[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 80 (Monday, May 15, 1995)]
[House]
[Pages H4956-H4957]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        MEDICARE AND THE BUDGET

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from Connecticut [Ms. DeLauro] is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, our Republican colleagues tell us they want 
to fix Medicare. But I find it curious that fixing Medicare was never a 
Republican priority until they needed to pay for a $345 billion tax 
break for the wealthy.
  Even now the Republicans have failed to put forth a concrete plan 
that will ensure the long-term solvency of Medicare without 
compromising health care costs and quality for our Nation's seniors. 
All the Republicans have put forward is a proposal to cut Medicare by 
$285 billion. This plan is all cuts and no reform.
  This convenient discovery of a Medicare crisis is nothing but a 
smokescreen for the real Republican goal: They want to use Medicare as 
a piggy bank for their tax giveaway to the wealthiest 1 percent of the 
taxpayers.
  The GOP budget takes away $1,060 in Medicare benefits from seniors on 
fixed incomes to pay for a $20,000 a year windfall to those Americans 
making over $350,000. Courageous? Hardly.
  And, what of the Republican plan for reform? While the Republicans 
don't mind being specific about tax giveaways and Medicare cuts, 
they've [[Page H4957]] taken a Let's Make a Deal approach to Medicare 
reform. They've given us door No. 1, door No. 2, and door No. 3, but 
they want to pass the buck on who makes the painful choices.
  Reardless, it's clear that seniors will be stuck with the booby 
prizes. Secret documents from the House Budget Committee show that the 
Republican plan would force seniors to pay more in deductibles, 
premiums, and copayments.
  According to House budget committee documents, options the GOP has 
proposed would:
  Increase the deductible that beneficiaries must pay for doctors' 
services before Medicare coverage begins. The annual deductible, now 
$100, would be raised to $150.
  Nearly double the monthly $46 premium to $84 by the year 2002. That 
would be an increase of $456 a year for seniors--just in increased 
monthly premiums.
  Charge co-payments of 20 percent for home health care and laboratory 
tests.
  Republicans call these extra costs for seniors part of the fair 
shared sacrifice needed to balance the budget. But there's nothing fair 
and nothing shared about this sacrifice. All the sacrifice will come 
from seniors, many on fixed incomes who simply can't afford these extra 
costs. And the benefits go primarily to the wealthy in the form of tax 
cuts.
  It's no wonder that Republican Representative George Radanovich of 
California said the following: ``If we had come out with this budget as 
our Contract, they wouldn't have voted us in.''
  Amazingly, while some Republicans are honest enough to admit that 
balancing the budget will be painful, Speaker Gingrich claims that $283 
billion in Medicare cuts will be painless. The Speaker wants to have it 
both ways: He claims that the Republican plan saves money and balances 
the budget, and in the same breath he also claims that this plan 
increases Medicare spending. These claims beg a simple question: If the 
Republicans aren't cutting Medicare, then where are the savings?
  True, overall Medicare spending in the year 2002 will be more than it 
is today. But the spending level in the Republican plan falls woefully 
short of keeping pace with health care inflation or with increased 
enrollment in the program. The consequence of the Republican plan will 
be reduced benefits, higher costs, or both. Republicans know this is 
the case and it's time to come clean with the American people.
  These drastic cuts in Medicare have come as a surprise to many 
Americans. Even to many Americans who voted in the new Republican 
majority in 1994. Remember the GOP ``Contract With America''? Medicare 
cuts weren't included in the Republican blueprint.
  But now that the Republicans have given away all the goodies of the 
Contract in the first 100 days, they need to find someone to pay for 
them. And seniors on Medicare are a convenient target. That's what this 
is all about.
  Promises made, promises kept--that's been the Republican rallying 
call of late. But it seems that Republicans have forgotten our solemn 
promises to America's seniors.


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