For some time, Congress has been gridlocked on the issue of how to provide a prescription drug benefit under Medicare. The House, on a near-party-line vote, passed a Republican plan so unworkable in structure and meager in benefits that even The Wall Street Journal denounced it. In the Senate, neither Democratic nor Republican plans garnered the 60 votes necessary to pass. Despite all the attention paid to this issue over the last few years, and the growing urgency about prescription drug costs, the conventional wisdom has been that nothing will happen this Congress.

Fortunately, many Senate Democrats are doggedly trying to craft a bipartisan compromise that would give Congress a chance to make real progress this year. The plan in the best position to help break the logjam puts first things first by providing all seniors a discount on prescription drug costs, assuring no senior is wiped out by drug costs, and ensuring that the most vulnerable Americans get coverage.

This proposal resembles a plan put forward by New Democrats in the House, in conjunction with the Progressive Policy Institute. The compromise represents Congress's best chance this year to enact a Medicare drug benefit that's affordable, progressive, and a good deal for all seniors.

The compromise plan is affordable for seniors and taxpayers alike. It provides all seniors a discount on every prescription drug they buy. It provides catastrophic protections to every senior, by covering drug costs over $4,000. It requires no new or additional premiums for beneficiaries, so every senior will come out ahead. And it's a good deal for taxpayers, because the cost of this compromise plan would be roughly $400 billion over the next 10 years -- half of some of the costliest proposals considered by Congress.

The plan is progressive because it provides the most help for the most vulnerable. In addition to protection against catastrophic costs, the plan would provide comprehensive coverage to low-income seniors.

The plan is a good deal for all seniors because it brings together some of the best elements put forward by both sides. It offers real value that seniors need and can understand, with no complicated formulas, no new premiums, and no hidden costs to the elderly or the taxpayers. That's why the AARP and others see this plan as a real step forward.

On this and other issues, the American people are looking to their leaders to make progress, not play politics. Breaking the logjam on one of Congress's thorniest debates, and America's most urgent problems, would go a long way toward restoring Americans' confidence in Washington. This plan is the right prescription.