Social Security: Candice Miller promised to never privatize Social Security before going to Congress and has never wavered in that position.

HR 976 Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act: This bill expanded the scope of SCHIP. There were two votes on this bill including an override of the President's veto. Candice Miller voted for the bill and voted twice to override the President's veto.

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HR 3963 Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization:  Candice Miller voted twice to increase the State Children's Health Insurance Program

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Medicare Prescription Drug Bill: Candice Miller promised to deliver prescription drups under medicare and delivered.

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Pension Protection Act: Candice Miller actually fought for pension reform and delivered.
Candice Miller floor statement on Pension Reform Bill from the Congressional Record

Mrs. Miller of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, when this issue first came to the floor, I was very concerned, certainly, about how it dealt with some of our manufacturing companies and our workers as well. So many people in my district have worked a lifetime to secure a good pension to help them in their retirement years. They perform jobs that are difficult on them, both physically and mentally; and they have earned their pension.

In Michigan we have so many workers in the airline industry, because, of course, Detroit is the hub for Northwest Airlines. But we obviously also have a huge number of auto workers because of the Big Three and the numerous suppliers to the auto industry that reside there.

Northwest Airlines supports this legislation, as does Continental Airlines, American Airlines, Delta Airlines. So you might think, well, it must be bad for the airline workers then, right? But the bill is actually supported by the Airline Pilots Association and the Association of Flight Attendants. So both management and labor do support this bill.

This bill is also supported by General Motors and even the Delphi Corporation. So you might think it might be bad for auto workers, right? Well, it is actually also supported by the United Auto Workers Union. In fact, it is also supported by the Affiliated Unions of the Building and Construction Trades Department of the AFL-CIO, the Bricklayers and Allied Craft Workers, the Transport Workers Union, the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners, and the United Food and Commercial Workers Union.

It is also supported by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Business Roundtable. Any bill that acquires the support of business and labor must be doing something right in today's economy and this climate.

I think we have crafted an excellent piece of legislation. It does what needs to be done: It protects workers pensions. Let us pass this legislation. Let us get it into conference with the Senate, and let us get on with the job of ensuring that workers are secure in the knowledge that the pension that they have worked so hard to get will be there when they retire.

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Prescription Drug Reimportation: Candice Miller has voted in favor of re-importing prescription drugs.
Candice Miller Floor Statement on Medicare Prescription Drug Bill from the Congressional Record

Mrs. MILLER of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, Medicare was enacted in the 1960s to address a serious problem, and that problem, of course, was the lack of quality health care for our Nation's elderly.

In the past 40 years, Medicare has become actually one of the most popular Federal programs ever. But so much has changed in the days since Medicare was first enacted. In the 1960s, quality health care usually meant going to the doctor's office and receiving treatment for a particular ailment, and, in many cases, it meant hospitalization. But today, things are very much different. Advancement in the development and effectiveness of prescription drugs has made the trip to the doctor, and, more importantly, a trip to the hospital, unnecessary in many, many cases.

Prescription drugs are helping America's seniors to live longer lives, and healthier and happier lives as well. And yet, Medicare has not changed to cover those life-extending drugs, and too many seniors are being forced to make the impossible choice between their prescriptions and their other basic needs like food or rent. That, of course, is simply wrong. No senior should ever have to make the choice between bills and pills.

The high cost of prescription drugs are forcing seniors to find less expensive ways to get the drugs that they need. I represent a district that shares an international border with Canada. I was meeting actually just this morning with my counterpart in the Canadian Parliament. We spoke about a number of issues, and we spoke about health care generally. But, more specifically, we spoke about a cottage industry that is springing up, prescription drug outlets on the Canadian side of the border.

For many reasons, prescription drugs are less expensive in Canada, and many American seniors are driving across the Blue Water Bridge, in my district, between the cities of Port Huron and Sarnia, to have their prescriptions filled in Canada.

What happens is they receive a script from an American doctor. Then they have it transmitted to a Canadian doctor, and it is rewritten in Canada and filled at one of its Canadian pharmacies that literally dot the border area there now. Again, it is just simply wrong for America's seniors, that they have to go to such lengths just to get the drugs that they need.

So it is time for Congress to act. We must address the requirements of our senior population, and we need to bring Medicare in line with the medical system of the 21st Century.

When I was campaigning for this office, I met with literally thousands of senior citizens and I asked them what they thought they needed in a prescription drug benefit. Through those conversations, I came up with what I consider to be four main goals, four fundamental caveats that need to be met with any new benefit:

Number one, the benefit absolutely needs to be voluntary, so that many seniors who already have an existing drug benefit are not forced into a government plan that might not provide equal assistance that they have currently.

Number two, there needs to be immediate assistance so that seniors are no longer forced to make the decision between their prescription drugs and other needs.

Number three, it needs to be permanent so that it cannot be taken away or used as a political weapon against them in some future Congress.

Number four, it must substantially reduce out-of-pocket costs so that seniors can enjoy their retirement years and health and without draining their life savings to pay for drugs.

I am very hopeful that the plans that are now being debated by the other body, in the Committee on Energy and Commerce and the Committee on Ways and Means, will meet each of these tests. One of the big concerns about the prescription drug benefit being debated is, of course, the cost of such a program. In these very tight budgetary times, or at any time, for that matter, we must keep a very close eye on the bottom line.

But I truly believe that this benefit in the long run could actually save taxpayers money. How is that so? Because if we work together to keep seniors healthy through therapeutic drugs, we will actually lower the instances of hospitalization, which costs much more than giving seniors prescription drugs. Of course, that is the old adage that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. I think it is very appropriate in this instance.

I also truly believe that you can judge a society by the way that society treats its seniors. Our seniors have given so much to our Nation. Their hard work, their sacrifice is what has made America into the greatest country the world has ever known. These are the people that have fought wars, to defeat fascism, to defeat communism, to spread freedom across the globe. They have worked to build industry, to build strong communities, to raise their families that continue the American dream.

Our senior citizens deserve no less than our very best efforts to finally solve the problem of a prescription drug benefit within Medicare, because that is exactly what they have given us throughout their lives. I look forward to working with my colleagues to, once and for all, get the job done.

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