Tom Harkin: “as I said, most State legislatures meet every 2 years. Governor Bush's own State didn't even implement the CHIP program…”

“as I said, most State legislatures meet every 2 years. Governor Bush's own State didn't even implement the CHIP program for over 2 years. In addition, the States don't even want this block grant. In February of this year, the Governors rejected Bush's proposal. They said: If Congress decides to expand prescription drug coverage for seniors, it should not shift that responsibility or its costs to the States. That was the National Governors' Association. Republicans and Democrats said Bush's proposal won't work. So that won't be immediate. Bush's proposal takes years to get any effect for people. Will it give a helping hand? Well, Bush's plan only covers low-income seniors. Middle-class seniors are told they don't need to apply. That is what Bush's plan is. It only helps low-income. For example, if you are a senior and your income is over $14,600 a year, you get zero, zip, no help at all, from Bush's Medicare proposal. A recent analysis shows that the Bush plan would only cover 625,000 seniors, or less than 5 percent of those who need help. So his plan is not adequate and it is not Medicare. Seniors want Medicare, not welfare. The other thing is that under the Bush proposal for Federal care, for his prescription drug program, seniors would probably have to go to the State welfare office to apply for it. Why is that? Because there is an income cutoff.…”