Phil Gingrey: “I am very happy, of course, to be here tonight to take this leadership hour and talk about something that is really near…”

“I am very happy, of course, to be here tonight to take this leadership hour and talk about something that is really near and dear to my heart but, more importantly, near and dear to the hearts of 41, 42 million seniors in this country who finally, because of the leadership of this Congress, the Republican leadership and this President, have delivered on a promise that was made years ago. And that delivery, I know a lot about them because as an OB/GYN physician before coming to Congress, I delivered 5,200 babies, but this may be the best delivery that I have ever been a part of, Mr. Speaker, and that is delivering, as I say, on a promise made by former Congresses and other Presidents over the 45-year history of the Medicare program, which was introduced in 1965 with no prescription drug benefit. And what we have done here is add part D, the ``D'' for ``drugs'' or, if you want, the ``delivery'' that we have finally provided to our American seniors. This prescription drug benefit is a wonderful thing, and, of course, we are going to talk about that tonight. I have a number of my colleagues that have joined me, and we will be getting information from them, from their districts. We will be engaging in colloquy as we go through the hour, Mr. Speaker, talking about the success stories because we do not want to stand up here for an hour and expect people to take our word for this. I think it is very important, Mr.…”