[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 81 (Tuesday, May 16, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H4965]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   MEDICARE AND THE REPUBLICAN BUDGET

  (Mr. HINCHEY asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. HINCHEY. Mr. Speaker, Speaker Gingrich and the House Republicans 
are pulling a fast one on senior citizens by drastically cutting 
Medicare and using savings to fund a $350 billion tax cut for the 
wealthy. The Gingrich-Kasich budget plan will cut health care services 
for 37 million seniors receiving Medicare benefits.
  Under this plan, Medicare growth will not keep pace with the rising 
cost of health care, the growth in the number of beneficiaries and the 
inflation rate.
  The result of these cuts will be an additional cost to Medicare 
recipients of $1,000 a year--out of their own pocket--by 2002. To 
inflict these costs on seniors living on fixed incomes is inhumane.
  Where I come from, a person is only as good as their word. The U.S. 
Government has made a covenant with senior citizens and I implore my 
colleagues to make sure the Congress honors Medicare promises.
  By breaking this promise of a healthier life for tax cuts for the 
wealthy will mean turning our back on senior citizens and working 
American families.
  By slashing Medicare to pay for tax cuts for the wealthy, Speaker 
Gingrich is ensuring that the wealthy get a gold mine while senior 
citizens get the shaft.


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