Political Quotes

“this is the ninth time I have come to the floor of the Senate to talk about the issue of Medicare coverage for prescription drugs. As the Senate can see, I am urging seniors to send in copies of their prescription drug bills, as this poster instructs, to your Senator, U.S. Senate, Washington, D.C. 20510. I am doing this because it is critically important that Congress move on this issue and address it in a bipartisan way. With the counsel and input of Senator Snowe of Maine, there is one bipartisan bill now before the Senate to cover the issue of prescription drugs for the Nation's elderly. I am sure other Members of the Senate are getting the kind of mail I am. What I will do this morning, as I have done on eight previous occasions, is talk specifically about some of the bills I am getting from senior citizens in Oregon in an effort to pull together a bipartisan coalition for action in this session. We have heard, again and again, experts on the health care issue say the prescription drug question is too complicated for the Senate to act on at this time. That is a view I do not share. It is not shared by Senator Snowe. In fact, 54 Members of the Senate have already voted for the funding plan the two of us have developed. We have already laid the foundation for the Senate to move on this issue in a bipartisan way.”