[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 79 (Friday, May 12, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H4903]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                        MEDICARE IS ON THE BLOCK

  (Mr. WISE asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. WISE. Mr. Speaker, the previous speaker and I can probably agree 
on one thing; and that is, we hope everybody has a happy Mother's Day, 
We hope they are not worried about the Federal budget and the deficit 
problems.
  However, I would observe I have looked at this budget carefully, I 
have seen what it does to Medicare. As someone observed yesterday, the 
best thing you can do for mother this year is do not send flowers, send 
a check.
  Because the fact is there is a real cut in Medicare, $300 billion, 
and, yes, I have heard that, well, the spending increases. But what 
happens if, instead of two people there are now three people entitled 
to it? What happens if you now have higher deductibles when you go to 
the physician? You have to pay more out of pocket. You are now paying 
for lab fees you did not pay for before. And, yes, medical inflation in 
this country still rises faster than regular inflation.
  The fact is the matter is that in order to keep current or even 
slightly current, there is a real cut that is proposed in this budget 
in the program that affects all of us. So Medicare is on the block, and 
I think it is an important statement.
  Finally, what is more obnoxious to me about this cut it does not do 
anything about the deficit. It does not do anything for seniors. What 
if does is pay for a tax break for the wealthiest Americans in the tax 
cut package that has already passed here.


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