[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 97 (Wednesday, June 14, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H5908]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                                MEDICARE

  (Mr. BARCIA asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. BARCIA. Mr. Speaker, I am deeply concerned about the proposed 
changes to the Medicare Program. Taking away funding from Medicare, 
which benefits 35 million aged and disabled Americans, is an 
unacceptable act of Congress.
  I have heard from hundreds of senior citizens from my district urging 
me to maintain and preserve their Medicare benefits. Our elderly 
Americans have worked too hard for their future. To dismantle the 
program they depend on for their health care needs would be 
devastating.
  Medicare provides an invaluable and irreplaceable security for 
seniors. With the population of older Americans growing every year, 
Medicare must be strengthened and decisions must be made to support the 
program not break it down. The future of Medicare is critical not only 
for seniors but for all Americans who will someday need it.
  Although Congress must strive toward a balanced budget and address 
the solvency of Medicare, let us turn to other programs for cuts, not 
our seniors.
  Older Americans deserve our support. Balancing the budget is no easy 
task and it will require tough decisions that I am willing to make. But 
making our senior citizens struggle to pay for health insurance is not 
a choice I am willing to make.


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