[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 126 (Tuesday, August 1, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H8075]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




MEDICARE: AMERICAN SENIORS KNOW THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN AN INCREASE AND 
                               A DECREASE

  (Mr. BILBRAY asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. BILBRAY. Mr. Speaker, I am just a freshman. I grew up on the 
Mexican border. I thought I knew what bilingualism was. Now that I am 
here in these Chambers, I think we need to warn the American people 
that what we hear here in the House is not English, it is 
Washingtonese, when our colleagues on the other side of the aisle talk 
about cutting Medicare.
  Mr. Speaker, it is absolutely absurd when we look at the numbers, in 
that what is being proposed by the Republican majority is for each 
recipient's Medicare funds to go from $400 a month to $561 a month. In 
plain English, that is an increase. Only in Washington and only with 
the Democratic minority could they call that a decrease.
  Mr. Speaker, I think that seniors of the United States know an 
increase and know a decrease when they hear it. I just hope that when 
they hear the minority speaking on the other side of the aisle about a 
cut on Medicare that they start remembering that is Washingtonese for 
meaning that we are not going to spend three times the rate of 
inflation on providing health care. No consumer should allow his or her 
Medicare or health care to increase three times faster than inflation. 
What we are talking about, Mr. Speaker, is a commonsense approach to 
increasing our funding, but trying to control the overhead.


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