[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 142 (Wednesday, September 13, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H8816]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   THE DEMOCRATS ARE NOT EVEN TRYING

  (Mr. BURTON of Indiana asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, one of the things that has not 
been mentioned on the floor today is that the Democrats do not have a 
plan to deal with the Medicare crisis. The President's Commission on 
Medicare said that Medicare is going to go bankrupt in 7 years and they 
do not have a plan.
  Now our plan will handle the crisis, increase Medicare spending, but 
not at the rate of growth we have had. Medicare has been growing at up 
to 16 percent a year, and that is intolerable. We cannot sustain that 
kind of growth rate.
  So the bottom line is we are going to fix the Medicare problem. We 
are going to make sure that Medicare is there for seniors in the 
future. The Democrats do not have a plan. We are working on a plan 
right now. It is fiscally responsible. There is going to be more 
benefits, over the long term 40-percent growth in Medicare benefits for 
the next 7 years, but we are going to cut the rate of growth so we can 
balance the Medicare budget without having it having to go bankrupt, 
and that is one of the things that I think my colleagues on the other 
side of the aisle ought to pay attention to. We have a plan, we are 
working on it, we are going to solve it. They are not even trying.


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