[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 72 (Wednesday, May 3, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H4516]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


              THE USUAL CLASS-WARFARE RHETORIC ON MEDICARE

  (Mr. HAYWORTH asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. HAYWORTH. Mr. Speaker, there are some things going on here in 
Washington the American people really ought to know about. Members of 
President Clinton's Cabinet have raised some very serious questions 
about the long-term health of Medicare. A report by the Medicare 
trustees concludes that Medicare will begin losing money next year and 
could become insolvent by the year 2001, and, by the way, this Medicare 
board includes Health and Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala, Labor 
Secretary Robert Reich, and Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin.
  Now, last Friday, the Speaker of the House wrote the President 
expressing his concerns over this matter and communicated a willingness 
to work together on a solution, but the news about Medicare has 
apparently fallen on deaf ears at the White House and on this side of 
the House because the Speaker's letter is being dismissed with the 
usual class-warfare rhetoric. In fact, Leon Panetta suggested the White 
House will do nothing to help fix Medicare.
  This is unfortunate, Mr. Speaker. Medicare is going broke and all the 
White House can offer up is class-warfare rhetoric. This shows a total 
avoidance of responsibility and a lack of respect to older Americans 
who expect leadership from Washington, and not excuses, not class-
warfare.

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