Chuck Hagel: “in addition to what my colleague from Nevada has said in response to the distinguished Senator from Montana, there is…”

“in addition to what my colleague from Nevada has said in response to the distinguished Senator from Montana, there is nothing new about this bill except two features. This bill, the Hagel-Ensign bill, last year received more bipartisan votes on the floor of this Senate than any other bill. There is nothing new in this bill except two features. One is the $30 billion for low-income seniors' additional coverage, and the other is the $35 billion in cost sharing for catastrophic drug costs with Medicare and Medicaid to dual eligibles. That is what is new in the bill. To say this is new and we have just sprung this on the Senate is a bit disingenuous. This bill has been around for almost 4 years in its current form. I yield the floor.”