| Washington, D.C. - California Congresswoman Hilda L. Solis (CA-32) will deliver the Democratic Hispanic Radio Address this Saturday, May 13, 2006. Solis will discuss the importance of extending the deadline for Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Benefit.
The audio of the address will be heard through local Univisión Radio, Latino Broadcasting Company, Radio Fórmula, Radiovisa, Radio Bilingüe, and CNN en Español Radio affiliates after 11:06 a.m. ET on Saturday.
The audio can be downloaded here.
The translated text of the address in English appears below:
Good morning. This is Congresswoman Hilda Solis from Los Angeles, California.
For the last few months, seniors from all over the country have been studying the new law for Medicare prescription drug benefits.
This new lay— written by President Bush and the Republican Congress, and the big drug companies— is confusing for everyone and not adequate for many.
As many of you know, the last day to sign up is Monday.
After Monday, millions of seniors will have to pay a fine for not signing up in the program.
Did you hear that right: a fine?
The prescription drug program of the Republican Congress is bad for America’s seniors.
They deserve a law that does not put the interests of insurance and drug companies before seniors.
This law was written by these companies. In addition, this law gives them 10 million dollar subsidies, money that could be spent on reducing the cost of these medicines.
A lot of folks are confused when trying to understand the details of the program.
The worst part of this law is the secret tax that will be charged every month to everyone that signs up after Monday.
This would be more money on top of what seniors already spend on medicine, drugs they need to live.
All of these problems tell us that we need to fix this confusing and expensive law. This is bad politics.
But this is not a surprise for those who have watched this Congress work only for special interests and not for the people.
This legislation is symptom that we need to change the direction of this country. We can start with a change of legislators in Congress this November.
We deserve a Congress that will fight for the American people.
As the Congresswoman of the 32 of California, I have worked hard to create a prescription drug and health care program that is easy to understand for seniors.
We have to demand that the Congress fights for the United States. This fight begins with the health of our people.
This November we have the opportunity to choose a new direction for this country.
This is Congresswoman Solis for the Democratic Party, thank you for listening. |