Max Cleland: “I echo the eloquent words of the distinguished Senator from Michigan, who has done yeoman service for this body, for…”

“I echo the eloquent words of the distinguished Senator from Michigan, who has done yeoman service for this body, for seniors and the disabled of America in helping put together and advocate for a meaningful drug benefit under Medicare. And special kudos go to my colleague from Georgia, Senator Miller, and to my distinguished friend from Florida, Senator Graham, for really taking the lead in articulating a Medicare supplement that we can embrace in this body and that the American people can embrace. When I talk to my fellow Georgians about the issues that are most on their minds, that most affect their lives, the one that I hear about more often than any other is the high cost of prescription drugs. Everywhere I go, people ask me, 'When are Congress and the President going to make good on their promise to help us with prescription drugs?' And all I can tell them is, That's a fair question; I'd like to know, too. Over the past couple of years, their comments have become increasingly urgent. The cost of prescription medications rose a staggering 19 percent in 2000, and another 17 percent in 2001. I can assure you most people's incomes didn't rise by 17 percent in 2001. It is an iron-clad law of economics that if you live on a fixed income, and one portion of your monthly expenses rises dramatically, other portions must be reduced.”