Timothy H. Bishop: “just because the Medicare enrollment deadline has passed and the President refuses to extend it, those of us who voted…”

“just because the Medicare enrollment deadline has passed and the President refuses to extend it, those of us who voted against a shortsighted Medicare bill and opposed this past Monday's deadline will not fade quietly away. We will continue to fight for seniors who need more time to choose a plan that is right for them. We will fight the punitive lifetime tax on the elderly and disabled who, through no fault of their own, have yet to sign up for a plan. And here is the ultimate irony. While the President and congressional Republicans never met a tax cut they didn't like, including more dividend and capital gains tax cuts for the already very comfortable, corporate tax holidays for extra-territorial income, they are imposing a new tax on one of the most vulnerable segments of our population: seniors. Medicare part D works just fine for the pharmaceutical companies and big business HMOs, but it is not working for those seniors who have yet to sign up for a plan and who will have to pay for it for the rest of their life. Mr. Speaker, it is long overdue that we fix this program. We need a plan B for part D. ____________________”