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




                ARBITRARY CUTS IN MEDICARE ARE IMPRUDENT

  (Mr. DOYLE asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. DOYLE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak on behalf of our 
communities, hospitals, and the health of today's and tomorrow's senior 
citizens. If we are to bring about Medicare reform which will prove to 
be truly beneficial, we must first reach a consensus that reforms must 
achieve specified goals without creating new, more difficult problems
  In the Pittsburgh area alone, there are seven hospitals which would 
face almost certain shutdown as a result of these proposed cuts. It is 
neither prudent nor logical to make devastating cuts to Medicare in 
such an arbitrary fashion. The sound-thinking, hard-working people of 
western Pennsylvania and across this country will tell you that putting 
the cart before the horse will get Medicare nowhere fast.
  A recent national poll shows that 72 percent of the American public 
oppose Medicare cuts being made to pay for tax breaks. One has to 
question how making major cuts to Medicare in part to fund tax breaks 
could be construed by anyone as fiscally conservative.
  I urge my colleagues to oppose these ill-conceived and reckless cuts 
which not only shake the current foundation, but cause irreparable 
damage to the future stability of the Medicare system.


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