Political Quotes

“President Bush signed the Medicare bill today, ending an ugly legislative process driven by the interests of a constituency near and dear to the Republican leadership in this House. Not America's seniors. I am talking about the prescription drug industry. The vast quantities of time and money that the drug companies invested in selling this bill were well spent. This bill is a Christmas wish come true for every drug manufacturer in our Nation. Under the new bill, drug industry profits are expected to increase by $140 billion, a 40 percent increase in already the world's most profitable industry. This industry, the world's most profitable industry, successfully used its 675 lobbyists in this town, about 1.3 lobbyist for every Member of the House, and used its tens of millions of dollars of campaign contributions to win a giant increase in profits at the expense of taxpayers in this country and at the expense of America's senior citizens. The drug companies on this year's Fortune 500 list posted profits of 17 percent, 5 times the average profit margin of other Fortune 500 firms. Not only does the Medicare bill signed today by President Bush dramatically expand the drug industry's market, it ensures that drug companies will be able to charge American taxpayers almost any price they want for medicines covered by Medicare.”