[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 141 (Tuesday, September 12, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H8731]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1220
               WHERE IS THE REPUBLICAN PLAN ON MEDICARE?

  (Mr. PALLONE asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, yesterday myself and the gentleman from New 
Jersey [Mr. Torricelli] held a second forum in New Jersey on the issue 
of Medicare, and many senior citizens were seriously concerned about 
how the severe Republican cuts to Medicare will affect them. 
Unfortunately, it is difficult to answer that question definitively 
since we only know what the press has leaked on the subject.
  I would like to know where the Republican plan is. It is after Labor 
Day. We still do not have it. Are we going to have any time to review 
it even before we vote in a few weeks?
  How can the Members of Congress he expected to vote on the largest 
Medicare reduction in history and fully represent their constituent 
interests when the Republicans still have no plan?
  When the Republicans finally release their Medicare plans, they 
should allow a significant period of time to analyze the specifics. I 
do not think that is too much to ask on such an important issue.
  The Republicans have been reluctant to release their plan because 
they fear the wrath of senior citizens. They seem to be opting for the 
stealth approach by cutting $270 billion, the largest cut in the 
history of Medicare without letting the public know the details.


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