Sample U.S. Senate Releases - by Targeted News Service

SEN. FRIST HAILS PASSAGE OF FY06 DEFENSE APPROPRIATIONS CONFERENCE REPORT

Copyright © HT Media Ltd. 2005

WASHINGTON, Dec. 21 -- The office of Sen. Bill Frist, R-Tenn., issued the following statement:

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, M.D. (R-TN) today made the following statement after the Senate approved the FY 2006 Department of Defense Conference Report:

"The Defense Department spending bill provides our fighting men and women the weapons systems, equipment, and other resources they need to accomplish their missions in the Global War on Terrorism-including military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan--and to deter potential adversaries around the globe. This bill ensures our military personnel are well funded, well equipped, and provided with all the support they need to keep America safe. It includes a 3.1 percent across-the-board pay raise for military personnel, an increase in the Basic Allowance for Housing, and fully funds military pay, benefits, and medical programs. This legislation also takes care of our military families and military communities that are an integral part of our nation's defense and readiness.

"I'm proud that this legislation also includes the 'Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act' which extends limited protections to manufacturers, distributors, and first responders, so that life-saving countermeasures, such as an H5N1 avian flu vaccine, will be developed, deployed and administered. The real and imminent dangers posed by diseases like avian influenza underscore the serious need to bolster America's preparedness by enacting meaningful liability reform. These sensible and measured reforms will encourage manufacturers, distributors, and first responders to keep Americans safe once disaster strikes. The bill strikes a reasonable balance where those who are harmed will be fairly compensated and life-saving products will be available in ample supply to protect and treat as many Americans as possible.

"Finally, this bill includes the 'Support Our Scouts Act of 2005' which I introduced to ensure that the Boy Scouts of America can continue to receive support from the Department of Defense and other government agencies. This legislation preserves the longstanding relationship between the Defense Department and the Scouts, ensures the Scouts have access to public facilities across the United States, and expresses strong Congressional support for the Scouts.

"America's men and women in uniform have been relentless in the performance of their duty, and I am confident that this legislation will provide them with the tools, resources, and support they need to continue to ensure the safety and security of the American people."

SEN. REID ISSUES STATEMENT ON IMPLEMENTATION OF MEDICARE PRESCRIPTION DRUG BILL

Copyright © HT Media Ltd. 2005

SEARCHLIGHT, Nevada, Dec. 29 -- The office of Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., issued the following statement:

Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid released the following statement as the Medicare prescription drug benefit takes effect on January 1, 2006:

"At the start of this new year, millions of Americans will begin to have coverage under the new Medicare prescription drug benefit. While Republicans continue to fight for their special interest friends, Democrats have been fighting to protect seniors and people with disabilities. Democrats created Medicare in 1965 to help seniors struggling with the costs of medical care and it was Democrats who fought for and proposed a voluntary, comprehensive, and affordable prescription drug benefit that would improve the lives of Medicare beneficiaries. In 2003, when Republicans designed this new drug coverage, most Democrats could not support the final legislation because it was so needlessly complicated and included shameless giveaways to the drug and insurance industries at the expense of seniors. The law goes too far in protecting special interests, actually prohibiting Medicare from using the bargaining power of its 42 million beneficiaries to negotiate lower drug prices and providing a $10 billion slush fund to HMOs, while leaving confused seniors with gaps in coverage and burdensome penalties.

"Not only is the program's design unfair to seniors, but the Bush Administration has continued to bungle the implementation of the new drug benefit. They have failed to process applications in a timely manner; they have sent empty envelopes to beneficiaries; they have printed and distributed millions of copies of the Medicare&You Handbook with errors about the premiums plans will charge the lowest-income enrollees; and they have mischaracterized the drug benefit in a Parade Magazine insert. At the same time, Republicans in the White House and on Capitol Hill have rejected Democratic efforts to protect beneficiaries and make this process easier for them. Republicans defeated a Democratic attempt to ensure that our most vulnerable beneficiaries do not lose access to medications as the Administration transfers them from Medicaid to private plans, they blocked attempts to repeal the prohibition on Medicare negotiation, and rejected our attempts to delay the late enrollment penalty and to allow beneficiaries to change plans once in this very confusing first year.

"Seniors and people with disabilities are confused by the multitude of plans offering different benefit packages that cover different drugs from different pharmacies for very different prices. Democrats believe that Medicare should offer comprehensive and comprehensible drug coverage. We know that it is not too late to make the drug program work for people with Medicare, and that is what we should be doing. We have offered, and will continue to fight for, solutions that will improve this program because together, we can do better to help America's seniors and people with disabilities."

SEN. KENNEDY COMMENTS ON ALITO'S NEWLY RELEASED DOCUMENTS

Copyright © HT Media Ltd. 2005

WASHINGTON, Dec. 23 -- The office of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., issued the following statement:

The questions surrounding the Alito nomination get more troublesome everyday. At a time when the nation is faced with revelations that the Administration has been wiretapping American citizens, we find that we have a nominee who believes that officials who order warrentless wiretaps of Americans should be immune from legal accountability.

Also, every time we get a new and different answer on Vanguard it generates more questions. Once again we will have to find out what the real reason is why he failed to disqualify himself from Vanguard cases as he promised he would.

The American people deserve full and credible answers on these serious questions.