Lizzie Fletcher: “the Washington Democrats, once again are misleading the American people on the debate over necessary prescription drug…”

“the Washington Democrats, once again are misleading the American people on the debate over necessary prescription drug coverage for our seniors. To illustrate to my Democrat friends how our plan will help States, Kentucky has 615,000 Medicare beneficiaries and 50 percent of these citizens are below the 175 percent of poverty level. In Kentucky, a study estimates that State Medicare savings under the Republican-proposed prescription drug benefit would be $549 million in the fiscal years 2005 through 2012. In a time when seniors and State governments are experiencing financial difficulty, our plan provides seniors with an affordable prescription drug benefit to Medicare and immediate savings. States also benefit by saving millions of dollars in Medicaid beneficiary costs over the next several years. Mr. Speaker, this plan is the only fiscally-responsible choice for both seniors and government and should be supported next week when it comes to a full vote in the U.S. House of Representatives. The Democrat plan remains an $800 billion boondoggle; and I encourage, as we continue this debate, full support of the Republican plan.”