Paul Ryan: “I would like to put one thing straight. The AARP does not oppose this bill. But for the benefit of Members who are truly…”

“I would like to put one thing straight. The AARP does not oppose this bill. But for the benefit of Members who are truly listening to this debate and trying to make up their minds, let me point out three distinct differences. The Democratic bill will have the consequence of pushing out private-sector-provided prescription drug coverage. The Republican bill supplements that. What the Democratic bill will do, will have the consequence of making sure that all those employers who are providing prescription drug benefits for their employees do not do so any more so the government will pick it up so we are needlessly forcing taxpayers to pay for a benefit that the private sector is already providing. The Republican bill includes deeper discounts on prescription drugs than the Democrat bill does. The Democrat bill is a $1 trillion-plus bill that will do nothing more than make Medicare go broke faster. We have a problem. We have two problems. We need prescription drug coverage for our seniors. We need to give them access to deep discounts on their price of drugs, and we need to make Medicare solvent for the baby boomer generation. The Democrat bill fails in that area. The Republican bill delivers.”