Leonard L. Boswell: “Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My motion to recommit will provide both parties with the opportunity to come together to save…”

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My motion to recommit will provide both parties with the opportunity to come together to save hundreds of millions of dollars, rein in Federal spending, and support America's seniors, America's troops, and America's veterans. Let me be clear. The passage of this amendment will not prevent the passage of the underlying bill. If it's adopted, my amendment will be incorporated into the bill and the bill will be immediately voted upon. The amendment is direct and incredibly important. Simply put, it will prevent the underlying bill from creating regulatory hurdles for low- cost drugs. Day in and day out, we talk about spending in this country and, particularly, in this Congress. Well, my amendment gives the Chamber the chance to rein in one of the greatest culprits of our out- of-control spending--health care. Today, health care spending is more than 17 percent of our Nation's GDP, a number so massive that a 5-point reduction would save Americans $870 billion. Medicare part D covers 29.5 million Medicare beneficiaries. So how do we pay for prescription drugs? Eighty-three percent of Medicare part D funds come from our Nation's general revenue, and CBO has estimated that America's Medicare part D spending will total approximately $53 billion in 2012. That's quite an incentive to pay for drugs wisely and efficiently. This amendment helps us do just that.…”