Political Quotes

“I have heard my colleagues describe the prescription drug plan as "not perfect" and a "step in the right direction." However, this legislation is neither. Our seniors will not gain better health coverage or a prescription drug benefit that is affordable. Instead the CBO estimates that approximately 2-3 million seniors, 107,000 alone in my state of Illinois, who currently have drug coverage from their employer, will lost that coverage. This bill lowers Medicare's assistance to the employers making it unaffordable to keep their retirees' coverage. The new cap on general revenue spending will cause reductions in provider reimbursement rates, higher out of pocket cost, or even raise the payroll tax--once again passing the buck along to future generations. Worst of all for our senior consumers, we do not even allow the Secretary of HHS to negotiate lower drug prices for them. I am disappointed in this House for turning its backs on fulfilling our promise to seniors, but I am extremely disappointed that we are completely abandoning our Nation's most needy--our Nation's poor seniors. We are expecting our States to pay the Federal Government 90 percent of the cost of drugs for our low-income seniors. During a time when States are already faced with large debts and complicated decisions on what to cut next--how do we expect the States to afford 90 percent of the cost of drugs for our poor seniors?”