Political Quotes

“I come to the floor to celebrate 20 years since the passage of the Part D Medicare prescription drug benefit. Tomorrow, December 8, is that day. There was a time when the seniors of America on Medicare didn't have access to nationwide prescription drug benefits, so, as I indicated, 20 years ago tomorrow, President George W. Bush signed into law a nationwide prescription drug benefit for our Nation's seniors. At that time, I was chairman of the Finance Committee, and I was proud to be the lead author on Medicare Part D. It wasn't easy. It took several years to bring Members of both political parties in the Senate and the House, along with a President--in this case, President Bush--to accomplish this monumental task. As I remember, both political parties were blaming each other over a period of maybe 5 or 6 years for why we didn't have a prescription drug bill and probably blaming each other. Throughout 2001, 2002, and 2003, I led bipartisan negotiations that eventually produced the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003, which is the official title of that legislation. In 2003, I said this, a quote from that period of time: Medicare is part of our country's social fabric. We're not only saving it, but we're also improving it. Of course, that still rings true today. Today, 52 million seniors are voluntarily enrolled in a Medicare Part D plan, because it is not a requirement of Medicare.…”