[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 96 (Tuesday, June 13, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H5779]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


         EVEN THE PRESIDENT SAYS THERE HAVE TO BE SOME CHANGES

  (Mr. HOKE asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. HOKE. Good news, America. We are finally going to get to the 
point in the Medicare debate where we are going to actually talk about 
the facts.
  As you know, back in March the Medicare trustees said the fund is 
projected to be exhausted in 2001, and yet we have heard repeatedly the 
big lie, that Republicans are slashing Medicare. In fact, finally the 
President has said just yesterday--well, it was on Sunday that he said, 
``No one seriously believes that the budget can be balanced unless we 
can reduce the rate of increase in Medicare costs,'' and then he went 
on to say, ``As you know, I believe--well, let me say there are going 
to have to be some changes. We cannot leave the system the way it is. 
There have to be some changes.''
  Thank goodness. Finally we are going to be able to talk rationally 
about this, come up with solutions, work together in a bipartisan way 
and stop throwing stones, as we have seen in the well here for the past 
several months on Medicare. It is not a political issue; it is a policy 
problem for the senior citizens of this country and for the next 
generation as well.


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