[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 126 (Tuesday, August 1, 1995)]
[House]
[Pages H8144-H8145]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 BOARD OF TRUSTEES' REPORT ON MEDICARE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Georgia [Mr. Kingston] is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. KINGSTON. Mr. Speaker, I do want to say one thing to the 
gentlewoman from the opposite party. On Pell grants, the Labor-HHS bill 
increases Pell grants to the highest level that it has ever been 
increased to, and so perhaps we could provide some information to her 
constituents on that, or her office, so she can get it to those 3,000 
students. But Pell grants are going up higher than ever before. Head 
Start is also funded at a very high level. It is increased 128 percent 
over 6 years. Ryan White's funding has actually increased. Special 
education funding is funded at $3 billion, $230 million more than 
President Clinton proposed.
  Perhaps it is just a matter of not agreeing with what the educational 
priorities are. But I think that clearly, this bill does put a very 
high priority on education. We may not agree with all of the education 
programs that the Democratic Party does, but this bill is extremely 
proeducation, and I hope that the members of the opposite party will 
look at that, and
 maybe join in the process of balancing the budget, which I think is 
very important for us to do on a bipartisan level.

  Maybe I am just out of it; maybe I do not know the ways of 
Washington, but I do think that it is very easy to sit there and say 
well, I would not have cut that, I would not have cut that. I mean, 
where is your balanced budget? I mean, do not nickel and dime things 
that you do not like unless you are going to come with a total package 
of where your balanced budget is.
  Now, Mr. Speaker, if I could get those charts, I would like a little 
bit about the trustees' report on Medicare. This is one that Mr. Hoke 
has used. This time, it is not time to hide our heads in the sand on 
Medicare. The trustees clearly said, the Clinton-appointed trustees of 
the Medicare plan, said that Medicare is going broke by the year 2001. 
This is the plan, there is a report on it, we can get members of the 
public a report on the trustees' plan.
  The trustees were appointed by President Clinton. Here is a Secretary 
of the Treasury Robert Rubin, Secretary of Labor, Robert Reich, 
Secretary of Human Services, Donna Shalala. They have said that 
Medicare is going broke. President Clinton said in his June 11 
appearance in New Hampshire that it is going broke. Newt Gingrich has 
said it on the same platform. So it is appropriate that we, on a 
bipartisan basis, deal with the reality, that it is going broke.
  Mr. HOKE. Mr. Chairman, will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. KINGSTON. I yield to the gentleman from Ohio.
  Mr. HOKE. This is the report that we are talking about, right?
  Mr. KINGSTON. That is the April 3, 1995 report.
  Mr. HOKE. Mr. Speaker, this is a summary of the report by the 
trustees. It is like an annual report to the American people on the 
Medicare trust fund, Social Security trust fund and other trust funds, 
but Medicare trust fund. The President said it is going broke, the 
Speaker has said it is going broke.
  Mr. KINGSTON. And the President's appointees.
  Mr. HOKE. Mr. Speaker, would the gentleman explain to me then why the 
minority leader on Meet the Press Sunday morning said, this is a hoax? 
The Republicans are saying, because the report says the fund will have 
solvency problems in the year 2002, there is an emergency. This is a 
hoax. Where is the hoax? I do not understand. Is this a sham? Were they 
making this up?
  Mr. KINGSTON. Mr. Speaker, this is the first I have heard of it. 
President Clinton has come forward an said that this is going broke. It 
is not a Democrat-Republican thing. Now, it may be in the Congress that 
certain Members of Congress prefer the old tactic. You know, when in 
doubt, run to the
 sand.

  Mr. HOKE. Mr. Speaker, I do not want to delay the gentleman's special 
order, but I think the American people deserve to read this report 
themselves and make their own decision. I would urge every American to 
call 202-225-3121, ask your Representative at 202-225-3121, to send 
you, mail you a copy of this report. It is the annual report of the 
Medicare trustees to the president of the United States.
  Mr. KINGSTON. Well, thank you for that. Here is the actual dollar 
figures. But just the bottom line, more will be going out than is 
coming in. On an NBC Nightline report the numbers were that the average 
couple's contribution to Medicare, $69,000. The average amount going 
out per couple is $186,000. So you do not have to be a mathematician to 
know that we have a problem. It is going broke. Let use accept that.
  Now, let us in a bipartisan fashion fix it. Let us fix it in a fair 
way. Let us do it so that it is not just on the backs of the senior 
citizens, and let us do not do it on the backs on the future 
generations. Let us do it across the board. We need to simplify it. We 
need to save it, we need to strengthen it. There are a lot of options 
that are out there for us.
  Mr. Speaker, just a couple of the things that we can do. No. 1, offer 
a choice, the same choice that you and I as Members of Congress have, 
the same choice that our friends have.

[[Page H8145]]

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from Hawaii [Mrs. Mink] is recognized for 5 minutes.

  [Mrs. MINK of Hawaii addressed the House. Her remarks will appear 
hereafter in the Extensions of Remarks.]


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