[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 106 (Thursday, August 4, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: August 4, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
MEDICARE, SOCIAL SECURITY, HEALTH CARE: FUTURE COSTS WILL EXCEED FUTURE 
                            FEDERAL REVENUES

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
February 11, 1994, and June 10, 1994, the gentleman from Texas [Mr. 
DeLay] is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. DeLAY. Mr. Speaker, I take this 5 minutes to really worry and 
wonder what is going on in this House. We just got notification this 
morning that the Democrat leadership has decided to extend the recess a 
week to pass the health care reform measure, but the Democrat 
leadership have no bill, they do not know what this bill is going to 
be. It changes every day. It is amazing to me they are even considering 
stuffing down the throats of the American people a health care reform 
proposal that they do not even know what it is. I am just outraged by 
the lack of leadership of the Democrat-controlled House and the 
Democrat-controlled Senate.
  I heard it for the last few days that the majority leader over in the 
other body is chastizing Republicans for so-called throwing up road 
blocks in front of health care reform. The Republicans are not putting 
road blocks in front of health care reform. We had a bill introduced 
over a year ago, way before the Democrat President or the Democrat 
House or the Democrat Senate even introduced a bill. We have been, for 
days and weeks, working on a bipartisan measure with other Democrats, 
trying to write a bipartisan health care reform.
  Then the majority leader of the other body said the Republicans 
warned us against Social Security, and they were wrong; they warned us 
about Medicare, and they were wrong; they warned us about the 
President's tax increase last year, and they were wrong.
  Well, let me tell you that the American people know we were not 
wrong. In Medicare, when it was instituted in 1967, 3 percent of 
Federal revenues went to the program. In 1994, 20 percent of the our 
Federal revenues go to Medicare and Medicaid spending. We warned the 
American people that Medicare would do this. At this rate, by the year 
2015, our spending on these programs will equal 100 percent of Federal 
revenues.
  I do not particularly say, based on those figures--I do not think you 
can say that Medicare is a success, based on these figures.
  Mr. Speaker, in 1965 the estimated benefits for the hospital 
insurance Medicare in the year 1990 were projected at $9 billion to be 
spent on Medicare. The actual 1990 expenditure was $67 billion. I think 
we were right about Medicare.
  Now, Social Security, many, many years ago, the Republicans warned 
the American people that this would be a program that we could not 
afford. The United Seniors Association reports that the Trustees' 
report predicts that combined expenditures for Social Security will 
exceed current tax income in the year 2013. The accumulative deficit 
between outlays and receipts by the year 2029 will be $127.3 trillion, 
going to Social Security by the year 2029.

                              {time}  1600

  In 1994 dollars, Mr. Speaker, that is $13 trillion, or three times 
our current national debt. That is a success that the Democrats are 
parading around the United States?
  The Republicans warned the American people many years ago that Social 
Security would come to this. It is broke. They have been raiding the 
trust account to pay for their social programs, and they call it a 
success?
  And let us talk about the tax increase of last year. They have been 
running around. The President last night in his press conference was 
touting the success of his program. This recovery that we are presently 
in is the slowest recovery on record, and it is because the Federal 
Government is taking private capital out of individuals' hands and are 
spending it themselves. The job growth that they are so proud of is the 
slowest job growth in any recovery coming out of a recession. We have 
interest rates going up, and they have been going up month by month. 
Housing starts have just declined by 14 percent.
  This is a success?
  Now they say we are going to spend the next couple of weeks talking 
on a health care reform package that we do not know what it is. They 
rewrite it every day. All they are doing is writing it so they can get 
218 votes and stuff it down our throats. We will not be able to see it, 
and certainly the American people will not be able to see it.
  I say, ``If you got a bill, write the bill, lay it out over the 
August recess, let the American people see it, and then let's debate it 
in September.''

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