Political Quotes

“for many months now I and other Members of the Senate have been coming to the floor of this body to talk about the need for prescription drug coverage for our older people under Medicare. We have been going through case histories of stories we have been hearing from our States. I have been describing the many older people I am hearing from in Oregon where after they are finished paying their prescription drug bill, they only have a couple hundred dollars for the rest of the month to live on. I talked about instances where older people at home in Oregon are actually breaking their Lipitor pills. Lipitor is an important cholesterol-lowering drug. A lot of the seniors at home in Oregon can't afford to take these vital medicines, and they are actually having to break them in half in order to try to meet their health care needs. It is just outrageous to think that in a country as rich and as powerful and good as ours so many of our seniors walk on this economic tightrope. I have come to the floor repeatedly over the last few months to talk about the need for bipartisan legislation that would address the needs of older people and secure important Medicare coverage for them. I believe there is now genuine interest in reconciling the several bills before the Senate on this issue and a real opportunity to enact good legislation that can generate overwhelming support in this body and get the senior citizens of this country the help they need.”