Chuck Hagel: “my friend and distinguished colleague, the senior Senator from Massachusetts, talks about a common ground. This proposal…”

“my friend and distinguished colleague, the senior Senator from Massachusetts, talks about a common ground. This proposal is the common ground. As my colleague, Senator Ensign, has just stated, this addresses those who need the help the most. We do prioritize. We do focus on those seniors who need the help. Yet we do it in a responsible way. We stay within the $300 billion budget cap that this body voted on for a prescription drug plan over the next 10 years. It is immediate, it is permanent, and it uses the present market system. We don't build a new government bureaucracy. It is not impersonal. It is direct. It caps the catastrophic dark cloud that hangs over all senior citizens. We are doing something for this generation of seniors as well as the next generation of seniors. I hope our colleagues give this consideration and will vote for our amendment.”