Letter: Deficit bill and what Americans want

When the Senate Democrats introduced the Deficit Reduction Act, a Republican leader of the Senate said, "This Bill has nothing the American people want." Not one Republican voted for its approval. What are some of the provisions in this bill that "has nothing the American people want"?

One of the provisions sets a minimum tax rate of 15% for corporations with profits of over $1 billion. Currently, many of these corporations are paying taxes at an extremely low rate or paying no taxes at all. This by itself will reduce the federal deficit by $300 billion.

Another provision sets the maximum that an individual pays out of pocket for drugs under Medicare at $2,000 a year. Right now, there is no limit and some people, after reaching the current Medicare limit, are paying tens of thousands of dollars out of pocket.

There was, however, one extremely important proposed amendment to this bill that required 60 total votes for passage, but was opposed by most Senate Republicans, with only seven joining all 50 Democrats, failing to approve setting the cost of insulin at no more than $35 a vial for non-Medicare insurance plans.

Some 34 million Americans with diabetes must have insulin to live. Pharmaceutical companies are free to charge anything they want for a vial of insulin. So while the cost to manufacture a vial of insulin is $10, the patient charge in the U.S. averages close to $300 per vial. This compares to $11 in Germany, $7.50 in the U.K, $9 in France and $11 in Italy.

How can anyone claim that these are things that Americans do not want? They are both wanted and needed, and the Republicans have again chosen only to enact and support legislation that favors the wealthiest and the big corporations.

Robert Frankel

Schaumburg