of folks.
And so I've made some suggestions. It's one thing to say, ``We got a
problem,'' but it's another thing to say, ``We got a problem, and here's
some suggestions.'' In other words, I'm saying to the Congress, ``Here's
some ideas.'' The first idea is to make sure that future generations
will receive benefits
[[Page 1269]]
equal or greater than the previous generation. We can do that and make
the system whole.
Secondly, I believe that the system, at the very minimum, ought to
say to somebody who has worked all your life, ``You're not going to
retire into poverty.'' I think it's an important principle. And
therefore, I subscribe to the idea put forward, interestingly enough, by
a Democrat, a fellow named Pozen, who
believes that the poorest of our citizens ought to have their benefits
increased by wage, at the rate wages increase. That's the way all people
get their benefits today. That's one of the reasons why the system is
going to go broke: The benefits are growing too fast, relative to what
we can afford. So I believe people at the bottom end of the ladder ought
to be able to get their benefits based upon wages.
I think the richest one percent ought to have their benefits indexed
on price. And I think it ought to be scaled up in between. And by the
way, that suggestion right there will solve, by far, the vast majority
of the solvency issue of Social Security. In other words, by changing
what has been promised but making sure everybody's benefits increase,
you're going to solve the problem for younger generations of people
coming up. It's a big step toward solving it. And with some other
modifications, we can say that we have done our duty.
So here's some ideas for the Congress to talk about. Now, I think
the Congress needs to--both Republicans and Democrats, if they've got a
better idea, bring them forward. And we're getting some action. There's
some good people acting in good faith, bringing some ideas forward to
help make sure we solve Social Security for a generation of people
coming up.
But I'll be frank with you, some people are playing politics with
the issue there. They just don't, simply, want to do anything. And in my
judgment, I think the people, the American people, when they really
figure out the problem we got in Social Security, they're going to say
to the people who are obstructing any progress, ``That's not what we're
interested in. We're interested in setting aside politics and doing
something for a generation of Americans coming up.''
I'll tell you what else we need to do. We need to not only make sure
the system is solvent for a younger generation of Americans--and by the
way, if you're getting your check, you don't have to worry about it.
You'll notice it's the third time I've said it. Sometimes in this
business of ours, you've got to keep repeating yourself in order for it
to sink in.
But I tell you what else we need to do, we need to--as we fix the
system permanently, we need to make it a better deal for younger
workers. I think younger workers, at their option, ought to be allowed
to take some of their own money and set it aside in a personal savings
account. [Applause] Thank you.
I'll tell you why I think that. I believe that people can do a
better job than the 1.2 percent return they get on their money in the
current Social Security system. First of all, it's your money, and I
believe that if you're given the option, the opportunity to take some of
that money and set it aside in a conservative mix of bonds and stocks,
that you can do a lot better than 1.2 percent that we get for you. And
that growth of that money, over time, compounds and grows. And that's
important. So step one, the reason you ought to be allowed to do this is
you get a better deal on your own money, and you can watch it grow.
Secondly, I believe and I know that this is a better deal than the
current Social Security system for widows. You realize that if you're a
two-working family--spouses, both spouses work in the family and one
dies early, that eventually the sole surviving spouse can choose the
benefits from his plan or her plan, which is ever higher, but not both.
The bottom line on what I just told you is that somebody worked a long
time, and that money just goes away. That
[[Page 1270]]
doesn't make any sense to me. I don't think it's fair. I think if the
Government lets you set aside some of your own money in an account--I
know if the Government lets you do that, you'll have an asset that you
can pass on to your spouse.
Thirdly, I think it's important in this society to encourage
ownership. Somehow there's this notion that ownership ought to be
confined to a few--the investor class is only suitable for certain
folks. That's not what I think. I know that the more people own an asset
that they call their own, the better off society is.
I want people from all walks of life, all neighborhoods, if they so
choose, to open up a statement on a monthly basis, watching their assets
grow, assets that the Government cannot take away, assets Government
can't use for other programs through the pay-as-you-go system, assets
that they can pass on to their loved ones, assets that they call their
own. That's going to be good for America when that happens.
Now, there's a big debate about this idea in Washington--there's a
big debate about this idea in Washington. Let me just conclude by giving
you this fact, and the people of Georgia and the people of America can
make their own conclusion about the wisdom of letting people set aside
their own money, if that's what they choose to do. I'm going to tell you
about the Thrift Savings Plan. It is a Federal Government savings
account passed by the United States Congress. And guess what the Members
of the Congress said. They said, ``We'd like to set aside some of our
own money as a part of the Thrift Savings account in a personal savings
account. We want our money to grow better. We want our assets to be
there. We want to be able to pass our assets on to whomever we choose.''
Here's my view. If the Thrift Savings Plan that includes a voluntary
personal savings account is good enough for Members of the United States
Congress, it is a good enough option of workers all across America.
Ready to go? Thank you all. I just read Mother's mind. She said, don't you think you've been talking a
little too long?
Former First Lady Bush. That's not what I
was thinking.
The President. Well, don't tell them what you were thinking, then,
if that wasn't it. [Laughter]
Former First Lady Bush. I was thinking how
great you look in the new brown look.
The President. About time somebody noticed. [Laughter]
Former First Lady Bush. Cozy.
The President. Well, thanks for coming. Why in the heck are you
here? [Laughter]
Former First Lady Bush. I'm here because
I'm worried about our 17 grandchildren, and so is my husband. They will
get no Social Security. I'm also here because--I've been dying to say
this. You did say freedom of speech; I heard you.
The President. Oops. [Laughter]
Former First Lady Bush. You better watch
out. [Laughter] I really think that George W. could have just said, ``To
heck with Social Security. It won't bother me. I'll get mine. I don't
need it,'' and forgotten the rest of the young people. I'm very proud of
him. It's a political nightmare to talk about Social Security, and he's
got the guts to do it. So I'm for it. [Applause] Thank you.
The President. Is that all you got to say?
Former First Lady Bush. I've had it on my
mind. The brown suit just came up, but--[laughter]--I'm very proud of
him.
The President. You turned 80, and all of a sudden you ran out of
things to say; it's amazing. [Laughter] Wait a minute, she looks great at 80.
Former First Lady Bush. I just don't like
having an almost-60-year-old, white-haired son. [Laughter]
The President. Yeah, well--you can see where I got my white hair
from. [Laughter] Thanks for coming, Mom.
Mom is concerned about, like a lot of other
grandmoms are concerned about, whether or not this Government has got
[[Page 1271]]
the will to solve a Social Security problem. You see, once grandmothers
and granddads understand that they're going to get their check, the next
question is, ``Well, if it's so bad, Mr. President, how come the
Congress can't come together with you and save it for my
grandchildren?'' And that's what's happening. It's going to take a while
to get people to understand the importance of this issue. A lot of
people would rather--in Congress--say, ``Well, let's just don't touch
it. We've got a campaign coming up,'' or something like that. Well, I
just don't think it's right. And I want to thank you, Mom, for saying
what you said.
Something is going to happen. One thing that's not going to happen
is me dropping the subject. I believe my job--and this is what the
people want in the President. I think--I'm pretty confident they want a
President to confront problems, not pass them on to other Presidents or
other Congresses.
Mark McClellan. Mark McClellan is with
us. He is Dr. Mark McClellan, by the way, Texan, father of twins, twin
daughters. Is that right?
Mark B. McClellan. That's right.
The President. Yes. His brother, Scott
McClellan, is the face of the
administration. His job is to handle the press corps. I think he does a
fine--do you not--yes, he does a fine job. Thank you. I'm trying to get
a little buy-in from our brothers and sisters in the press corps. So
I've got two McClellan boys with me. And Mark's job is to handle the
Medicare rollout. What is your job description? [Laughter]
Dr. McClellan. Well, it covers
Medicare and Medicaid, and this is a very important time for Medicare,
as you said, Mr. President. Medicare is about to turn 40, and it's, for
a long time, provided help with doctor bills and hospital bills when you
get sick. But as you said, medicine is now about helping you stay well.
So we want to make Medicare into a new kind of program that's a
partnership with seniors or people with disability--people who care
about our beneficiaries, so that they can stay well and take advantage
of what modern medicine has to offer. And that's what the prescription
drug benefit and all the other new benefits in Medicare, the voluntary
new benefits, are all about.
The President. Yes. And so here's the question we're faced with:
Congress has already made the decision, as did I. They passed the law; I
signed it. In other words, this is law. We're not talking about
something that might happen. This is something that has already
happened, and Congress, in its wisdom, gave us, I think, 2 years, if I'm
not mistaken, to prepare our country, the 42 million seniors, for new
options. And so I told Mark, ``Your job is to make sure that the 42
million seniors get the word.''
So what are you doing?
Dr. McClellan. We are on schedule to
bring those benefits to seniors on January 1, 2006, as you said. And the
big challenge right now is to make sure everybody with Medicare and
everybody and their families and friends who care about them gets the
facts so that they can make an informed decision. This is a voluntary
new benefit, as you said, so people need to make a decision about it to
sign up.
The President. Right, and there's the timetable I talked about;
there's the phone number I talked about--1-800-MEDICARE; medicare.gov.
Now, here's what we're--here's part of our strategy. First, we're
appealing to the sons and daughters of--to talk to their mom or dad
about this program. And it's very important--if you want to be a good
son or daughter, be responsible. Learn what we're talking about here,
study it, and sit down with your mom and dad and talk about whether or
not they want to choose one of the plans.
Dr. McClellan. And we can give you
some information right now. No matter how you get your Medicare today--a
lot of people have retiree coverage, the new Medicare benefit can help
them strengthen that coverage. A lot of people are getting
[[Page 1272]]
coverage here in Georgia through a Medicare advantage plan, the Medicare
health plan; you can get extra drug benefits through those plans. And a
lot of people are struggling, Mr. President, with no help at all paying
for their prescription drugs, especially people with limited means who
are having to choose between medicine and other basic necessities like
food and rent.
The President. Talk about the program--I've said it--come back
behind me here, on the low-income seniors.
Dr. McClellan. That's right. You said
it's a simple application. I'll tell you one thing, it's really simple.
It's four pages. It's 16 questions.
The President. And that four--first of all, the four-page thing
didn't sound----
Dr. McClellan. Big type.
The President. ----simple to some people. All right.
Dr. McClellan. That's right. There are
a total of 16 questions. And a lot of times----
The President. Four questions a page. [Laughter]
Dr. McClellan. That's right. And let
me do a little bit more math.
The President. Okay, yes. [Laughter]
Dr. McClellan. The drug benefit for
lower-income people, for people with limited means--about a third of all
our beneficiaries are eligible--it's worth close to $4,000. It's very
comprehensive. It's just a few dollars for each prescription. So if you
do that math, that works out to about $1,000 a page. [Laughter]
The President. A page, very good. This is a good deal. You know, as
I told a group a while ago, they said--they hear a politician say,
``It's a good deal,'' they're thinking, ``Yes, check is in the mail.''
[Laughter] I really want you to take this seriously. And I expect,
again, sons and daughters and grassroots activists and people involved
with seniors to take a look at this. If you don't, you're doing a
disservice to seniors. At the very minimum, you ought to take a look at
what we're talking about. If you're a low-income senior, you need to get
the form and fill it out. It will help you a lot. It will help you a
lot. It's a--this is a compassionate piece of legislation.
Now, part of our strategy is to rely upon folks other than
Government employees, and we've got two folks involved with making sure
people understand what we're talking about. And one of them, we're going
to start with Hugh Chancy.
Hugh, where do you live?
Hugh Chancy. Mr. President, it's a pleasure
and honor to be here. I'm Hugh Chancy. I'm from Hahira, Georgia.
The President. Hahira. How many people in Hahira?
Mr. Chancy. We have a population of about
1,800.
The President. That's good, yes. Three times bigger than Crawford.
[Laughter] And your business?
Mr. Chancy. I have a family business. My
father was a pharmacist and started a pharmacy in 1966, and my brother
and I inherited it. And I went off to the University of Georgia and
married my sweetheart, Tina Chancy. Tina and my son, Patrick and Austin,
are here with me today, the better part of my family.
The President. Let's don't segue to SEC football, if you don't mind.
[Laughter] Keep it on the subject. So you got yourself a pharmacy----
Mr. Chancy. Right, have two pharmacies.
The President. Two pharmacies.
Mr. Chancy. I have another pharmacy in a
small town above Hahira--Adel, Georgia.
The President. You bet, right around the corner. [Laughter] The
reason why we've asked you to come is because pharmacists all across the
State of Georgia understand they have a fantastic opportunity now to
provide a good service to their customers.
[At this point, Mr. Chancy, pharmacist and owner, Chancy Drugs, and
president, Georgia Pharmacy Association, Hahira, GA, made further
remarks.]
[[Page 1273]]
The President. Isn't that fantastic? I thank you for doing that. If
you're a Georgia pharmacist, call your president--this
president. [Laughter] You can call me. I don't
know if you'll get the phone call returned or not, but become involved.
I mean, this is--it's in your interest, by the way, that people
understand the new drug benefit.
And I want to thank you for--and your organization for providing a
kindly service to help people. You said something interesting. There's--
a lot of seniors are concerned about change--in other words, they hear
change, and they're not sure if it's good or bad. Again, if it's
voluntary, it ought to, first of all, help ease people's concerns. In
other words, if you're happy with where you are, don't worry; nothing
changes. But at least be wise enough to take a look and see what's
available.
And so what we're--I think you're going to get the drift here, that
we're going to rally the grassroots all across the country to make sure
people are aware of what is available.
Speaking about rally--good job, by the way. You handled it well.
Looking forward to seeing the sweetheart.
Dorothy. Dorothy Leone-Glasser.
Dorothy Leone-Glasser. Yes, sir.
The President. Is that accurate?
Ms. Leone-Glasser. Close enough.
The President. You're employed. Close enough, well--George Z. Bush.
[Laughter] Close enough, but it's not my name. [Laughter] Anyway----
Ms. Leone-Glasser. No, it's
Glasser.
The President. Glasser--just what I was saying, Glasser. [Laughter] Where do you work?
Ms. Leone-Glasser. I own a Wisdom
of Wellness Project company, but I'm a nurse practitioner and a wellness
counselor.
The President. Fabulous. Right here in Atlanta?
Ms. Leone-Glasser. Yes, for 25
years.
The President. Good. And how are you going to be involved in the
Medicare program rollout?
Ms. Leone-Glasser. I have been
involved for at least the last 3 years. I was involved initially in
signing up people for their prescription drug card----
The President. Really. Good.
Ms. Leone-Glasser. ----and helping
enroll them in that. And I want people to know how important it is with
the new Part D of Medicare that's going to be coming January 1st in
2006, that they realize that it's not just a prescription drug card, but
there are some other wonderful benefits that are coming for Medicare
recipients. And remember, this is also sometimes children and people who
are seriously ill on disability. And they're going to be getting a
physical exam, like you said, to be able to not only screen for other
diseases, but it's part of what everyone will receive on Medicare. And
also, they're going to get other screenings that are going to be so
important to them.
The President. What she's saying
is, we've modernized the program. Can you imagine a program that didn't
provide preventive care? It wasn't a very modern program. And so we've
modernized it. This is also a program that now provides a very good
prescription drug benefit. You know why? Because medicine had changed,
and it seemed to make sense to bring Medicare into the modern world. If
you're going to have a program that says we're going to give health care
to our seniors, shouldn't it be modern? Shouldn't it provide modern
medicine? And that's precisely what we're doing for our seniors, right?
[Ms. Leone-Glasser made further remarks.]
The President. Well, thanks for saying that. Dorothy is a part of a grassroots movement. Mark, she said we've got to make sure that docs understand.
What are you doing to make sure docs understand?
Dr. McClellan. That's right. Well,
health professionals are where people turn first
[[Page 1274]]
for advice about anything related to their health. The new Medicare
benefits are part of that. The pharmacists, nurses, physicians are going
to be very much involved in seniors getting assistance with
understanding the new prescription drug benefit.
So we've got targeted kinds of materials. We've worked with medical
professional groups, pharmacist groups, nursing groups, physician
groups, to have material that doctors and pharmacists and nurses can use
in their practices. They don't want any extra burden. They're very busy
taking care of patients now. They want help for their patients, as you
just heard, so that their patients can get the up-to-date care, and the
materials that we're giving out can help them do that.
The President. Part of making sure our seniors are feeling good
about themselves and life is to make sure the retirement system works.
You heard me talking about Social Security earlier. I want to talk to
two Social Security beneficiaries--you've got to speak in the mike.
Frances Heverly. I forget. I've never
done it.
The President. Yes, well, it's an interesting experience, isn't it?
Mrs. Heverly. Can you hear me?
The President. I can hear you loud and clear.
Former First Lady Bush. She's 91.
The President. I know she's 91,
Mom. [Laughter] She doesn't look a day over 90.
[Laughter]
Mrs. Heverly. I'm a little over that.
The President. Are you? Frances Heverly,
where were you raised?
Mrs. Heverly. In Pennsylvania.
The President. And how did you work your way down here to this great
city?
Mrs. Heverly. Well, my family came down
here, and I didn't have anybody left up north, so I came down with them.
The President. Glad you're here. I want to make sure people like
Frances hear the message that they're getting a Social Security check,
and nothing's going to change. Are you getting a Social Security check?
Mrs. Heverly. I sure am, and I
appreciate it. [Laughter]
The President. So you're saying it's an important program.
Mrs. Heverly. It sure is.
The President. There's a lot of people around Georgia and around
this country who feel just like Frances does, and they understand how
important--they say the program is important. And you've got to know, I
understand how important it is for people. There's a lot of people who
rely only on their Social Security check. And therefore, you can imagine
my concern when I hear people say, well--to people like Frances--``You better worry, because when they start
talking about modernizing Social Security, they're really talking about
taking away your check.'' And that's not fair.
Are your friends worried about their checks?
Mrs. Heverly. Not really.
The President. Good.
Mrs. Heverly. Not where I live.
Everybody is pretty happy there.
The President. That's good. [Laughter] Now, let me ask you
something. Have you begun to hear the message that the Social Security
system is in trouble, not for you but for a generation of people coming
up? Is that beginning to get out there?
Mrs. Heverly. Yes, yes.
The President. And do you expect somebody to do something about it?
Mrs. Heverly. Well, I'm expecting you to
do something about it. [Laughter]
The President. In America, we have three branches of Government.
[Laughter] I am going to try to do something about it.
Mrs. Heverly. I know you are.
The President. And you ought to keep expecting people, not just me
but people from both political parties to do something about it.
Mrs. Heverly. I agree with you.
[[Page 1275]]
The President. They really ought to--we're not doing our job unless
we do something about it. That's why I was proud to bring it up in the
State of the Union. I don't know, I think this may be the--I can't
remember--I've done a lot of visits like this around the country on
Social Security. I like them; it gets me out of town. [Laughter] But I
think it's important. Part of my job is to educate people. As you
notice, we're talking about educating people on Medicare. So I'm going
to keeping talking about Social Security--it's important for people to
be educated about the problem that's coming.
If you're a younger worker, you'd better pay attention to this
issue. I'm glad to hear Frances say she's comfortable with understanding
she's going to get her check, and she is. But if you're a younger
person, if you're getting into the workforce right now, I'd pay
attention to this issue if I were you, because, as you know, the first
thing that happens to you is--after you get your first paycheck--is
recovering from the shock of that payroll tax deduction. [Laughter]
Well, that's going into a system that's going bankrupt, and you need to
hold people to account that have asked for your vote and that are
serving for you, in order to get this solved.
Carol, Carol Lowing.
Carol Lowing. Hello, how are you?
The President. I am great. Having the time of my life, by the way.
You know why?
Mrs. Lowing. I'm really thrilled that
you're here.
The President. Thank you. I'm glad you said, ``Gosh, I wish
Laura were here and not you,'' but--[laughter]--
it happens all the time.
Mrs. Lowing. Oh, I'd never say that.
The President. No, I'm saying, I'm glad you didn't say that, but I'm
not surprised if you would. [Laughter]
Good, you're on--getting Social Security and Medicare.
Mrs. Lowing. Yes, definitely. I'm here
today with my husband, almost 50 years married, and we still talk.
[Mrs. Lowing, retiree, Dacula, GA, made further remarks.]
The President. Well, thank you. There is misinformation, and the
only way to try to correct the truth--I mean, look, you're going to get
your checks if you've retired. And I just got to keep saying it over and
over and over again, because the truth of the matter is, you're right;
some people aren't interested in these reforms, and one way to stop the
reforms is to put out misinformation. And people are going to get their
checks.
Now, it's really interesting what her
grandson says--he said, ``You know, go for it.'' In other words, give me
a chance to invest some of my own money. What has changed in America is
this 401(k) culture. When I was coming up, my mother and I never sat around and talked about 401(k)s
because they didn't exist--or IRAs.
But our society--there's a group of people coming up in our society
today who are used to managing their own money. They've seen a 401(k),
and they've seen an IRA, and they've seen their assets grow, and they
are comfortable with managing a mix of bonds and stocks. And by the way,
you can't take your money, under this idea, and put in the lottery. In
other words, there's a go-by. These plans are managed plans. They give
you a chance to invest in a conservative mix. We're not interested in
setting up a program and having somebody lose it all at the dice table.
That's not how it works.
And this has happened--people who are in a 401(k) know what I'm
talking about--or in an IRA. And what we're interested in is getting a
decent rate of return on your money, because over time, it grows and it
compounds. It's called the compounding rate of interest. And it's
important that that money be allowed to compound and grow. So your
grandson is wise
[[Page 1276]]
in saying, ``I want a chance to watch my money grow over the next 30 or
40 years,'' money that will be a part of a retirement account.
And so my job is to keep talking, assuring seniors that you're going
to get your check. I hope your neighborhood is listening. Because
they're going to get their check. And your grandson, obviously, is
listening because he understands he isn't going to get one--[laughter]--
unless the Federal Government stops playing party politics and focuses
on the good of the United States of America. That's what we're here to
talk about.
I want to thank again--I want to thank the Chamber for giving us a
chance to come by and say hello. I am so grateful that we had a chance
to explain to the good folks of Atlanta and whoever else is listening
that there's a really interesting opportunity for seniors when it comes
to good health care through Medicare. And there's an opportunity for
those of us who have entered politics to solve problems, to do so when
it comes to Social Security. These are important issues for today's
seniors, and they're important issues for people who are going to
retire.
In other words, this is a generational issue. Social Security is a
generational issue. And again, I repeat, I want the youngsters who are
paying attention to this to understand the consequences of inactivity.
And if you see inactivity, I would strongly urge you to get involved in
the system and let people know that you're not happy with what's going
on. It's time for us to address this problem head on.
We're in the process of making changes in Medicare. If you want to
be involved, please do so. Call 1-800-MEDICARE. Find out if the program
is right for your grandmother or grandfather, your mom or dad. If you're
running a community-based program, call 1-800-MEDICARE and find out how
we can get materials to you. If you're interested in your church or your
synagogue or your mosque or your religious organization and you want to
help the seniors who attend there, find out what we're talking about.
Just take a look at the brochures--it won't take long--and then give
somebody some good advice. Say, ``Here are the options. It's your choice
to make.'' I think you're going to find this to be a really exciting way
to help our seniors get a modernized health care system.
Thank you all for letting us come by. May God bless you all, and may
God continue to bless our country.
Note: The President spoke at 11:58 a.m. at the Boisfeuillet Jones
Atlanta Civic Center. In his remarks, he referred to Thomas D. Bell,
Jr., chairman of the board of directors, and Sam A. Williams, president,
Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce; Gov. Sonny Perdue of Georgia and his
wife, Mary; James W. Wagner, president, Emory University; and Robert C.
Pozen, former member, President's Commission to Strengthen Social
Security.