[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 124 (Friday, July 28, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H7920]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


            SENIORS ARE PAWNS IN THE REPUBLICAN BUDGET GAME

  (Mr. REED asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. REED. Mr. Speaker, since the beginning of the 104th Congress, the 
American people have listened to Democrats and Republicans debate 
national priorities. The priorities of the Republican Party are crystal 
clear. They support a contract with the wealthy over our historic 
contract with older Americans.
  Under the Republican budget resolution, the wealthiest 1.1 million 
Americans will receive a $20,000 tax break. In return, 37 million 
seniors will see their Medicare benefits cut by over $1,000 a year by 
the year 2002.
  Let me remind my Republican colleagues that Medicare is not a welfare 
program, it is not a luxurious giveaway like the Republican tax cuts, 
and it is not a fiscal candy jar. It is an insurance program that has 
enabled 37 million seniors to live lives of independence and dignity.
  Let us not make seniors pawns in the Republican budget game--raiding 
Medicare to pay for tax cuts to the wealthy is completely unacceptable.


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