Congress -- which, at the pharmaceutical companies' bidding, banned price-bargaining and importation of cheaper drugs from Canada or elsewhere -- should allow the federal government to negotiate for lower drug prices.

Eventually was supposed to arrive in January. But some House Republicans, who want to preserve tax cuts for the wealthy indefinitely, figure the disabled and the elderly can sacrifice at least another year -- for the hurricane victims, of course.

Already eyeing cuts in Medicaid to help pay for post-Katrina cleanup and restoration, Republicans now see a $40 billion "savings" in delaying the Medicare drug benefit for a year.

Beneficiaries not only would not get a promised discount next year, but, as the Bush administration announced last week, they will face a 13 percent increase in Medicare premiums.

Poorest Being Asked to Sacrifice

Unequal sacrifice for unequal gain is not a new expectation of President Bush's administration or this Republican-led Congress. Most Americans were not asked to sacrifice so that America could rebuild Baghdad. But the poorest Americans are being asked to sacrifice so that America can rebuild its own New Orleans.

Any delay in Medicare reform should be to truly reform the system for the benefit of those taking prescription drugs, not those making them.

For starters, Congress -- which, at the pharmaceutical companies' bidding, banned price-bargaining and importation of cheaper drugs from Canada or elsewhere -- should allow the federal government to negotiate for lower drug prices.

In the face of an overflowing deficit, Republicans who treated the Medicare reform bill as sacred when Democrats challenged it as too benevolent to pharmaceutical companies cannot now credibly claim sticker shock.

The Bush administration first pegged the price at $400 billion over 10 years. A Medicare accountant was forbidden from telling the then-truer $534 billion estimate until after the bill passed. The president then proclaimed a $724 billion cap, which was later surpassed by "new" data that estimated a $1.2 trillion bill.

Any Sacrifice from the Wealthy?

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has spent millions promoting the drug benefit, urging seniors to start signing up Nov. 1.

But the federal government's loss is less politically influential than the pharmaceutical industry. Drug companies, which stand to gain billions from the "reform," could prove to be the backstabbing friends seniors rely on to ensure the benefit takes effect in January as promised.

Last week, as President Bush announced his plan to rebuild New Orleans "higher and better," he offered a "pledge of the American people": "We will do what it takes." This time, will "we" include any sacrifice from the wealthy?