[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 72 (Wednesday, May 3, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H4515]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           GOP MEDICARE CUTS

  (Mr. PALLONE asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, today, the Republicans are over 2 weeks 
late in producing a budget.
  I believe the reason for the Republican delay is that they do not 
know how they are going to keep all of their promises. Part of their 
answer to balancing the budget is to cut Medicare by over $300 billion. 
This means that seniors will have to pay on average an additional $900 
in out-of-pocket expenses.
  Now, Speaker Gingrich is claiming that any Medicare cuts will be used 
to keep Medicare solvent. Of course he forgets to mention that 
Democrats have already worked to keep Medicare from going bankrupt in 
the past. In addition, it was Democrats, last year, who put forth an 
effort to reform health care and save Medicare.
  I believe in balancing the budget and have always voted in support of 
a balanced budget, but I feel that any Medicare reform needs to arise 
in the context of health care reform. It is rising health care costs 
that are contributing to the deficit, not senior citizens.


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