Thomas Foley: “what should be a celebratory week for America's seniors is turning into a partisan fight. In memory of my grandmother, I…”

“what should be a celebratory week for America's seniors is turning into a partisan fight. In memory of my grandmother, I come to the floor today urging my colleagues to come together on this important change in Medicare to provide prescription drugs for the first time in our Nation's history for our seniors. Let me ask our colleagues on the other side of the aisle, in the memory of Claude Pepper, Franklin Roosevelt and others who cared so deeply for seniors, to put aside your partisan differences and walk with us in improving the most important fundamental health care program for seniors in our Nation's history. Discount drug cards, lower prices for prescription drugs, availability for new technology to help those who are ailing, preventive health care, diagnostic screening for cardiovascular disease and diabetes. This is a tremendously important bill for our Nation's seniors. Let us not fight about it. Let us move forward. AARP supports this bill. Yet the Democratic leadership is urging Members that if they vote for it, they should leave the caucus. One Member from California is actually resigning from AARP because she is so upset with their endorsement of the bill. AARP has long been known as the gold standard for keeping and caring for America's seniors. Let us not put their vision outside this building. Let us bring it in.”