Nancy L. Johnson: “We certainly are willing to accept the gentleman's amendment. It is a very thoughtful and important one.”

I also want to say both to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Regula) and also to the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Obey) that you have brought forward for this body a very fine, balanced bill in a difficult era. The money that you have put into…

I do not consider the AARP a special interest group, or the Coalition to Ensure Patient Access a special interest group, or the Alzheimer's Association a special interest group, or the Kidney Cancer Association a special interest group.

But we need to do something better than the Senate position, and we certainly need to avoid the additional 2 percent cut that starts every year thereafter.

The gentlewoman from Oregon should know that with this prescription drug insurance plan Medicare recipients in Oregon who are covered will go from 60 percent up to 96.6 percent. This bill brings a benefit to Oregon.