Grassley: Seniors Need Information About New Prescription Drug Benefit, Not Tearing Down of New Prescription Drug Benefit
GRASSLEY: SENIORS NEED INFORMATION ABOUT NEW PRESCRIPTION DRUG BENEFIT, NOT TEARING DOWN OF NEW PRESCRIPTION DRUG BENEFIT
Sen. Chuck Grassley today said Medicare beneficiaries would be better off if Democratic leaders in Congress aligned themselves with efforts to help individuals sign up for the new Medicare prescription drug benefit, rather than joining forces with political groups intent on undermining the new, voluntary benefit.
As chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, Grassley was a principal author of the legislation passed in 2003 to create this first-ever drug benefit as part of the Medicare program. He has encouraged Medicare beneficiaries to tap the considerable resources available to see how they might gain from the prescription drug benefit and to sign up if they wish. The first sign-up period began in November and ends on Monday, May 15.
Here is the text of a letter sent today from Grassley to the Democratic Leaders of the Senate and the House of Representatives.
May 9, 2006
The Honorable Harry Reid
Democratic Leader
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510
The Honorable Nancy Pelosi
Democratic Leader
United States House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515
Dear Democratic Leader Reid and Democratic Leader Pelosi:
I regret that I must once again write to follow-up on my previous letters regarding the Democratic leadership's activities with respect to the Medicare prescription drug benefit. As I pointed out earlier, the approach that you have chosen to take - consistently denigrating the benefit - is at its core nothing more than an example of blatant political hypocrisy and opportunism.
Tomorrow, you are holding a partisan event with Americans United to attack the Medicare prescription drug benefit. The Associated Press (AP) reported on March 10 that you both met with prospective donors to Americans United to demonstrate your personal interest in the organization's efforts related to the Medicare prescription drug benefit. The AP article referred to an Americans United memo, which stated that the organization's efforts include: driv[ing] down support to miniscule levels " and "serv[ing] as the bearer of unwelcome news about the program " with the hope of inflicting political damage on Republican supporters.
Your affiliation with Americans United once again reveals you are not motivated by a desire to ensure that beneficiaries get the prescription drug coverage to which they're entitled, but rather you seek to exploit them for strictly partisan political ends. I am disappointed that you and Americans United, along with similar organizations, have chosen to leverage perceived political points on the backs of vulnerable seniors. It also strains credulity that Americans United and organizations like it have done nothing to help beneficiaries enroll and now they want the open enrollment period extended. Furthermore, the endless, negative and partisan rhetoric has caused some beneficiaries to forego enrolling and from saving on their prescription drugs.
Your constituents would be better served had you and organizations such as Americans United joined in helping them learn more about and enroll in the prescription drug benefit, rather than devoting resources to activities that are nothing more than thinly-veiled politically motivated attacks.
Sincerely,
Chuck Grassley
Chairman
Senate Committee on Finance
http://grassley.senate.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=PressReleases.Detail&PressRelease_id=5056&Month=5&Year=2006