[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 92 (Wednesday, June 7, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H5630]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         MEDICARE CUTS THREATEN HOSPITALS IN SMALL-TOWN AMERICA

  (Mr. DURBIN asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. Speaker, if you have ever gotten into your car in the 
middle of the night to drive a critically injured or critically ill 
person to the hospital, you know that every minute seems like an hour. 
You pray to God that you will get to that hospital in time to save the 
life of someone you love very much.
  That is what the debate on the floor or the House of Representatives 
is all about when we talk about the future of Medicare. Because if the 
Republicans have their way and cut $282 billion out of Medicare over 
the next several years to fund a tax break for wealthy Americans, we 
are going to see hospitals closing in America, particularly in my part 
of the world in small-town America. It will mean for a lot of people a 
much longer drive in the middle of the night, many more prayers, and a 
lot more hope that they will make it in time.
  Is this the Republican vision of America which people voted for last 
November? I don't think so. I hope the Gingrich Republicans will 
abandon this tax cut program that they have put forward and will 
instead focus on really strengthening Medicare instead of the cuts that 
they are proposing which will close hospitals across the United States.


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