[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 121 (Tuesday, July 25, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H7554]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


        THE REPUBLICANS AND THEIR CONTROVERSIAL MEDICARE HISTORY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of May 
12, 1995, the gentleman from Massachusetts [Mr. Neal] is recognized 
during morning business for 2\1/2\ minutes.
  Mr. NEAL of Massachusetts. Mr. Speaker, as you have just heard, over 
the past 30 years little has changed with the Republican Party's view 
of the Medicare Program. Republicans spent 13 years from 1952 until 
1965 attempting to block the creation of the Medicare Program. They 
said Medicare was nothing more than socialized medicine and an unneeded 
program.
  In 1965, more than 93 percent of House Republicans voted to replace 
Medicare with a voluntary program, a program with none of the 
guarantees or protections of our current Medicare system. With this 
tumultuous history in mind, we should not be surprised that in the name 
of saving Medicare, Republicans today support slashing Medicare by $270 
billion in order to pay for tax cuts for wealthy Americans.
  While Republicans' views on Medicare may not have changed over the 
past 30 years, the health care status of America's seniors during this 
time has improved significantly.
  In 1959, only 46 percent of our seniors had health coverage. With 
Medicare, that number has increased to 99.1 percent. With Medicare, the 
life expectancy of seniors has risen significantly and the percentage 
of seniors living in poverty has been cut in half.
  When I travel throughout the Second District in Massachusetts, 
whether I am in a diner, a library, a seniors center, or a grocery 
store, there is one consistent message that I hear loud, clear, and 
often, and that message is: Please, Congressman Neal, do not let them 
take my Medicare benefits away.
  Let us be honest this morning with our seniors in the Medicare 
debate. House Republicans passed a bill that would take $87 billion 
over 10 years out of the Medicare A trust fund, weakening the trust 
fund in order to give a tax cut to the wealthiest 13 percent of 
Americans. The truth is, they have not even asked for it.
  Higher deductibles, increased premiums, additional copays? House 
Republicans would require seniors to pay $850 more in out-of-pocket 
health costs by the year 2002. How much is enough?

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