I just had the honor of meeting with the Medicare Conference Working Group. I first thanked them for their extraordinary leadership on developing a fine piece of legislation for Medicare. There are Republican leaders at this table; there are Democrat leaders at this table. These are Americans who understand we have an obligation to our seniors to modernize and strengthen the Medicare system.
The bill that will be offered to the House and the Senate modernizes and strengthens Medicare. There's 400 billion additional dollars available for our seniors in this bill. There's prescription drug coverage in the bill for our seniors. This vote will demonstrate whether the Members of the House and the Senate will help keep our commitment to America's seniors. I look forward to working with the Members around the table to secure passage of this very important and historic piece of legislation. I urge members of both political parties to study the legislation, to remember the promise we have made to America's seniors, and to vote yes for this legislation.
Thank you.
NOTE: The President spoke at 4:20 p.m. in the Cabinet Room at the White House. A tape was not available for verification of the content of these remarks.
George W. Bush, Remarks Following a Meeting With Congressional Leaders Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/214436
