Karen Thurman

I want to point out something here that continues to be talked about in the low-income seniors being given total prescription drugs. The problem is in the bill that we are talking about, it does not waive the asset test that beneficiaries…

Before Medicare, we had private insurance. We have Medicare because there was no coverage under private insurance.

The only thing I would say then is maybe us being here tonight and talking about this issue, maybe it will give some pause; and maybe we will have the opportunity to have that debate.

And we could say the gentlewoman from Nevada (Ms. Berkley) has given us a wonderful opportunity to understand what happened in Nevada. And it would seem to me that it would be something this Congress ought to be looking at where the…

It was to also recognize that Social Security was never supposed to be what people would have to live off of. So if we could find these U.S.A. accounts or whatever magic name we wanted to call them, the fact of the matter was that they…

We just got the report. It is 150 pages long. We are going to continue to dissect it and try to figure out if there are some things that we might catch onto. But there is an issue in the report that does concern me, and it is the one that…

I first would say to the women who came from New Jersey here to speak to the body, we heard so eloquently today somebody talk about 'we the people,' and this being 'the people's place of business,' and so we do need to be paying attention…

I believe they are important priorities. But as a result of that decision, and because this bill contains no revenue offsets, I believe that there is a substantial certainty that the tax reductions contained in the energy bill will be…

I wish to ask the gentleman from Vermont (Mr. Sanders), we have been hearing about who is against this amendment, but could the gentleman give me an indication of who is for this? And, also, for the record, this was 363 to 12 the last time…

I stand today to say that I support the amendment offered by the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Davis). This is a project that, in fact, is going to be completed by this winter, about 753 miles long. The fact of the matter is that in my…

I have enjoyed this. I hope some people have been listening. We certainly would love to hear their comments or their stories or issues that make a difference in people's lives, because I think it is important that we hear from the real…

And they talked about it. One of the things that they do not want to do is they do not want to be in the position of taking over the Medicare program. They already are involved in the Medicaid program, plus whatever programs they have…

Under the circumstances. And we kind of get them out there; and then we say, okay, now, go home. They go home and they have their prescription drug from their doctor, and they go to the pharmacy and all of a sudden we have got them in…

People would cry if they heard some of the letters I have gotten as we have started talking about this: wives saying I cannot take my medicine any more because my husband needs it more; or I can only take it half the time. Guess what…

Right, and the fact of the matter is that within that there is also the situation we are in now with Medicare and dollars that we have available and what is going to happen in 10 years from now when the baby boomers come in and we have…

And that was one of those issues that in fact raised the level of it, and it causes a lot of problems for some people. But on this generic thing, I think there is something else that needs to be remembered. This is not just about seniors…

The gentlewoman brings up an excellent point, and it is a point that needs to be talked about even more. As we just did the tax bill, and we are watching all these dollars kind of go out there right now, which legitimately we all agree…

So what happened is, all of a sudden now there is this information coming out to us that drug companies, or pharmaceutical companies, are able to extend their patents, I cannot even believe why, would extend the patents probably somewhere…

So now what is happening, and what I found in some of this work that I have been doing, is that in some of these Medicare+Choice programs, not only are they dropping a lot of their prescription drug coverage, but in some cases they will…

I just received a letter October 20 from a gentleman, and he has also sent me some additional information on what is happening with his Medicare choice program, but it is very interesting. In the middle of his letter he says the medication…

I too listened to the other speaker and I too am I classroom teacher. I taught for 9 years, middle school math, in a very poor, rural area.

I would just ask a question, because we talk about in these numbers of poverty or somebody under $14,000, that is not after expenditures. That is what they get at the beginning of the year, or what their allocation would be, would be…

So it is those who control the agenda today, the Republican leadership, that is blocking not only the will of the House of Representatives but the majority of the people in this country's ability to have health care delivered by their…

The love fest that is going on around here obviously makes us all feel very good about what this committee has accomplished over the last couple of years in transportation and in water issues, and so I give my congratulations to all of my…