WASHINGTON, Dec. 8 (UPI) -- Sen. Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn., had harsh words for George W. Bush Monday as the president affixed his signature to a Medicare reform package.
"I hope the prescription drug bill the president is signing today covers pain killers -- because it's going to cause a lot of pain for millions of our seniors," the Democrat presidential candidate said in a release.
"I supported the original Senate bill. But the Republicans took a responsible, bipartisan plan, pried it open, and stuffed it full of poison pills that serve special interests instead of helping seniors," Lieberman said.
Republicans tout the initiative as a major step forward, something that will improve medical care for American seniors.
Included in the reforms are increased protections for seniors against the expense of catastrophic illness and financial assistance for prescription drugs.
With Bush's signature, the Medicare program undergoes its single largest expansion since being enacted in 1965 as part of Lyndon Johnson's Great Society initiative.
