[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 76 (Tuesday, May 9, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H4554]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                            FIXING MEDICARE

  (Mr. GOSS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. GOSS. Mr. Speaker, it takes guts to do what is right instead of 
just doing what is popular. President Clinton's own Medicare Board of 
Trustees, which includes Cabinet Secretaries Donna Shalala, Robert 
Rubin, and Robert Reich, believe that under current law, Medicare will 
be bankrupt by the year 2002, or possibly even earlier. These are the 
President's people telling us. Doing nothing is disaster; doing nothing 
is a formula for bankruptcy. But what solutions have the Clinton 
Democrats proposed to correct this problem? None. I hear rhetoric 
today, but I do not hear solutions.
  Mr. Speaker, the Clinton Democrats are showing a willingness to let 
the system collapse by maintaining the status quo. On the other hand, 
the Republican majority will rise to the challenge of trying to show 
some guts and offer some real solutions to preserve, to protect and to 
improve Medicare. The Republican majority is committed to honor our 
contract with older Americans. I know I am one, and I represent a lot 
of others.
  Mr. Speaker, it is real simple. The program is going broke, and we 
are going to fix it because we care about senior citizens. We want them 
to have good quality, affordable health care options, and we know doing 
nothing is disaster, so we are going to do something.

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