Union retirees and nurses joined U.S. Senator Mark Dayton Monday as he mailed petitions supporting his prescription drug amendment to President Bush and Majority Leader Bill Frist.

More than 17,000 people signed the petitions at Dayton?s State Fair booth, urging Bush and Frist to make sure that Dayton?s ?Give Congress A Taste of Our Own Medicine? amendment makes it into the final version of the Medicare Prescription Drug bill. The amendment requires members of Congress to receive the same coverage they provide to seniors under Medicare.

?We don?t deserve any better than what we vote for our fellow citizens,? Dayton said at a news conference at the downtown Minneapolis Post Office. He then wheeled a cart carrying four large boxes of petitions to a post office window to mail them.

"Do I need a union card to do this?" Dayton joked as he wheeled a cart carrying boxes of petitions to a post office window. Assisting are retirees Doug Davis and Jane Hanger Seeley.

Minnesota Retiree Council AFL-CIO President Dan Mikel and Registered Nurse Marie Hauser, a member of the Minnesota Nurses Association, along with representatives of the Minnesota Senior Federation and the Gray Panthers, spoke in favor of Dayton?s amendment.

The proposal ?is a ray of light in a bad bill,? Mikel said. Hauser called it, ?a brave and bold move.?

Ninety-three senators voted in favor of Dayton?s amendment when it came to the Senate floor, but he said he is very concerned that Congressional leaders have promised to remove the language from the final version of the bill. Bush is expected to get the Medicare Prescription Drug bill on his desk by the end of September.

The bill is very flawed, Dayton said, and fails to provide adequate coverage for seniors. Hauser said, ?Far too many people are suffering because of a lack of access to treatment we all know is effective.?

For more information
Read the legislation, House File 1.