Prescription Drug Plan. After the Senate rejected Sen. Bob Graham\’s (D-Fla.) Democratic proposal to establish a prescription drug plan (see Senate bill below), Graham worked out a scaled-down, \"compromise\" version of his plan with Republican Sen. Gordon Smith (R-Ore.)
[ During consideration of the drug patents bill (S. 812), Sen. Bob Graham (D-Fla.) offered an amendment \"to provide coverage of outpatient prescription drugs under the Medicare program.\" As summarized by Congressional Quarterly, the drug prescription plan \"would cover the vast majority of drug costs for low-income elderly and those who spend $4,000 or more a year on prescription drugs. But all seniors would receive at least a 5 percent discount.\" The total cost would be an estimated $400 billion over 10 years.
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) raised a point of order against Graham\’s amendment on the basis of Budget Act restrictions. Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) moved to waive the Budget Act with respect to Graham\’s amendment, but Kennedy\’s motion was rejected on July 23, 2002 by a vote of 52 to 47 (Roll Call 186). ]
Sen. William Frist (R-Tenn.) raised a point of order against the Graham/Smith compromise amendment on the basis of Budget Act restrictions. Graham moved to waive the Budget Act with respect to the Graham/Smith amendment, but his motion was rejected on July 31, 2002 by a vote of 49 to 50 (Roll Call 199). We have assigned pluses to the nays.
