Eva M. Clayton: “We are talking about the health care of seniors. We are talking about equity. We are talking about providing…”

“We are talking about the health care of seniors. We are talking about equity. We are talking about providing opportunities for people to have access to affordable prescription drug. I come from rural North Carolina basically where the income is not as high as in most areas and also where the senior citizens outnumber in proportion our population and the age factor is greater, so we have a lot of senior citizens living at a lower income, and they are making the election between three basics, shelter, food and prescription. Yet, we here in the Congress have an opportunity to do something about it, and we are resisting that. We say because we want safe drugs we want to make sure that the pharmaceutical companies can indeed afford to provide that. Well, I support my pharmaceuticals. I am not against them, but I am also thinking that corporate America can do good and do well, not at the expense of senior citizens. The bill that the gentleman from New York (Mr. Crowley) has introduced, that has passed the House, has been improved in the Senate, so there is no reason to even fear the safety of those drugs. Mr. Speaker, I just saw a magazine article, already the pharmaceutical companies are attacking the possibility that these drugs will be unsafe, that is a bogus, bogus, bogus claim.”