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It has been a top priority of Congress to reduce the drug costs of all seniors.

Beginning in June, Alabama seniors previously without prescription drug coverage should begin to see savings of between 10 and 25 percent on their medications.

Today, nearly 40 percent of a senior's healthcare spending is on pharmaceutical medications.

Pharmaceutical companies are enjoying unprecedented profits and access with this Administration. Yet the Republicans' prescription drug plan for seniors has been a colossal failure, and over 43 million Americans wake up every morning without health insurance.

This drug coverage program was clearly designed by Republicans in Congress to serve the interests of the drug and insurance industries. America's seniors were an afterthought.

The drug plans our seniors choose will define their health care options for years to come. If they do not make a decision and wait until the May 15 deadline passes, they will face penalties and higher prices for the drugs that they need.

As I travel around Idaho and visit with seniors, I hear almost universal concern about the rising cost of health care, particularly the cost of prescription drugs.

Although many seniors are happy with the generous drug coverage they have from their former employers, the number of companies offering that kind of coverage has decreased by one-third since the mid-1980s.

However, the Medicare prescription drug benefit has changed, and if the nearly 3,000 seniors I have met through 12 town halls can represent a sample of opinion, many seniors do not yet understand the prescription drug program and do not plan to sign up for coverage.

Pharmaceuticals have become an increasingly important part of modern medicine, and our seniors shouldn't have to worry about whether they can afford the medicines they need to stay healthy and maintain their independence.