Gwen Graham: “I will vote no today in the hopes that soon we will have an opportunity to pass a prescription drug bill that will fully…”

“I will vote no today in the hopes that soon we will have an opportunity to pass a prescription drug bill that will fully meet the needs and expectations of older Americans. Exhibit 1 [From The Washington Post, June 26, 2003] For Struggling Seniors, Medicare Drug Plan's Proof Is in the Purse (By Ceci Connolly) CLEVELAND--As the Medicare drug package moving through Congress takes on an air of inevitability, Washington politicians are already jostling for credit. But in this working-class city 370 miles from Capitol Hill, prospects for the plan's eventual success may lie deep inside the handbags of women such as Marie A. Urban. Stashed in there are her monthly Social Security statement, a half-dozen prescription discount cards and insurance letters rejecting several recent medical claims. The scraps of paper--creased and scribbled on--document a life near the financial edge. After working 24 years as the secretary at St. Paul's Shrine, Urban, 72 collects $843.70 a month in Social Security. After housing and Medicare payments, she has $459 for utilities, food, car insurance, taxes and medication. ``Some months I have 87 cents to live on,'' she said. With her drug bills this year already exceeding $1,500, she said she probably will try to cobble together the money to buy the prescription coverage that lawmakers plan to offer Medicare recipients. ``I don't know,'' she said. ``My finances right now are very tight.”