[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 41, Number 35 (Monday, September 5, 2005)]
[Pages 1311-1321]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks in a Discussion on Medicare in El Mirage, Arizona

August 29, 2005

    The President. Thank you all. Please be seated. Thanks for coming. 
As you can see, it's not going to be just me doing the talking today. 
We've got some of your fellow citizens here to discuss how we can make 
sure our senior citizens understand there's a fantastic opportunity 
available for them in the improved Medicare piece of legislation I 
signed.
    Before we start talking about Medicare, I do want to thank the good 
folks here at this center, those who live here, those who are helping 
the folks who live here, for inviting us. It's not easy to have the 
Presidential entourage come. [Laughter] I understand that. But at least 
my entourage was spiced up by the First Lady's traveling with me today. 
I appreciate you coming.

[[Page 1312]]

    Laura and I are proud to be here. We're proud to be with Senator Jon 
Kyl, who is a fantastic United States Senator. I appreciate you, 
Senator. We appreciate working with you, and we appreciate getting to 
know you. He brings Arizona values to Washington, DC. He's a good, down-
to-earth fellow who cares a lot about the people here.
    And speaking about somebody who does a fine job representing this 
district, we're honored to be here with Trent Franks--Congressman, thank 
you--and his wife, Josie. One thing about Trent Franks, you don't have 
to worry about him telling the truth. He's a good, decent, honorable 
citizen, and I'm proud to call him friend. I want to thank you for 
coming, Congressman.
    I want to thank the secretary of state, Jan Brewer. Madam Secretary, 
I appreciate you being here. And the state treasurer, David Petersen--
David, thanks for coming. There he is. I don't know if it helps or 
hurts, but he's from Temple, Texas. [Laughter] If it hurts, just forget 
it. [Laughter] That's right around the corner from Crawford.
    I'm really honored that the senate president is with us, Ken 
Bennett. I'm honored you're here. And the speaker is with us. Thank you 
all for coming. I appreciate you coming. Good to see you again, Ken. 
Speaker, appreciate you being here.
    I want to thank the mayor, Fred Waterman. Mr. Mayor, thanks for 
coming. There he is. Phil Gordon--Mayor, are you here? Thanks, Mayor, 
good to see you, sir. Proud you're here. Honored you took time to come. 
And I want to thank Mayor Elaine Scruggs of Glendale, Arizona. 
Appreciate your service.
    When Laura and I landed, we visited with Ruben and Rita Carroll. 
They work for the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program, the RSVP 
program. The reason I bring them up is that the great strength of this 
country lies in the hearts and souls of our citizens. We got millions of 
people across our country who volunteer to make somebody else's life 
better. And it doesn't matter how old you are or how young you are, 
there's plenty of opportunity in America to volunteer. And here are two 
citizens who are setting the way and setting a great example. Thanks for 
coming--appreciate you setting such a good example for others. Raise 
your hands so they can see you. There you go.
    I know my fellow citizens here in Arizona and across the country are 
saying our prayers for those affected by the--Hurricane Katrina. Our 
Gulf Coast is getting hit and hit hard. I want the folks there on the 
Gulf Coast to know that the Federal Government is prepared to help you 
when the storm passes. I want to thank the Governors of the affected 
regions for mobilizing assets prior to the arrival of the storm to help 
citizens avoid this devastating storm.
    I urge the citizens there in the region to continue to listen to the 
local authorities. Don't abandon your shelters until you're given 
clearance by the local authorities. Take precautions, because this is a 
dangerous storm. When the storm passes, the Federal Government has got 
assets and resources that we'll be deploying to help you. In the 
meantime, America will pray--pray for the health and safety of all our 
citizens.
    I also want to talk about immigration here in this State. I 
understand the issue well. I was the Governor of a border State. I was 
the Governor of the State of Texas. I know what it means to have a long 
border with Mexico. And I understand the solemn obligation of the State 
government and the Federal Government to enforce our border. I did so 
when I was Governor, and I'll work with your Governor and Governors 
along the border to do so as the President of the United States. We have 
an obligation to enforce the borders.
    I understand it's putting a strain on your resources. We know that. 
I don't know if you know this or not, but hundreds of thousands of 
people have been detained trying to illegally cross into Arizona. In 
other words, what I'm telling you is, there's a lot of people working 
hard to get the job done, but there is more we can do.
    I spoke to Mike Chertoff today; he's the head of the Department of 
Homeland Security. I knew people would want me to discuss this issue, so 
we got us an airplane on--a telephone on Air Force One, so I called him. 
I said, ``Are you working with the Governor?'' He said, ``You bet we 
are.'' That's the most effective way to do things, is to work with the 
State and local authorities. There are

[[Page 1313]]

more resources that will be available. We'll have more folks on the 
border. There will be more detention space to make sure that those who 
are stopped trying to illegally enter our country are able to be 
detained.
     It's important for the people of this State to understand, your 
voices are being heard in Washington, DC. And this Senator and this 
Congressman are working closely with the administration to make sure we 
got the resources necessary to do our responsibility, which is enforce 
this border. And we'll do so--and we'll do so.
    I know you're concerned about gasoline prices, and so am I. We 
finally got us an energy bill, and I want to thank the Members here for 
helping. You just got to understand that the situation we got ourselves 
into, dependency on foreign sources of oil, took awhile to get there, 
and it's going to take awhile to become less dependent. But this energy 
bill means we've now got a strategy which will encourage diversification 
away from foreign sources of oil.
    And we need to do a lot of things. We need to encourage the 
development of nuclear power. We need to continue to develop clean coal 
technology so we can use that abundant resource. We need to have more 
terminals so we can bring liquified natural gas from around the world 
into the United States of America.
    We will continue to use the crops in the ground to help fuel our 
automobiles, ethanol and biodiesel. It's going to take awhile to get 
diversified away from foreign oil, but thanks to Members of Congress, we 
got the bill passed after 4 years of debate, and now this country is 
beginning the diversification process. There's no way--I wish I could 
just snap my fingers and lower the price of gasoline for you. The 
markets don't work that way. I'd be snapping if I could do it. 
[Laughter] But we've got a strategy and a plan to help you.
    I also want to talk about some hopeful events overseas. First of 
all, I hope you've watched what has happened in the Holy Land. Prime 
Minister Sharon made a courageous decision to remove settlements out of 
Gaza. He said to the world, ``I'm going to give the Palestinians a 
chance to develop a democracy.'' And the first step toward that 
democracy is to give--is to remove the settlements out of Gaza. It took 
political courage to make that decision, and now it's going to take 
political courage by the Palestinians and Prime Minister Abbas to step 
up, reject violence, reject terrorism, and build a democracy. And the 
United States of America stands ready to help.
    And there's hopeful developments in Iraq. I know you see violence on 
your TV screens, and it breaks my heart to see the death of innocent 
life there. But that's the only thing the terrorists have got going for 
them. They've got the capacity to shake our conscience because, unlike 
their ideology, we value every human life. Every person is precious.
    I am very optimistic about Iraq because, first of all, I believe 
deep in everybody's soul is the desire to be free. Freedom is not our 
country's gift to the world. Freedom is an Almighty God's gift to each 
person in this world.
    My hopes for free societies, of course, were bolstered when 8\1/2\ 
million Iraqis went to the polls last January. I know it seems like a 
long way away, but it wasn't all that long ago when you think about it. 
They voted. And recently, instead of using guns to decide the fate of 
the future, Iraqis from all aspects of their society came together and 
wrote a constitution. This constitution is one that honors women's 
rights and freedom of religion. Not everybody agreed with it, but now 
the Iraqi people get to decide. They get to debate. They get to make the 
decision this fall as to whether or not that constitution will be the 
constitution that governs their society. And that frightens the 
terrorists. It scares--they cannot stand the thought of a free society 
emerging in the broader Middle East. The free society is the exact 
opposite of their vision of the world. If you want to think about the 
vision of these terrorists and killers, just think about what life was 
like for young girls, for example, under the Taliban in Afghanistan. 
There is no dissent. There's no right. There is no freedom.
    We are laying the foundation for peace. It's hard work. But I want 
to assure you that for your--sake of your grandchildren and your 
grandchildren's children, that this policy is laying that foundation for 
peace, because

[[Page 1314]]

we understand free societies are peaceful societies. We will defeat the 
terrorists in the short run by staying on the offense. We will defeat 
them in the long run by spreading freedom around the world.
    Not only did I sign an energy bill, I signed a highway bill. That's 
going to be good for you if you've got a car. [Laughter] I also will 
continue to work on Social Security. I just want to make sure the 
seniors here understand one thing: Nothing is going to change for you. I 
hope you don't listen to all the politics coming out of Washington, DC, 
but you will get your check. You need to worry about whether or not your 
grandchildren will get their checks.
    This system cannot sustain itself the way it is now set up. We got 
young kids working to pay payroll taxes into the system that's going to 
be broke in 2040. And that's not fair, and it's not right. My job is to 
confront problems, not pass them on to future Presidents. And I'm going 
to continue to confront that Social Security problem.
    And we confronted a problem in Medicare. I remember the debate in 
Washington. They said, ``Well, you know, this is an entitlement.'' Well, 
no, the entitlement has already been granted. This Federal Government of 
ours decided to provide health care for our seniors. And therefore, my 
attitude was, if we're going to provide health care for our seniors, 
let's provide the best health care available for our seniors.
    And one of the things that the current system, prior to our reform, 
didn't do, it didn't provide prescription drugs. Now, think about that 
kind of system that was so antiquated and outdated that we would pay 
money for an ulcer but not money for the prescription drug that would 
prevent the ulcer from occurring in the first place. That didn't make 
any sense. We'd provide money for the heart surgery but not one dime of 
prescription drug coverage for medicines that would prevent the heart 
surgery from being needed in the first place. I always felt that wasn't 
a very smart use of taxpayers' money. We'd pay the $28,000 for the ulcer 
but not the $500 for the medicine.
    Secondly, we didn't do any preventative screenings in Medicare. A 
simple proposition says that if we're going to help have somebody have a 
healthy life, we ought to have a screening to determine what's wrong so 
we can solve the problem early, before it's too late.
    Thirdly, we felt like seniors ought to have choice. The Government 
ought to trust people. The Government, as you know, in Medicare, made 
most of the decisions. This new bill I signed says, ``If you're a senior 
and you like the way things are today, you're in good shape; don't 
change.'' But by the way, there's a lot of different options for you. 
And we're here to talk about what that means to our seniors.
    And finally, a part of the Medicare bill that's very important for 
younger workers and small business is what's called health savings 
accounts. It's a really interesting option that, if you're running a 
small business, I urge you to look at to make sure that you've got 
quality health care available for your employees.
    This is a good bill. It started--the bill started kicking in last 
year when--when we had what's called a ``Welcome to Medicare'' physical. 
If you're--if you've just recently signed up for Medicare, you know what 
I'm talking about. There is a free physical available for everybody 
who's signing up for Medicare. That's part of the preventative 
screening. And by the way, prior to that, we had drug discount cards for 
pharmacies. We saved a lot of seniors a lot of money. About 6 million 
seniors took advantage of the card.
    What we're talking about today is new programs and plans with 
prescription drugs becoming available for our seniors. This is as much 
an education exercise as anything else, because I fully understand and 
our Government fully understands, many seniors don't want to change. 
They're not interested in change. And therefore, what I'm telling you 
is, is that, at least listen to what's available. You don't have to 
change if you don't want to, but at least be open-minded enough to 
listen. And our panelists today are going to represent different 
constituencies that will help seniors understand what's available.
    By the way, starting October 1st--we have a timetable, we got a 
calendar. And I've got my man, McClellan, with us. He's a doctor and a 
Ph.D. See, every Government has got to have a Ph.D., but you notice 
who--the

[[Page 1315]]

Ph.D. is not the President. [Laughter] That's the way--kind of way it 
works. But he's going to help--his job is to help make sure seniors 
understand what's available. Starting October 1st, 2005, Medicare 
beneficiaries start receiving information about available drug plans. So 
this is a pre-selling phase. We're traveling the country. I'm doing 
events like these; Mark is doing a lot of events like these--the 
Secretary of Health and Human Services. We're laying the groundwork. We 
want people to be prepared for what is available.
    Secondly, on November 15th, enrollment starts. In other words, you 
can start signing up. If you're unhappy with the current Medicare plan, 
here's an opportunity to sign up for a new plan.
    Thirdly, January 1st, 2006, prescription drug coverage begins for 
seniors on Medicare. Think about that. For years, there has been no 
prescription drug coverage. Starting January 1st of 2006, prescription 
drug coverage is available, and you have up to May 15th to sign up. So 
we're--there's going to be ample time for people to take a look to 
determine whether or not you want to change from your current plan.
    There's 780,000 folks on Medicare here in Arizona, and one of the 
reasons I have come is, hopefully, to get a message out to as many of 
the 780,000 that I can. And by the way, we're leaving behind a lot of 
folks who are going to help get out the message here in Arizona as well. 
If you got any questions, there's an easy way to figure out what I'm 
talking about here. It's called 1-800-MEDICARE. Pick up the phone; there 
will be somebody there to answer your question. Isn't that right, Mark? 
Yes. [Laughter] They don't want one of these ``check's in the mail'' 
deal, you know--or medicare.gov.
    The reason I'm telling you this--and I'm going to say it again 
before I'm through talking--is that it's really important, for example, 
for sons and daughters to look into what's available for their mothers 
and dads, and one way to do it is to get on 1-800-MEDICARE or 
medicare.gov.
    Seniors with no drug coverage and average drug dispenses will see 
their drug costs cut in half--by one-half. Think about that. This plan 
will cut your drug bill by half. You need to look at it. You need to 
look at what's available. And for the first time ever, Medicare has got 
catastrophic coverage for our seniors. In other words, it says that 
after you've spent $3,600 a year, the Government will pick up 95 percent 
of your prescription drug costs. And that's important. That's called 
peace of mind. It's peace of mind for you. It's peace of mind for your 
family. One of the interesting parts of this Medicare bill is the 
catastrophic coverage, and that's important, I thought, for quality of 
life--and so did Members of the Senate and Members of the House.
    Competition works, by the way. You've got one provider, the Federal 
Government; it doesn't give consumers a lot of choice. But when you 
provide consumers choice, it's amazing what can happen. People start 
bidding for your service, so to speak. They want to attract your 
business. And it's going to work in Medicare too. Did you realize that 
there's at least one prescription drug plan with premiums below $20 a 
month in every State now? It's a pretty good deal. And here in Arizona, 
you've got two plans that cost $20 a month or less and six plans at 20 
to 25 dollars a month. In other words, you've got people bidding for 
your services. That's the whole purpose of the bill, is to say the 
consumer matters, and our seniors matter a lot. And so you've got a lot 
of choices.
    You can pick any Medicare drug plan that meets your needs, and there 
will be--as I mentioned, here in Arizona, there's quite a few to choose 
from. You can keep Medicare as it is. Do you realize about 200,000 
citizens here in Arizona use Medicare Advantage Plans, and they're 
really important plans. It's all part of making sure there is a menu of 
choice available for our seniors.
    I want to talk about low-income seniors right quick. And by the way, 
if you're getting your coverage from your labor union or your business, 
this bill will help make sure that your labor union and your business 
continues to provide health care for you.
    I want to talk about low-income seniors, and this is very important 
for people to understand; that's why it's important for people to go out 
and explain to--what's available. One-third of our seniors, the lower-
income seniors, will be eligible for drug benefits that include little 
or no premium. In other words,

[[Page 1316]]

the premium I was talking about was for people who are more likely able 
to afford a premium. If you're a poor senior here in Arizona, you will 
have--end up with little or no premium, low deductibles, and no gaps in 
coverage. It's a good deal, is what I'm telling you. Let me put it 
bottom line: You need to look at this plan. On average, Medicare will 
pay over 95 percent of your costs for prescription drugs.
    Now, here's what you have to do--now, this may frighten some 
seniors--you got to fill out a form. It would frighten me. The good news 
is, it's a simple application, and it's four pages long. If you believe 
that--well, it could be 40. Big print. If you believe that you're 
eligible, you need to fill out the form. If you're a mother--I mean, if 
you're a son or a daughter, you need to get your mom or your dad to fill 
out the form, I'm telling you.
    And that's why we're traveling the country. This is a good deal for 
our seniors. We have changed Medicare. We have done our duty in 
Washington, DC. We've upgraded an important program and made it better. 
And part of the challenge, it's one thing to pass the law--that was 
challenging enough--but part of the challenge now is to make sure the 
Federal Government, in concert with State and local governments as well 
as faith-based groups, grassroots groups, community-based groups, 
lobbying groups, whatever, all kinds of groups, gets the word out.
    I want to thank you all for listening, and expect you as good 
citizens to help get the word out.
    Now, the man in charge, I mentioned, is McClellan, Dr. Mark 
McClellan. Told you he had a Ph.D., didn't I? He also has an M.D. He has 
got a big responsibility. He is the Administrator of the Centers for 
Medicare and Medicaid Services. Is that right?
    Dr. Mark B. McClellan. That's exactly right.
    The President. He's a Texan, which means he can get the job done and 
will get the job done.
    Explain how you're going to get the job done.
    Dr. McClellan. Well, I'm getting a lot of help, and besides that, 
we've got a chance now, with the new law that was just enacted, to turn 
Medicare into a program, from one that just pays the bill when people 
get sick to one that really helps keep them healthy, with drug coverage, 
with the preventive benefits that you mentioned, Mr. President.
    The thing is, speaking now from that medical background that you 
mentioned, you can do a lot more to keep a patient healthy if they're 
your partners in the effort, if they understand what they can do, if 
they take steps in their own life to get better care, to take care of 
themselves to live a longer and better life. And that's really what the 
new Medicare program is all about.
    When I say we're getting a lot of help, I mean we're turning 
Medicare into a program that's really about partnership: partnerships 
with our beneficiaries to make sure their benefits stay up to date; 
partnerships with health professionals and advocates and experts around 
the country to make sure that people can get the assistance they need to 
keep their coverage up to date; partnerships to make people healthier 
and save money in the process.
    The President. To follow up on this low-income deal for seniors, 
make sure that--I need a second voice up here--people are saying, ``Of 
course, he's telling us that,'' you know. I'm telling you, it's a good 
deal.
    Dr. McClellan. It is.
    The President. The doc's about to tell you.
    Dr. McClellan. It is. I've had a chance to talk to a lot of people 
around the country. I think some of the people up here on the stage with 
us have had a chance to as well. This coverage for people with limited 
income will pay for, in most cases, all of the cost of the premium. So 
you have a zero premium, no deductible, no gaps in your coverage, and 
you'll only pay a few dollars for each prescription, at most 3 or 5 
dollars and, in a lot of cases, less than that.
    And people who may not think of themselves as low-income are 
actually eligible for this extra help. Basically, if you're struggling 
with paying for your drugs today because you're living on a fixed 
income, you've got to worry about paying for the drugs, paying for your 
rent, paying for your food; you should look into this program. People 
with

[[Page 1317]]

incomes in--couples--up to--close to $20,000 are eligible.
    And so about one in three seniors, Mr. President, as you said, one 
in three people with disabilities are eligible for this extra help.
    The President. And what happens if somebody is interested and calls 
the 1-800-MEDICARE line?
    Dr. McClellan. Well, we can give them help in filling out that form. 
We're working closely with the Social Security Administration as well. 
They sent out letters to everyone who they think may be eligible, based 
on their Social Security earnings. We're starting to get those 
applications back in. And as you said, ``When in doubt, fill out the 
application.'' If you can't fill out all the questions--and it does run 
four pages, but it is big type, and it's only 16 questions altogether, 
most people only have to answer 12--if there's one you get to that you 
can't answer, that's okay. Go ahead and send in the part that you can 
complete, and Social Security will call you back and help you through 
the other questions.
    The President. Great, thanks. Mark's doing a good job. Believe it or 
not, the Government is actually functioning in an efficient manner on 
this issue. And I appreciate it. It really is. He's the right man for 
this job.
    Nancy Bryan. What do you do, Nancy?
    Nancy Bryan. How are you doing today?
    The President. Good, pretty good. [Laughter] If you like the heat, 
I'm doing great. [Laughter] It's not exactly cool in Crawford, either. 
[Laughter]
    Ms. Bryan. This is a dry heat.
    The President. Yes, that's right. [Laughter] So what do you do?
    Ms. Bryan. I'm a pharmacist here in the valley, and I actually work 
for Walmart and Sam's Club.
    The President. Good.
    Ms. Bryan. What I do is I travel all over the valley filling in when 
people need vacation time or if they have a day off. And it has been 
great because it gives me a chance to meet seniors from all over the 
valley.
    The President. Right.
    Ms. Bryan. In fact, I've been spending a little time up here in 
Surprise, lately.
    The President. That's good. And are you aware of the Medicare--have 
you been following what we've been talking about?
    Ms. Bryan. I definitely have. Walmart actually has put together a 
program for all of their pharmacies, and they've actually been helping 
to train us so that we know what to do when the patients do come into 
us. We have information that we can hand out to them, that we can get 
them to the people that can really help them the most.
    The President. Part of making sure the seniors know what's available 
is to call on a lot of folks. The pharmacists around the country have 
been really doing a great service for our seniors. In other words, if--
point-of-sale marketing works. And so you have a senior coming to a 
counter, you're available, as are your fellow men and women who work in 
the pharmacies, to explain, ``Here's what's available. Take a look at 
the Medicare plan.'' Isn't that what you're doing?
    Ms. Bryan. Exactly.
    The President. Yes. It's a good deal. [Laughter] And there's a lot 
of folks making sure people understand. We fully understand that some 
people are afraid to change. We know that. And you don't have to. But I 
do want to thank the pharmacists, and I want to thank Nancy. I want to 
thank Walmart. That's called corporate responsibility, is to help people 
understand what's available.
    And so, what are you finding? Are you finding people are nervous 
about it, interested about it?
    Ms. Bryan. I think they're just wanting to know more information. 
They're a little bit confused. They're a little bit nervous.
    The President. Right.
    Ms. Bryan. And I think that they're just trying to figure out if it 
really works for them. Is this the program that's going to really help 
them?
    The President. And there have been seminars at Walmart to make sure 
the pharmacists----
    Ms. Bryan. Well, we actually have a continuing education system for 
all the pharmacists.
    The President. Really? That's great. That's important, and so there 
will be pharmacists all around Arizona who will have the

[[Page 1318]]

proper information to explain to Arizona seniors the sign-up dates, 
what's available, when you can enroll, when you can start getting your 
prescription drugs. And that's important for people to know.
    One of the things--one of the reasons I'm traveling, one of the 
reasons Mark is traveling, is to thank people for doing their civic 
duty. So I'm going to start, thanking you.
    Ms. Bryan. Well, thank you.
    The President. I appreciate you. And another person I'm going to 
thank--good job----
    Ms. Bryan. Thank you.
    The President. ----Lieutenant Colonel Don Mowery. Is that right?
    Lt. Col. Don R. Mowery. Mr. President.
    The President. Yes, thanks for coming.
    Lt. Col. Mowery. Thank you.
    The President. Of the Salvation Army.
    Lt. Col. Mowery. Thank you.
    The President. Mowery. The reason I asked Don to come is that 
throughout this great State and throughout our country is this wonderful 
fabric of faith-based organizations, all of which exist to serve their 
fellow--fellow mankind. And the Salvation Army does a great job of doing 
that by the way.
    Lt. Col. Mowery. Thank you. Thank you very much.
    The President. Have you ever heard of the Medicare reform plan?
    Lt. Col. Mowery. I have, sir.
    The President. Other than this meeting?
    Lt. Col. Mowery. I have.
    The President. Good. How did you learn about it?

[At this point, Lt. Col. Don R. Mowery, commander, Southwest Division, 
Salvation Army, made brief remarks.]

    The President. Well, this is an important piece--this is good. First 
of all, one of the reasons, again, I want to repeat, you've got a lot of 
churches and temples and faith-based organizations and community groups 
to help. If you go to a church, do your duty and find out what we're 
talking about and help the seniors at your church at least understand 
what's available. That's what the Army is doing. They've got all kinds 
of programs at the Salvation Army, and they've taken it upon themselves 
to say, as a part of their outreach to the senior community here in 
Arizona, ``I'm going to learn what this is all about.'' It is--I 
appreciate you doing this.
    Lt. Col. Mowery. Thank you, Mr. President.
    The President. And thanks for setting such a good example.
    Lt. Col. Mowery. Thank you.
    The President. Now we've got Noreen Goodell. Noreen, thank you for 
being here.
    Noreen Goodell. Well, thank you, Mr. President.
    The President. What do you do?
    Ms. Goodell. I'm becoming very nervous on stage. [Laughter]
    The President. You don't look it, so don't let them know. [Laughter]
    Ms. Goodell. I thought that was, ``Don't let them see you sweat.''
    The President. That's it. [Laughter]
    Ms. Goodell. I have the privilege and honor of being a registered 
nurse, and I work for Sun Health Hospice.
    The President. Good. Thank you.
    Ms. Goodell. Thank you. And I am also the caregiver for my parents, 
my mother and father, and also my mother-in-law.
    The President. Yes. This is an important--everybody is important up 
here--Noreen represents a constituency group that I'm going to keep 
calling upon, daughters and sons and daughter-in-laws and sons. We have 
an obligation, it seems like to me, and you're fulfilling that 
obligation.
    Ms. Goodell. I am, and I'm blessed for it.
    The President. There you go. So you heard about the Medicare deal.
    Ms. Goodell. I have.
    The President. And? How did you hear about it?
    Ms. Goodell. Well, being a hospice nurse I deal with a lot of the 
geriatric population in Sun City and Sun City West, and sometimes they 
have questions about Medicare benefits, which we try our best to answer. 
So I thought that it was important that I would try to look into what 
benefits are available for them and also my parents as well, to make 
sure that I can provide the best care possible and be their advocate.
    The President. Right. And is the schedule clear, the October 15th--
the applications go

[[Page 1319]]

out, the sign-up dates, the--when it begins, is that----
    Ms. Goodell. If it wasn't, it will be now. [Laughter]
    The President. In other words--[laughter]--did you try 1-800-
MEDICARE? [Laughter]

[Ms. Goodell made further remarks.]

    The President. Listen, Noreen is here; she's a nurse. But if you've 
got a--but she's also a devoted child. Baby boomers--are you one?
    Ms. Goodell. Sandwich generation.
    The President. Sandwich generation, all right. I'm a baby boomer. 
[Laughter] All of us have a duty to find out what's available for our 
parents. We have an obligation as somebody who received the benefit of 
the love from a parent to do something to make sure our parents have got 
all options available to them. If you're worried about change, you do 
not have to change when it comes to Medicare. But if you're someone, for 
example, who's having to struggle between food and medicine, those days 
are over with. This Medicare bill relieves you of that burden and that 
anxiety.
    And sons and daughters have got to understand that. And you need to 
find out what I'm talking about, for the sake of your parents. If your 
mother or father says, ``I don't want to change,'' you don't have to 
change. But as a son or a daughter or as a faith-based initiative or as 
a nurse or as a pharmacist, you have a duty, as far as I'm concerned, to 
investigate what's available and to lay that out for people to see. And 
that's what we're here talking about.
    And somebody who's going to benefit from this is Margaret Cantrell. 
That's you. Speak into that microphone, will you?
    Margaret Cantrell. True, very true.
    The President. She told me she has the same hairdo as my mother. 
[Laughter]
    Ms. Cantrell. The same color. It's the same color.
    The President. Yes, 3 more years as President and I'll have the same 
color you got.
    Ms. Cantrell. Well, I'll be 82 years old.
    The President. When?
    Ms. Cantrell. This coming Monday.
    The President. Oh, yeah, well, a little birthday celebration for 
you. You're looking pretty darn good.
    Ms. Cantrell. Well, thank you.
    The President. How you feeling?
    Ms. Cantrell. Fair.
    The President. Fair. [Laughter]
    Ms. Cantrell. And I'm formerly from Salem, Illinois, which is Lisa 
James' hometown too.
    The President. Lisa James, very good, yes. Nobody knows who she is 
except for me and Laura. All right, there's a couple others. [Laughter]
    Ms. Cantrell. And I was a nanny for the James gang for quite awhile.
    The President. No wonder you got gray hair. [Laughter]
    Ms. Cantrell. And I do understand about the new program. I received 
something from Social Security about 2 weeks ago. I immediately filled 
it out and sent it back in.
    The President. Good move. How about that. By the way, before we get 
to Medicare, this good lady lives on her Social Security check.
    Ms. Cantrell. I certainly do.
    The President. And she told me, she said she doesn't want anybody 
taking it away from her.
    Ms. Cantrell. That's true.
    The President. Isn't that right? It's not going to happen.
    Ms. Cantrell. Oh, good.
    The President. That's what you've got to know. The Social Security 
debate is one that causes people concern because they hear, ``They're 
debating Social Security. They may change it, and I'm not going to get 
my check.'' If you're born prior to 1950, you have nothing to worry 
about.
    Ms. Cantrell. I was. [Laughter]
    The President. Who's writing your lines for you? [Laughter]
    Ms. Cantrell. I have my daughter--I have just one daughter, Vicki 
Kaylor, and my son-in-law, Gene Kaylor, and two grandsons, Steve and 
David. And Vicki and David are with me today.
    The President. Fantastic. And so how did you learn about the 
Medicare plan?
    Ms. Cantrell. Well, I received it from Social Security.

[[Page 1320]]

    The President. Oh, that's right. You already said that.
    Ms. Cantrell. I did. [Laughter] And I'm on----
    The President. Laura said, ``I always said, pay attention.'' 
[Laughter]
    Ms. Cantrell. I'm on a first-name basis with my pharmacist, and he's 
very nice. And he sent me this little brochure so I'd know more about 
it.
    The President. Good. Have you started studying the different plans 
available yet?
    Ms. Cantrell. No, I haven't gotten it yet.
    The President. Okay, well, that will be coming your way. And there 
will be a different--variety of options, and I'm confident that Vicki 
will help you--you don't need help.
    Ms. Cantrell. I filled it. She didn't even see it. I filled it out 
and sent it back in. [Laughter]
    The President. Good. Not everybody is just going to fill it out that 
way. That's what people have got to understand, that people are going to 
need a little help.
    Ms. Cantrell. But it was easy to do.
    The President. There you go.
    Ms. Cantrell. Really.
    The President. She wasn't even prompted. That's awesome.
    Ms. Cantrell. Nothing to it.
    The President. Did you get the four-page form?
    Ms. Cantrell. I did.
    The President. Four pages.
    Ms. Cantrell. Four pages.
    The President. Sixteen questions.
    Ms. Cantrell. I didn't count the questions, but----
    The President. Big print.
    Ms. Cantrell. Right.
    The President. Good. That's good. [Laughter] Congratulations, you 
finally got a form to her. [Laughter] If in doubt, fill it out. 
[Laughter]
    Ms. Cantrell. Right.
    The President. Isn't that it?
    Ms. Cantrell. That's it.
    The President. See, it's really important for those of us in public 
service to continue to do our duty to folks like Margaret, one, to make 
sure the Social Security system is available, and it will be. It's 
just--just your great grandkids need to worry about it. I'm not kidding 
you.
    Ms. Cantrell. I don't have any.
    The President. Well--[laughter]--you might.
    Ms. Cantrell. I might.
    The President. Well, somebody else's great grandkids need to worry 
about it.
    Ms. Cantrell. Right.
    The President. Shhh. [Laughter] You're younger, you better worry 
about Social Security. If you're an older citizen, you don't have to 
worry about getting good health care through Medicare anymore. That's 
what we're here to talk about.
    Margaret has shown--says to me that, ``Pay attention.'' That's what 
she did. They got the form. Do people usually just throw away the 
paperwork that comes with Social Security? Now, I know you don't--not 
the check, but I'm talking about the paperwork. [Laughter]
    Ms. Cantrell. No. No, I don't. I read it.
    The President. Okay, good. I hope you don't either, out there. I 
hope people take a look at that form and pay attention to it because it 
has got valuable information for you. It means that the quality of your 
life will improve if you're struggling with prescription drug coverage. 
It means that this Federal Government has finally, after years, 
modernized Medicare. And if you want to, you can be in charge. You're in 
charge of the decisionmaking process. In other words, there's options 
for you. It's your choice to make. If you don't want to do anything, if 
you don't want to change at all, you don't have to. But there are a lot 
more choices available for you. And if you're a low-income senior, you 
got a fantastic opportunity to get prescription drug benefits.
    We don't want you choosing between your utility bills and your food 
bills and prescription drugs. We want your quality of life to be great, 
as great as possible. And this Medicare bill will help there.
    I want to thank our panelists for being here. Thank you for what 
you're doing. Thank you for your compassion. Thank you all for coming. 
May the good Lord continue to bless our great Nation. Thank you.

[[Page 1321]]

Note: The President spoke at 10:06 a.m. at the Pueblo El Mirage RV 
Resort and Country Club. In his remarks, he referred to Josephine 
Franks, wife of Representative Trent Franks; James P. Weiers, speaker, 
Arizona State House of Representatives; Mayor Fred Waterman of El 
Mirage, AZ; Mayor Phil Gordon of Phoenix, AZ; Prime Minister Ariel 
Sharon of Israel; President Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) of the Palestinian 
Authority; and Lisa James, Arizona State executive director, Bush-Cheney 
'04 campaign.