[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 82 (Wednesday, May 17, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H5086]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            SAVING MEDICARE

  (Mrs. SEASTRAND asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Mrs. SEASTRAND. Mr. Speaker, for the first time in 25 years Congress 
is actually offering a budget that will bring it into balance and deal 
with the Medicare crisis. As every Member in this Chamber knows, the 
Medicare trust fund begins to go bankrupt next year and will be 
completely insolvent in 7 years. As President Clinton's Medicare 
trustees said in their annual report, the trust fund: ``* * * will be 
able to pay benefits for only about 7 years and is severely out of 
financial balance in the long range.''
  The report also says: ``The trustees believe that prompt, effective, 
and decisive action is necessary.''
  Yesterday's Invester's Business Daily pointed out President Clinton's 
recent flip-flop on Medicare. And I quote the President:

       We propose to let it go up at two times the rate of 
     inflation. That is not a Medicare or Medicaid cut. So when 
     you hear all this business about cuts, let me caution you 
     that that is not what is going on. We are going to have 
     increases in Medicare and Medicaid, and a reduction in the 
     rate of growth.

  Mr. Speaker, where is the President now?

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