[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 111 (Tuesday, July 11, 1995)]
[House]
[Pages H6745-H6746]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


               WE JUST NEED THE GUTS TO PAY FOR MEDICARE

  (Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas asked and was given permission to address 
the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, the Republicans have a plan to 
cut $270 billion from Medicare between now and the year 2002. During 
that same period, they plan to cut at least $245 billion in taxes for 
the most affluent in our country. Does that sound like they are 
concerned about the senior citizens in our country?
  The Republicans claim that Democrats are engaging in scare tactics. 

[[Page H 6746]]
  They want the public to believe that $270 billion in Medicare cuts will 
be pain-free and that seniors will be better off, maybe even have more 
freedom. Seniors have the freedom of choice right now. They can go to 
their own doctor. They can go to their own hospital. Let me reiterate 
to my Republican colleagues, this is free enterprise.
  I think the public would be a little more confident in the Republican 
promises if the Medicare cuts were driven by a genuine health care 
concern instead of the balanced budget. Medicare is not bankrupt any 
more than the Defense Department is bankrupt. If you want to have 
senior citizen health care, you have to pay for it. You have to pay for 
it every year just like we have to pay for the Defense Department.
  The Medicare system is not bankrupt. We just need to have the guts to 
pay for it.


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