We had the opportunity to finally do right by our seniors by truly modernizing Medicare to include a prescription drug benefit for them, and did not.  Helping our seniors afford the prescription medicine they need should not be a partisan issue, that’s why Republican Congresswoman Jo Ann Emerson and I came out with a plan back in January that does exactly that.  Unfortunately, our plan was not allowed to proceed by the Republican Majority.  

These debates over this increasingly critical issue were held off until just recently, when the election season is well underway.  Instead of reaching across party lines to support a common sense solution to the challenges our seniors face, Congress voted for plans which – I am sad to say – were designed with reelection, rather than our seniors, in mind.

I know that in the coming days, weeks, and months, my wife Holly and I will have to face seniors who come into our pharmacy to have their prescriptions filled, who will continue to struggle with the expense of the medicine they need.  I will have to explain to them why they are still struggling when only a few weeks before, Congress was poised to provide for them, yet did not.   I am angry at what has happened.

I have fought for our seniors since day one in office, and I will not let this issue go until we win this fight.