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“VICE PRESIDENT SHOULD STICK TO FACTS WHEN CAMPAIGNING” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Energy was published in the House of Representatives section on pages H7901 on Sept. 20, 2000.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
VICE PRESIDENT SHOULD STICK TO FACTS WHEN CAMPAIGNING
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Foley) is recognized for 5 minutes.
Mr. FOLEY. Mr. Speaker, the Vice President last week in my home State in Tallahassee decided that he needed to make an example of the high cost of prescription drugs. The Vice President used statistics compiled by the Democratic National Committee relative to cost for either human consumption or animal consumption. But the Vice President did not just stop there. He decided to embellish the story. It has been in all the major papers. He decided to create a story about his mother-in-law and his pet. He went on to describe how they are taking arthritis medication for their conditions and how the disparity of price between what the dog takes and what the mother-in-law takes was so startling and so outrageous.
Now, of course, in Florida we have a lot of seniors. In fact, I am probably the seventh oldest Medicare district in America. So when it comes to prescription drugs, a subject I know something about that we have been working on in the Committee on Ways and Means, I take strong offense to the fact that he would not only create false statements and mislead the public, not only embellish the story, but create it out of sheer nonsense. And so my seniors, who are waiting for some relief from the high cost of prescription drugs, scratched their heads and wondered why somebody who has been in office so long would not just stick to the facts. Why would they have to create stories involving their own family?
During the same week, the Vice President was saying that we need medical privacy; that the United States Congress should strive to make certain that every person's medical record is protected; that they cannot be exposed to public scrutiny; that they cannot be used against them. But we might want to ask him a little more about that privacy issue before we release any of our details to the government, because he seems to relate a lot of private medical information for the sheer sake of politics. His mother-in-law now has all her neighbors knowing what medications she takes. She may or may not have agreed to that release; we just do not know. We do not even know if she takes the medication to this date. They have not been forthcoming with the facts.
I think the Vice President owes the American public an explanation. Does his dog take the medication? Do the Federal taxpayers pay for his dog's medication? Does Mrs. Gore or the Vice President drive to the veterinarian and get the prescription or is its supplied by somebody there at the Naval Observatory?
We have also heard over the recent weeks about his condemnation of Hollywood and the movie industry. Yet just last night he is there saying to everybody, ``Don't worry, I am only making statements. I don't want to alarm you. I still want your campaign contributions. I still want to be your friend, but I am going to blast you in public and make sinners of all of you.'' He takes the money; throws darts. Takes the money; makes accusations.
``I created the Internet.'' That was a statement he made a few weeks ago, or a few months ago. He discovered Love Canal; he was the subject of Love Story. Yet today he is virtually absent when we are talking about high energy prices.
We talked about the soccer moms in the 1996 election and how important they are. And I hope they will all reflect when they fill up their Chrysler minivans or SUVs that the cost of fuel is now about
$1.75, the highest it has been in 10 years, and certainly the highest it has been during this administration. So filling up the minivan is now a costly chore for mothers and fathers as they proceed to work and take their kids to soccer practice. But there is no one there taking credit for the oil policy of this administration.
Today, the stock market is down 200 points, largely because of energy prices; and I do not hear anybody taking credit for that. The administration has the Energy Department. One would think they would figure out a response. Yet they can only accuse the other side of the aisle and our presidential nominee, that they are tied to big oil. Maybe they should stand up and say at least we can figure out an energy policy that will be good for America; that may bring down the cost of fuel for the consumers of America.
This robust economy that we understand that they have taken full credit for for the last 8 years may in fact be in a decline because of energy prices. It is insidious. It affects transportation; it affects heating bills. Wait until this winter, when we talk about the political dynamics of choosing food and medicine. We now have to choose between food, medicine and fuel, heating oil for our homes.
So I would just like it, if we are going to start embellishing rhetoric, creating facts, making up names, inserting foot in mouth, that at least somebody come to this floor and address the voters and taxpayers of this Nation as to where we are going with our energy policy. It is getting very difficult because those who are making the energy policy do not fill up their own tanks, so they do not feel the pain. They do not feel the pain when we reach into our wallets each week and pull out those precious dollars in order to keep our lives going forward and filling our vehicles with gasoline.
So, today, as we proceed to continue discussing appropriations items and the future of this Congress and the direction of our Nation, I do again urge the Vice President to please at least stick to the script and stick to the straight facts. I would hope he would not create and embellish names and drugs that are being taken by his family, which may or may not be true.
The American public deserves the truth. They deserve to know the facts. They need to know exactly where we are going on a prescription drug policy. We do not need to bring in Fido and the rest of the family to make a point. It was fraudulent, it was false, it was demeaning, it was misleading, and it was done in Florida, in a State where seniors are looking for honesty and decisions rather than fraudulent statements.
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