Democratic National Radio Address

By Congressman Marion Berry (AR-01)
March 26, 2006

Click here to hear a recording of Congressman Berry's address.

Good morning. I'm Congressman Marion Berry of Arkansas, a senior citizen, a pharmacist, and someone who has spent the past five years trying to give the American people an acceptable Medicare prescription drug benefit. I have fought alongside my Democratic colleagues to put seniors first and I have watched with complete amazement as the Bush Administration and the Republican Congress forced a disastrous prescription drug scheme on America's greatest generation.

Everywhere I go in Arkansas, I hear from concerned seniors. Many of them cannot access lifesaving medicines, some have seen their drug prices increase, and others are so confused by all the mass mailings and phone calls they cannot figure out which plan is best for them and their family. No one can. My staff and I have taken thousands of calls from desperate seniors who did not deserve to have their own government do this to them.

Sadly, it does not stop there. In Arkansas, we have pharmacists who are struggling to stay in business. Many have paid out of pocket so their customers do not lose critical drug coverage and have little confidence that the Administration will find a way to reimburse them for their goodwill. I will never forget one conversation I had with a pharmacist from DeWitt, Arkansas who had given away $60,000 in free medications in just one week because he knew his customers might die if they did not receive their refill that day. Medicare Part D is the FEMA of health care.

These are not the stories of a benefit that works. Our seniors deserve better. Our pharmacists deserve better, and working together we can do better.

On May 15th, the registration period will close, and the Bush Administration will impose a prescription drug tax on any senior who does not sign-up according to their timeline. To penalize our seniors because they are hesitant to register for a confusing and deceptive scheme is completely unfair. Instead of forcing a benefit on Americans that allows the drug and insurance companies to rob our seniors and bankrupt our neighborhood pharmacies, what America needs is a benefit that puts seniors first.

Democrats know how to do this.

We need to extend the sign-up period by six months to give seniors more time to make sense of this benefit, and we need to eliminate the Bush Administration's prescription drug tax. These short-term reforms will take pressure off of Americans and give our government time to think long and hard about meaningful Medicare reform.

We can have a simple Medicare prescription drug benefit, give our seniors low prices just like the Veterans Administration, and save the taxpayers $40 billion a year. If Medicare bargains for lower prices, it will put money back into the pockets of America's seniors, not insurance and pharmaceutical companies, and strengthen the Medicare system.

Today's seniors helped this country through the Depression, fought two wars, and turned America into the greatest nation in the world. They do not deserve to be treated like second-tier citizens by their own government, and be made victims of backroom deals by pharmaceutical and insurance lobbyists.

Every American deserves the best health care we can provide. We do not have to accept a failed benefit and we do not have to tolerate a culture of corruption or leaders who are afraid to admit their mistakes. Democrats have the answer, and under a Democratic Congress, we will give seniors the prescription drug benefit they were promised years ago. Together we can do better.

This is Congressman Marion Berry of Arkansas. Thank you for listening.