[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 36, Number 26 (Monday, July 3, 2000)]
[Pages 1480-1481]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
The President's Radio Address

June 24, 2000

    Good morning. This week we mark the beginning of summer, another 
summer of national prosperity, continuing the longest economic expansion 
in our history. The big question now is what we intend to do with this 
economic prosperity. One of our most pressing needs, clearly, is 
providing voluntary prescription drug coverage under Medicare for older 
Americans. We should do it this year.
    The American people have made their feelings clear. They know our 
seniors are paying too much for prescription drugs that help them live 
longer, healthier, more fulfilling lives. Three in five older Americans 
don't have dependable insurance coverage for prescriptions, and too many 
seniors simply aren't getting the drugs they need.
    Again and again I've said it should be a high priority to add a 
prescription drug benefit to Medicare this year. But we must do it the 
right way, by making the benefit affordable and available for everyone 
who needs it.
    I'm deeply concerned that the proposal House Republicans put forward 
this week will take us down the wrong road. What they have proposed is 
not a Medicare benefit; it's a private insurance program which many 
seniors and people with disabilities simply won't be able to afford. It 
will not offer dependable coverage to every American in every part of 
the country. Rural Americans will be at particular risk because private 
insurance is often unavailable to them or very, very expensive.
    The plan doesn't ensure that seniors will be able to use the local 
pharmacist they trust. Insurance companies have already said this model 
won't work. It benefits the companies who make the drugs, not the older 
Americans who need to take the drugs.
    There is a better way. I propose giving all our seniors the option 
of a prescription drug benefit through Medicare, wherever they live, 
however sick they may be. My plan would be affordable and dependable and 
give every senior equal coverage.
    Because our economy is so strong and because we worked hard to put 
the Medicare Trust Fund back on sound footing, we have the money to do 
this now and do it right. We should use a part of our hard-earned budget 
surplus to meet America's most pressing priorities, like paying down the 
national debt, strengthening Medicare, and providing a prescription drug 
benefit.
    That's why next week I will propose using the surplus to improve my 
plan. I will unveil specific protections for catastrophic drug expenses 
to ensure that no senior pays more than $4,000 in prescription drugs and 
keeping premiums at $25 a month. And I'll propose making that benefit in 
the full prescription drug initiative available in 2002, instead of 
2003. To do that, I'll ask Congress to add about $58 billion to our 
funding for Medicare over the next 10 years.
    Providing a voluntary prescription drug benefit is only one of the 
challenges we must

[[Page 1481]]

face to keep Medicare healthy for generations to come. We also have to 
increase payments to hospitals, teaching facilities, home health care 
agencies, and other providers, to make sure Medicare patients get high-
quality care. Earlier this week, I proposed that we use $40 billion of 
the surplus to do that.
    We should also follow Vice President Gore's proposal to take 
Medicare off budget, like Social Security, so that the Medicare taxes 
you pay cannot be diverted for irresponsible tax cuts or other 
Government spending that could lead us back to the bad old days of 
deficits and give us higher interest rates. This will protect Medicare 
and make a major contribution toward paying down the debt. And I propose 
using the savings from debt reduction to extend the life of the Medicare 
Trust Fund through at least 2030, when the number of Medicare people 
will be double what it is today.
    We're fortunate--very fortunate--to live in a time of budget 
surpluses and remarkable prosperity, but we didn't get there by 
accident. We maintained our fiscal discipline, invested in our people, 
made good on the commitments that matter most. We can't let up now. And 
we have few responsibilities more important than helping our older 
Americans live out their lives with quality and in dignity.
    We have the opportunity to meet that responsibility with a 
straightforward plan that all seniors can buy into. We have growing 
bipartisan agreement in the Senate that this is the way to go.
    I hope as we mark the 50th anniversary of the Korean war tomorrow 
we'll remember that a generation of Americans who did not let us, their 
children and grandchildren, down. And in return, we owe it not to let 
them down.
    Thank you for listening.

 Note:  The address was recorded at approximately 5:45 p.m. on June 23 
at a private residence in Los Angeles, CA, for broadcast at 10:06 a.m. 
on June 24. The transcript was made available by the Office of the Press 
Secretary on June 23 but was embargoed for release until the broadcast.