Monday, June 23, 2003

Bush Critics - Dem Boxer and GOP Hagel

Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., used her party's weekly radio address Saturday to criticize Republican plans to privatize a prescription drug benefit for the elderly.

Boxer, a member of the Democratic leadership in the Senate, said that under the GOP proposal millions of older Americans would find their benefits shut down for several months every year even though they were still paying their premiums.

Boxer said the vast majority of elderly would not be able to get the drug benefit directly from Medicare, but have to rely on health maintenance organizations and insurance companies, which could raise their premiums.


Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., said that the question of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction has left a cloud over the Bush administration's credibility that won't be removed until Americans know whether the administration was straightforward with them.

"This is a cloud hanging over their credibility, their word," said Hagel. "They need to get that dealt with, taken care of, removed."

Hagel, who spoke on ABC's This Week program, said: "The world — certainly Americans — must have confidence in this administration. ... And to resolve this issue is certainly in the interests of this administration."

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