The Affordable Care Act has now provided relief to high prescription drug costs for more than one million Medicare beneficiaries, according to U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced that more than one quarter of the four million checks that Medicare expects to distribute have now been received by eligible beneficiaries.

“Senior citizens and people with disabilities continue to benefit from the new law’s step-by-step approach to closing the Medicare ‘donut hole,’ ”Congresswoman Kaptur said.

Eligible beneficiaries receive a one-time, tax-free $250 rebate check.

TOLEDO -- U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur (OH-9) today urged the U.S. Senate to act quickly in the wake of the national egg recall to pass legislation to strengthen food safety laws in America.

“Families in America deserve to know the food on their table is safe, and Congress should give federal regulators the tools they need to do the job,” Kaptur said at a news conference outside a family-owned market in south Toledo.

Kaptur said the House passed the Food Safety Enhancement Act last year, but the Senate has yet to act. She said the national recall of more than half a billion eggs due to an outbreak of salmonella enteritidis illustrates the need for swift government action and stronger enforcement.

“We have to remain vigilant in ensuring that our food supply is the safest in the world,” said Congresswoman Kaptur, who is a member of the House Appropriations agriculture subcommittee. “Everyone has a role to play—producers, retailers, consumers and the government—in making sure that our food is safe for families and children.”

She noted that Ohio produces 7.1 billion eggs a year, second only to Iowa. The egg industry in Ohio creates approximately 17,000 jobs and generates an estimated $585 million in revenue.

Kaptur said the Food Safety Enhancement Act would give the Food and Drug Administration and U.S. Department of Agriculture greater authority to regulate food production, including more frequent inspections, increased transparency in the production process, and enhanced capacity to trace contaminated food in the event of an outbreak of food-borne illness.

Congresswoman Kaptur said consumers can visit her web site at www.house.kaptur.gov to learn about the status of the egg recall for particular brands. “We have an icon on our web site that puts the consumer one click away from everything they need to know about protecting her family from eggs that have been recalled,” she said.

Kaptur said she looks forward to congressional hearings on the egg recall when the House of Representatives reconvenes in mid-September.