[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 118 (Thursday, July 20, 1995)]
[House]
[Pages H7262-H7263]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    TAX CUTS AND TAX INCREASES HAVE NO IMPACT ON MEDICARE TRUST FUND

  (Mr. HOKE asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. HOKE. Mr. Speaker, I think that the Members on the other side of 
the aisle do not understand how Medicare is funded. It is funded by a 
1.45-percent payroll tax that is levied on employees and matched by 
employers, and if that tax is not paid, it will not be funded at all. 
It does not come from the general revenues of the Federal Government, 
it comes from a trust fund.
  It does not matter if we raise one penny of taxes other than the 1.45 
percent. It does not matter if we raise those or if we cut them. It has 
no impact whatsoever. The trust fund will go bankrupt completely in 7 
years, regardless of what we do with those taxes. So 

[[Page H7263]]
tax cuts and tax increases in the general revenue have absolutely no 
impact on the Medicare trust fund.


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