Bill Clinton: “I believe this legislation to provide a Medicare prescription drug benefit holds tremendous promise and also tremendous…”

“I believe this legislation to provide a Medicare prescription drug benefit holds tremendous promise and also tremendous peril. I applaud the leaders of this effort, Chairman Grassley and ranking member Baucus, for bringing this bill to the floor and working in a collegial, bipartisan manner to present it to the Senate and to the American people. It is absolutely essential we finally deliver on the promise many have made for years that we will pass a prescription drug benefit and make it available and absolutely secure to our seniors. However, 3 weeks ago this Chamber learned a very important lesson. We learned about the importance of details and how a very small change in a very large piece of legislation in a conference report can mean 12 million children would be left out of a child tax credit. Therefore, I think it is imperative we spend the time to ask the hard questions about this legislation and that we exercise caution. So much is at stake for the people we represent. For example, right now this bill excludes the lowest income seniors who are eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid.”