Jeff Bingaman: “I am informed that it is not appropriate at this point to offer an amendment or to call up my amendment and offer it…”

“I am informed that it is not appropriate at this point to offer an amendment or to call up my amendment and offer it, but I do wish to speak to one of the amendments, which is at the desk, that I have filed. It is an amendment that is cosponsored by Senators Rockefeller, Murray, Cantwell, Clinton, Kennedy, Kohl, Lieberman, Schumer, Menendez, Kerry, and Leahy. This amendment relates to the prescription drug problem which all of us hear about when we return to our home States. It is an immediate issue and an immediate concern for our constituents. I have an amendment that tries to address a substantial amount of that concern. On January 1, 2006, just a month ago, senior citizens and people with disabilities were promised and fully expected to begin enjoying savings on their prescription drugs through the Medicare program. For many, the drug bill has been a lifeline and is working. But for millions of Americans, the transition to this new prescription drug benefit has been nothing short of a disaster. The sad reality is that implementation problems with the Medicare drug benefit are widespread. What is especially troubling is that the problems are adversely affecting the most vulnerable--low-income beneficiaries who have lost comprehensive drug coverage they previously had under Medicaid and have found themselves without coverage for certain drugs they previously had or have fallen completely through the cracks and have no coverage for any kind of drugs.…”