Opening Statement of the Hon. Charles B. Rangel,
a Representative in Congress from the State of New York

Hearing on Integrating Prescription Drugs into Medicare

April 17, 2002

I thank the Chairman for bringing us together to discuss this important topic. There is no question that there is a great need to integrate prescription drug coverage into Medicare. The only question is whether Congress is serious about doing it.

Sadly, the evidence before us indicates that the Chairman and his Republican colleagues are not serious. In order to be serious, you would have to budget sufficient resources so that premiums would be low enough and benefits would be high enough so that all seniors could benefit.

Unfortunately, the Republicans' so-called budget proposal did not set aside any money specifically for a prescription drug benefit. The money to fund any proposal sponsored by Chairman Thomas would be paid for out of a $350 billion over ten year so-called "reserve fund" that is supposed to cover not just prescription drug benefits but so-called Medicare modernization, provider give-backs, and many other potential expenses that the Republicans have not made room for elsewhere in their budget.

At the same time, the House Republican leadership is doing its best to make sure that any resources that might be there over the next ten years, will not be there beyond that by passing a bill to extend last year's tax cuts in such a way that revenues will decrease by $4 trillion in the same decade that the baby boom generation is retiring and eligible for any Medicare prescription drug benefit that Congress may enact.

The Republicans not only do not want to assist seniors with their prescription drug needs, they want to prevent us from being able to provide such assistance for the foreseeable future. At a time when, as the GAO will tell us today, the Medicare program needs to prepare for the Baby Boom generation, the Republicans' fiscal plan has made such preparation impossible.

It's pretty clear that this hearing is not real, but purely political. In fact, you have even denied a place at the witness table for the expert, former Maine Senate Majority Leader Chellie Pingree (SHELL-ee PIN-gree), that we Democrats tried to invite to testify on her plan to provide prescription drugs to seniors in Maine.

Although we had told you the name of this nationally-known expert last week, you decided yesterday that the Committee had a new policy and that because Ms. Pingree was a candidate for U.S. Senate, you would disqualify her from testifying. Although we have allowed countless members of Congress - who are candidates for re-election or sometimes election to other offices - to testify, Ms. Pingree is not allowed to offer her substantive statement because the Republican Senate Campaign Committee is worried she might make sense.

Of course, you do not really care about Ms. Pingree's success in Maine because you have no intention of actually putting together a bill that could pass the House and the Senate and be signed by the President, because you would rather use all of the money for additional tax cuts.

However, Republicans have enough polling data to know that Americans of all generations want prescription drug coverage to be provided under Medicare so here we are today pretending that you're serious.

Of course, I understand that the Chairman plans to bring a Medicare bill to the floor within a month or so. But, so far, the Chairman has made no attempt to work with members on this side of the aisle in crafting that bill. The Chairman has not even indicated whether this Committee will have an opportunity to mark up the legislation.

Working with Committee Democrats on a truly bipartisan bill would run the risk of coming up with something that actually could pass the Senate and become law.

We should not be surprised that this is not a serious effort to address the vitally important issue of extending prescription drug coverage to America's seniors. Adding a prescription benefit would only strengthen a program that Republicans have been fighting against for decades.

Republican leaders have never liked Medicare. In 1995, Dick Armey said he "deeply resents the fact that when I'm 65 I must enroll in Medicare." Newt Gingrich said he wanted it "to wither on the vine." And Tom Delay said in 1999 that a prescription drug benefit and strengthening Medicare "don't matter to the American people."

So, I thank the witnesses for your time. I am sorry that nothing serious will happen in this Committee this year to improve Medicare or provide a real prescription drug benefit that will become law. And if Democrats were in charge, this would not just be something that we talk about, but something that we would actually do for all American seniors.