[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 124 (Friday, July 28, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1553]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                             MEDICARE CUTS

                                 ______


                           HON. BOBBY L. RUSH

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, July 28, 1995

  Mr. RUSH. Mr. Speaker, I rise today as the voice of hundreds of 
senior citizens in the First Congressional District of Illinois and 
none of them wants cuts of any kind in their Medicare Program.
  These older Americans were angry. They were scared. And they are not 
going to stand for these draconian cuts.
  They know that the Republicans have committed themselves to squeezing 
$270 billion out of the Medicare budget over the next 7 years.
  The budget resolution sets out a gradual path of Medicare reductions, 
and most of the impact will not be felt until after November 1996, 
safely clearing the way for many Republicans up for reelection.
  So make no mistake about it. This is not about policy making.
  This is about politics--plain and simple.
  The seniors want a clear mandate delivered to the Republican Party. 
They want them to know that seniors are not old or forgetful. Seniors 
are not ``very pack-oriented and very susceptible to being led,'' as a 
leaked GOP strategy memo indicates. On the contrary, they will 
remember, a year from this November, who it was that slashed their 
Medicare Program and left them out in the cold to fend for themselves.


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