[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 123 (Thursday, July 27, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H7808]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MEDICARE

  (Ms. ESHOO asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. ESHOO. Mr. Speaker, as we celebrate Medicare's 30th birthday, let 
us remember its genesis.
  It was the people of this country who asked their government to enter 
into a partnership with them to provide security in their later years.
  It was an idea supported by Presidents Truman, Kennedy, Johnson, and 
even Nixon.
  It was an idea that worked and continues to work.
  Not one of my constituents has ever written, called, or met with me 
asking me to gut Medicare, eliminate it, or slash its funding.
  The Republicans seem to think that they can fool the citizens of this 
country into thinking that their massive cuts will somehow reform the 
system. Cuts, I might add, that are suspiciously similar to the amount 
of money needed for their tax break package.
  Mr. Speaker, Medicare is a trust fund, not a slush fund. It is a 
program whose inception began with the American people and is still 
overwhelmingly supported by them.
  Let us celebrate Medicare's 30th birthday, Mr. Speaker, not prepare 
for its funeral.

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