Political Quotes

“health care affects each of us in very personal ways. As a physician, but also being majority leader, people will come to me and ask: What are you doing about this particular health care issue? It might be a senior who asks: Why don't I have access to prescription drugs as I did when I was 60 years of age and employed by a company, and all of a sudden it disappears when I go into Medicare? That is the type of question to which this body has responded and, indeed, we have passed a prescription drug benefit appropriately coupled with health care--Medicare specific--modernization, in the sense that it brings the Medicare Program up to today's standards, the type of health care to which other people have access. We are addressing in the conference between the House and the Senate this Medicare prescription drug package. We had two meetings today with the various conferees, in a bipartisan way--the House and Senate together working through the details of marrying the House and the Senate bill. I am absolutely confident that under the leadership of Chairman Bill Thomas in the House and Vice Chairman Chuck Grassley in the Senate that this conference will deliver a bill in October that will accomplish that goal of health care security and access to prescription drugs for all seniors.”