Weekly Update from Senator John Ensign

Statement

Weekly Update from Senator John Ensign

December 3 - December 9, 2007: Medicare: Means Testing for Medicare Part D, The Fight Against Yucca Mountain, and Remembering Pearl Harbor

Senator Ensign's Bill Would Put Medicare on Stronger Financial GroundSenator John Ensign is joined by a bipartisan group to discuss a way to improve our health care.

This week I introduced legislation designed to stabilize the future of our country's entitlement programs. My bill would require means testing for the wealthiest seniors enrolled in the Medicare Prescription Drug Program, referred to as Part D. Seniors with a single income of more than $82,000 or a couple bringing in more than $164,000 would pay more of their share for prescription drugs. My legislation will follow in the steps of Medicare Part B which already imposes a means test on its participants. This bill is a necessary change to an entitlement program on weak financial ground. Similar proposals to my plan have projected savings of nearly $3 billion in the first five years alone. It is absolutely necessary that we rein in the years of excessive government spending and start taking responsibility for the financial problems our future generations will inherit.

Ensign Joins the Nevada delegation in the fight Against Yucca Mountain
The Nevada delegation is a united front in the fight against the Department of Energy's quest to make Yucca Mountain the nation's nuclear waste dump. Our newest battle centers on possible conflicts of interest with the law firm Morgan, Lewis, and Bockius's contract with the Department of Energy to handle the licensing of Yucca Mountain as a waste site. My Nevada congressional colleagues and I sent a letter to the Department of Energy's Inspector General urging them to review possible conflicts of interest. The Department of Energy is throwing away hard-earned taxpayer dollars by dumping more and more money into a waste site that, simply put, will never be built.

Remembering Pearl Harbor
This week we mark the 66th anniversary of the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. The brave members of our military who jumped into action that day to protect our freedom as a nation are still in our thoughts Senator Ensign talks with Pearl Harbor survivors at a Memorial Day service.and prayers so many years later.

Our active military members and our veterans are the heart and soul of what makes the United States the greatest country in the world. From foreign shores to domestic posts, our servicemen and -women have always represented the best and brightest of this country with a tireless patriotism and heartfelt commitment to giving their all for the nation they love and serve. This undying dedication still shines in the eyes of our veterans. Today as Americans, we join together in the celebration of their duty to our country.

This anniversary, I thank veterans from the bottom of my heart for believing so deeply in our country, for fighting so bravely for our freedom, and for teaching us all what it truly means to be an American. It is because of you that we continue to be the land of the free and the home of the brave.
God bless you, and God bless America.

Sincerely,

John Ensign
United States Senator

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